2017 Electronic Payments Report

Introduction

When managing B2B operations, one of the top goals for many organizations is to make safe and secure supplier payments with minimal effort and maximum speed. However, many organizations spend more effort and time overseeing the process than they would like. While many different options are available to streamline payments, organizations typically end up using the tools with which they are most comfortable, and that they perceive to be the simplest and safest. In most cases, these commonly-used tools are check and ACH payments.

In reality, check and ACH payments are not the most efficient, safe, or affordable methods among available payments options today. In fact, Levvel’s research has found that organizations relying heavily on checks or ACH typically experience more processing challenges than those that employ a more diverse mix of payment methods, like electronic payables (ePayables) platforms and commercial card programs.

Holistic electronic payments (ePayments) software streamlines the most tedious tasks of payments management. It typically consists of ePayables platforms that allow organizations to make secure local and global payments, as well as support for a wide array of commercial card programs. These tools enable organizations to reduce their reliance on manual methods that require heavy involvement and oversight, shifting much of the processing burden to the platform and solution provider. These solutions also speed up cycle times, improve discount capture, and produce savings through processing improvements and card-based rebates.

The 2017 ePayments report analyzes trends in payment management strategies among North American businesses, including their typical payment methods, perceptions, challenges, and goals. It also provides an overview of the tools and services offered by leading ePayments providers, highlights the value of adopting an electronic payments method, and offers a guide to increasing ROI with an optimized card program.

Payment Management Today

To determine the current state of electronic Business-to-Business (B2B) payments, Levvel Research surveyed over 300 individuals from a variety of industries and organization sizes. Research shows that most companies use checks and ACH for the majority of their supplier payments, see Figure 1.

Check payments have been a prominent B2B payment method for several decades, and it is the preferred method for many companies, followed by ACH payments. However, manually-driven payment methods like check and ACH lead to a variety of challenges for organizations, including high processing costs, late payments, and missed discounts—which can cost organizations millions each year.

While payment challenges can arise with all payment types, they are more prominent among organizations that are heavy check and ACH users. In the ePayments survey, Levvel Research asked organizations whether they have decreased, increased, or maintained their current payment method usage. Figure2 shows the responses from organizations Levvel Research has identified as “strong proponents” of each type of payment—those that indicated they have tried to increase usage of that payment type in the last two years.

Strong proponents of checks are much more likely to experience payment fraud than proponents of other payment methods. They also experience more late payments and miss the greatest amount of early payment discounts. Processing issues are not limited to checks, however—strong proponents for commercial card and ACH users alike report higher processing costs than strong check proponents, and they tend to experience more duplicate payments. However, challenges are still more common for organizations using mostly checks. Among respondents who claimed they did not experience any payment challenges, none were strong proponents of checks.

Strong proponents of checks are much more likely to experience payment fraud than proponents of other payment methods. They also experience more late payments and miss the greatest amount of early payment discounts. Processing issues are not limited to checks, however—strong proponents for commercial card and ACH users alike report higher processing costs than strong check proponents, and they tend to experience more duplicate payments. However, challenges are still more common for organizations using mostly checks. Among respondents who claimed they did not experience any payment challenges, none were strong proponents of checks.

Levvel Research found that some payments challenges are also related to an organization’s market segment and their industry. For example, while high processing cost and poor visibility into payments affects organizations of all sizes, larger organizations are more likely to experience high volumes of missed discounts and more duplicate payments. This is partly because larger enterprises have lengthier and more complicated process flows and longer cycle times. Some problems are not that prominent for any market segment—such as loss from fraud—and late payments are only a prominent problem for 30-40 percent of organizations.

When it comes to industry-related challenges, organizations in retail and higher education miss more early payment discounts than those in other industries, primarily because of the typically widespread nature of their business structure, and the resulting lengthy process flows. Late payments are a significant challenge for real estate organizations, which can be attributed to these companies’ lengthy sales cycles, and the healthcare industry experiences higher payment costs than most others. This is likely due to the complex process flows, regulatory requirements, and approval hierarchies that lengthen and complicate healthcare’s payment cycles.

Whether payment challenges are the result of high check volume, company size, or industry, these problems can be greatly reduced through the adoption of ePayments solutions. For example, when organizations were asked about the benefits they received from using commercial cards, respondents reported improvements in convenience, costs, and rebate capture, see Figure 3. ePayments solutions also speed up payment times and help organizations control payment security and compliance. Additionally, these tools assist organizations with capturing early payment discounts, bringing in savings through those discounts as well as through card-based rebates. To give organizations a clearer picture of the range of available ePayments solutions, the following section outlines the usage and benefits of today’s leading ePayments tools.

The Answers to Payment Problems

There are two main forms of ePayments—ePayables (advanced ACH) and commercial card programs. Some providers offer these as standalone items, while others offer both or a unique mix of services and features.

ePayables

An ePayables solution helps organizations automate the invoice-to-payment process through an electronic platform. ePayables completes payments through ACH rails, but it offers rich remittance detail and other functionality that traditional ACH does not. This software streamlines many tedious aspects of payment management. An ePayables provider often offers a variety of payment methods, either in-house or through a partner. These methods include traditional purchasing card support and ACH payments, and in some cases, check-writing services for customers who still require a check payment option.

Some companies also offer wire payments support, as well as global payment management services that enable organizations to streamline the complex tasks of international supplier payments. Sometimes these services include verifying suppliers’ legal status and payment compliance by searching Do Not Pay lists. Given today’s increased business globalization, this is very important—especially for large organizations. According to survey results shown in Figure 4, ten percent of organizations make between 20 and 50 percent of their payments to foreign suppliers; organizations earning over 2 billion in revenue pay the largest percent of their payments to foreign suppliers.

Much of the value of an ePayables tool lies in its integration with existing AP functions, either through the company’s ERP or its AP automation software. This enables organizations to truly automate the entire invoice-to-payment lifecycle, and in cases where a procurement tool is also involved, can automate the Purchase-to-Pay lifecycle as well.

With an ePayables platform, payments can be automatically approved based on invoice amount or type, or they can be sent through a configurable payments approval workflow. Once an invoice is approved, the invoice details are posted to the organization’s financial system, and approvers can pay individual invoices or create payment batches. Many solutions also handle much of the remittance and reconciliation process, and some solutions post remittance data within clients’ bank accounts for better transparency. Some solutions also include discounting functionality that allows organizations to manage payments and cash flow according to available early payment discounts.

Commercial Card Programs

“Commercial cards” is the umbrella term for payment cards used in B2B payments (as opposed to consumer cards). Commercial cards referenced in the survey include:

• Traditional Purchasing Cards – Organizations provide purchasing cards (p-cards) to individual employees for the purchase of business goods and services. P-cards are ideal for purchases in which the traditional invoice approval prior to payment does not add value (e.g., low-dollar purchases). Some p-card programs are known as “One Card” programs when they also allow for T&E expenses, eliminating the need for an employee to carry two cards.

• Corporate Cards – Employees use these cards for business travel and expense (T&E) purchasing.

• Fleet/Vehicle Cards – Organizations implement this type of card to pay for fuel and vehicle maintenance. The cards allow for reporting and tracking by vehicle, providing controls specific to this expense category.

• Ghost Cards/Accounts – Traditional ghost cards function like p-cards, with reusable account numbers and spend limits that refresh each month. One common scenario is providing a ghost account number to a supplier, who retains the number and processes charges to it as employees make purchases.

• Single-Use Cards – This is a common type of Virtual Account (VA)—also called Virtual Card Accounts, Virtual Account Numbers, or ePayables. After an organization approves a supplier’s invoice(s), AP initiates the payment process. The supplier receives a one-time-use virtual account number to process the charge. The spend limit is equal to the approved invoice(s) and does not refresh.

• Other Virtual Card Programs – Like single-use cards, other Virtual Accounts programs center around an organization’s approval of supplier invoices. One VA option is a straight-through payment where a supplier receives a direct payment through the card network or issuer, rather than having to process a charge transaction. Overall, organizations tend to target Virtual Accounts for higher dollar purchases and/or complex purchases warranting invoice review prior to payment. VA cards are one of the fastest-growing tools offered today, and are offered by leading ePayments providers.

• Declining Balance Cards – These cards have a set limit and expiration date that does not refresh. Organizations may use such cards for special projects with a set budget, such as meetings or events, for relocation expenses, for infrequent travelers who do not warrant a corporate travel card, and more.

The Perfect Payment Mix

While organizations can leverage ePayables tools to streamline P2P and commercial cards to capture more rebates and handle diverse spend scenarios, leading ePayments providers offer customers a mix of payment management services and tools. Leading providers offer most of these attributes and features:

• Virtual card support
• Mobile payments support/applications
• Audit trail functionality
• Payments approval functionality
• Commercial card support
• Global ePayments support
• Vendor portal
• Discount capture and working capital tools

The Revenue Benefits

With ePayments solutions, the most obvious savings come from reducing processing costs from manual and paper payments. Savings can also be realized by removing steps from the P2P process. For example, Accounts Payable can make one monthly payment to the card issuer instead of hundreds of payments— most of which are small-dollar—to many different suppliers. In addition, organizations can configure their system to send non-PO invoices directly to payment, such as those connected to utility bills.

Another advantage of commercial cards is how organizations can use them to optimize cash flow. AP can leverage the commercial cards to increase Days Payable Outstanding (DPO)—rather than adhering to suppliers’ typical 30-day invoice payment terms, paying via card can extend the float beyond 30 days.

Gaining ROI With Commercial Cards

Despite the benefits of ePayments and the prevailing problems for heavy check and ACH users, many organizations are still using—and even increasing— manual-based payments. This continued use results from a variety of factors, including wariness of electronic payments technology, satisfaction with current process, and a lack of knowledge of available ePayments tools. Many organizations know that checks are not the most efficient method for supplier payments, but feel that the resulting issues do not outweigh the hassle and perceived risk of switching to another method.

One of the most important ways to protect a technology investment is to ensure that the tools are properly used—otherwise, organizations receive much lower ROI. Commercial cards are appealing investments for the value they bring in reduced processing costs and monetary rebates. However, many organizations doubt they will be able to gain these savings; they are concerned about properly controlling usage, whether their suppliers will accept them, and whether they will use them enough that the rebates will offset the cost.

While these considerations have merit, commercial card programs can be implemented and leveraged in such a way that these issues are avoided. This section outlines the benefits of commercial card controls, and provides some actions organizations can take that will ensure a successful outcome.

• Optimize controls and policies. Supplier payments made through ePayables solutions are integrated into the P2P process and are initiated by AP, granting more control and accuracy. On the other hand, cards are issued directly to employees, allowing them to purchase items directly from suppliers. While this eliminates the need to process everything through Procurement to obtain a purchase order (PO), it does require more oversight to prevent maverick spend. Organizations should set up proper controls when implementing a commercial card program. For example, they can allow employees to bypass approval for certain low-dollar items, while requiring multi-level approvals on certain spend types. An organization should structure controls and policies according to the complexity of its corporate infrastructure. It should also properly train its employees on procedures for using cards and categorizing spend in order to avoid confusion or non-compliance. By implementing a card program using the correct guidelines, organizations can perform preemptive damage control and greatly increase the potential efficiency, savings, and employee satisfaction of commercial cards.

• Take advantage of rebates and incentives. Levvel Research’s research has found that the majority of companies surveyed use at least one commercial card tool, see Figure 5. However, most companies use these cards on less than 25 percent of their payments, and checks and ACH payments are still the prominent method.

Many commercial card providers offer certain monetary rebates and incentives based on their clients spend. However, in some situations, such as when an organization’s card program’s spend is deemed too low by the issuer and they cannot meet the minimums of the contracted rebate terms, the organizations may not be offered monetary incentives at all. This means that organizations should make sure they are optimizing their card program and using it on as many applicable purchases as possible. Rebates can be large—up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Using the correct policies, cards can be safely and beneficially used for a variety of spend types and high-dollar purchases, and organizations can achieve these large rebates.

One of the most effective ways to increase rebate capture is to adjust transaction limits. Levvel Research’s research has found that purchase value is the top factor that impacts a company’s transaction limits, see Figure 6. Therefore, changing policies and encouraging higher-value purchases on cards can have great impact on usage.

• Prepare suppliers. Supplier preferences can have a significant impact on an organization’s payment methods, and can be one of the greatest barriers to card adoption or card program expansion. Research shows that checks and ACH payments are the most popular supplier-requested payment methods, see Figure 7. Most organizations rarely receive requests for commercial cards from their suppliers, with the exception of those in the finance/banking/ insurance industry—a segment that is consistently more willing to adopt finance technology.

If a buying company fears a lack of supplier acceptance of a new technology, they are much less likely to move from current processes. For example, research shows that supplier resistance is one of the top reasons organizations do not adopt a card program, see Figure 8.

Fortunately, organizations can use strategies to ensure that suppliers will be more open to accepting payments from commercial cards. One method is emphasizing the benefits of faster payment times and more secure and accurate payments. Another is engaging in a multi-stage phase-out program that gives suppliers the ability to gradually become accustomed to card payments. For buying organizations, another way to ensure that future payments are acceptable with commercial cards is to specify the electronic payment method within supplier contracts.

Conclusion

For many companies, changing their payments management processes can be a daunting task, particularly when they have used and been satisfied with the same methods for decades. However, Levvel Research believes that today’s electronic payments options are too advantageous in terms of efficiency and savings to forego. Organizations should explore all available ePayments opportunities for the success of their back-office operations, their bottom line, and their long-run competitive advantage.

In order to help organizations explore ePayments, the following profiles highlight the features and services of some of today’s leading payment software providers.

Ariett

Ariett provides a unified cloud platform for purchasing, AP invoice automation, electronic payment processing, contract tracking, and expense reporting. The company primarily serves mid-market and mid-enterprise customers with 200- 20,000 employees. Ariett’s centralized P2P solution allows managers, users, and vendors to collaborate on spending decisions, and streamlines accounts payable and procurement with unified workflow, user management, and global visibility into spend. Ariett’s secure payment processing, including ACH, Virtual Card payments, and checks, completes the Ariett procurement lifecycle by offering companies one solution for employees to use and manage all indirect spending.

Solution Overview

Ariett’s Purchase-to-Pay solution is built on the Microsoft Azure Cloud platform, which gives it the benefits of Microsoft’s cloud security and the Microsoft Global Foundation Services (GFS)—a program that offers worldwide data centers for storing and backing up data, as well as extensive annual audits. For user management security, Ariett’s solution supports Azure Active Directory, allowing users to have one password and login for both Ariett and other Azure applications. Ariett’s P2P solutions also integrate with a number of ERP and accounting systems. Ariett offers full solution functionality across all phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop devices, allowing users to submit and approve requisitions, invoices, and payments securely from anywhere.

Ariett’s Purchase-to-Pay solution fully integrates purchasing and AP processes, giving finance team members simultaneous visibility into requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, and associated payments when approving payment batches. Ariett’s solution also shows the details for each individual payment transaction in the clients’ bank account, allowing the customer to review vendor payments from within the bank statement for quick reconciliation with payment transactions.

Once an AP invoice has been approved and posted in Ariett, it becomes available for the payment selection process. From their mobile device or desktop, users can use a variety of parameters to create a payment batch, searching by vendor, due date with available payment discounts, payment method, or bank account. Individual payments can be adjusted for partial payment or to pay in full. Approval workflow allows designated approvers the ability to further review and edit the batches prior to posting for payment. Ariett also captures an audit trail of each approval step and all dollar amount changes to the payment batch.

Ariett offers Virtual Card payment processing when accepted by its customers’ vendors. Rebates are available to customers for payment made by Virtual Card. Ariett will automatically enroll customers’ vendors into the Virtual Card payment program and work with vendors to increase participation in the program. Once payments have been approved and finalized, vendors receive notifications with the details of the remittance. To provide further security, the Virtual Card number expires after 30 days.

When an invoice is approved, the invoice is posted to the accounts payable system. After a payment has gone through the approval process and is marked as paid, the payment is associated with the invoice and moved to history.

To screen for fraudulent checks, Ariett offers bank Positive Pay. Customer demand deposit accounts are verified by test transactions. Ariett can enhance security by offering a two-step verification process called two-factor authentication with Microsoft Azure AD, which is used to confirm the identity of the payment approver.

Ariett’s solution includes integrated search, query and over 200 standard reports that are configurable and can be output to a file, MS Excel, or PDF formats. Ariett’s out-of-the-box reports are designed to help customers analyze business spend, contract performance, and vendor performance. Ariett helps customers to forecast expenses and prepare for month-end closing with accrual, exception, and credit card reports. All Ariett reports can also be exported to Excel for further analysis.

Implementation and Pricing

A typical Ariett implementation takes 1-3 months. Each new customer is assigned a dedicated application trainer and business process specialist, who functions as the Project Manager. Customers are also assigned a Technical Specialist to assist with several implementations processes, such as integrations, vendor onboarding, and security configuration. Ariett customers receive both administrative and power-user application training, as well as access to end- user videos and training guides. Ariett also provides a customer community and help site for support, inquiry, add-on service requests, and access to additional product information, videos, and webinars.

Ariett offers both mid-market and enterprise SaaS agreements for an annual or multi-year contract. The transaction pricing model provides companies with the ability to pilot the application quickly and scale the application for larger corporate roll-outs. Unlimited support, bundled reporting, product updates, and a dedicated account manager are included in the transaction pricing in an Ariett Annual SaaS Contract.

AvidXchange

AvidXchange, Inc. provides solutions and services for automating accounts payable and payment functions for mid-market companies. AvidXchange’s solutions include electronic invoice capture, approval workflow, and automated electronic payments. Over the last ten years, the company has made several acquisitions that have strengthened the value of its services and products. As a result of these acquisitions, AvidXchange also offers utility bill processing and analytics for corporations and state and local government agencies, check printing solutions for real estate and construction industries, and accounts payable software for companies that manage invoices and payments for homeowner associations.

Solution Overview

AvidXchange delivers its solutions through a SaaS model, and has more than 100 out-of-the-box accounting system integrations, either through API or a file- based import/export. The solutions are SSAE 16-compliant. They are also mobile friendly, allowing users to view invoice and payment status, as well as approve invoices and payments on the go.

AvidXchange offers a full-service payment offering that converts, on average, 45 percent of payments to electronic payments. This full-service offering includes commercial card and ACH payments, and the ability to approve and pay invoices with a click of the button. The service eliminates many manual processes AvidXchange delivers its solutions through a SaaS model, and has more than 100 out-of-the-box accounting system integrations, either through API or a file- based import/export. The solutions are SSAE 16-compliant. They are also mobile friendly, allowing users to view invoice and payment status, as well as approve invoices and payments on the go.

AvidXchange offers a full-service payment offering that converts, on average, 45 percent of payments to electronic payments. This full-service offering includes commercial card and ACH payments, and the ability to approve and pay invoices with a click of the button. The service eliminates many manual processes associated with payments, such as supplier payment data maintenance. The solution is bank-agnostic, which allows customers to maintain all of their current banking relationships.

AvidXchange partners with ComData and MasterCard to offer p-card and virtual card functionality for several purchasing types, including point-of-sale, MRO, and travel and expense. The p-card solution integrates with the client’s ERP, as well as AvidXchange’s invoice automation solution.

Commercial card purchases are approved with the solution’s payments approval tool, PayControl, which sends payments through a dynamic approval workflow built from customers’ existing approval hierarchies. Organizations can also use built-in controls to monitor and control users’ card spend and trigger the appropriate workflows. These include transaction limits, merchant category codes (MCC), and additional options for mileage and personal transactions. Commercial card features also provide automated routing and alert notifications to managers and employees, dispute workflow, and management approval and compliance monitoring.

AvidXchange offers ACH payment functionality through AvidPay Direct, which provides direct deposit (ACH) supplier payments with enhanced remittance data for easy reconciliation. Payments made through the AvidPay Network deliver enhanced email remittance to suppliers for each credit made to their bank account.

The AvidXchange supplier portal enables suppliers to see the status of invoices and payment, and gives them access to financing options that enable them to get paid more quickly on invoices requiring approval. AvidXchange also offers a team of more than 200 people dedicated to serving over 300,000 suppliers in the network. The payment service team performs many supplier management activities, including maintaining accurate supplier payment information, identifying acceptable supplier payment types, and performing due diligence on any outstanding payments.

Implementation and Pricing

AvidXchange implementations are usually complete in 45 days or less, and feature data collection, configuration, integration, and training stages. AvidXchange offers on-site and webinar training, and uses a train-the-trainer approach. The company also provides a user manual that organizations can customize with their logo and nomenclature, as well as a training script and access to end-user training videos to assist in the process. For ongoing support, customers are assigned a dedicated account manager after implementation. Customers can also access a support team, which offers a 15-minute response rate guarantee during business hours.

AvidXchange’s pricing structure is transactional, so customers only pay for what they use. The transactional price varies based on the level of service and solutions that the client selects.

globalVcard

Since 1989, CSI Enterprises has delivered corporate payment solutions to mid-sized and large global companies. Launched in 2011 under the brand globalVCard (GVC), CSI’s ePayments solutions support a variety of automation tools for payment management processes. The platform also offers flexible workflow capabilities, a consolidated view of all payments, detailed reporting, real-time payment management, and reconciliation files to eliminate manual touchpoints.

Solution Overview

CSI globalVCard offers three main solutions—globalVCard paysystems, globalVCard Travel, and globalVCard Spend Secure. globalVCard paysystems securely integrates with any ERP system through a number of methods, including FTP services, API/web services, and direct integrations with a multitude of industry standard ERPs from QuickBooks to Oracle. From a security perspective, CSI globalVCard is PCI-DSS compliant, SOC certified, and a registered MasterCard Service Provider (MSB). It also meets the regulatory requirements defined by globalVCard’s issuing banks to ensure the most secure environments for customers and financial partners.

The CSI globalVCard solution offers a full array of corporate payment capabilities as well as support for commercial cards, including fleet, T&E, purchasing, ghost, and virtual cards. globalVCard paysystems automates all B2B payments, whether made through virtual card, GVC’s proprietary supplier network, ACH, check, or foreign exchange (FX). The globalVCard Travel solution offers virtual card payments for corporate travel that help reduce fraud, improve compliance with corporate travel policies, and simplify the reconciliation process for corporate travel managers. The globalVCard Spend Secure mobile app enables customers to securely create and send virtual cards on a mobile device, as well as manage and control physical cards.

CSI globalVCard provides administrators with several features to help control commercial card and payment activity. These include user access controls, payments approval workflows, batch management, and real-time card management and card settlement visibility. Users have access to transaction and payment reporting, account activity audit logs, and account balance reporting, and the solution supports bank-based security protocols (e.g., Positive Pay file creation). The solution also offers the ability to control cards through mobile alerts, time of day and day of week controls, expiration date controls on virtual cards, MCC controls, and exception reporting.

The globalVCard paysystems approval workflow solution allows account administrators to establish varying authority levels and approval requirements based on existing processes. Additional workflow rules are available for payment and/or batch dollar value thresholds. GVC also validates all payments files to avoid duplicate payments, and offers customer service and support to help clients minimize fraudulent activity in ACH, check, and virtual card payments. Some additional activities and controls include due diligence and ongoing monitoring, micro-deposit DDA verification, and notification of potential payment duplication.

GVC provides reconciliation files and reporting for all payment types. Reconciliation files can be provided in GVC formats, or GVC will provide files mapped to a customer’s specifications. GVC also delivers remittances for all payment types; these remittances provide invoice-level detail and can be delivered by email, FTP, API, or through the GVC supplier network.

globalVCard paysystems provides a portal for vendors to access payments, see payment status, and manage payment data. Depending on payment type, globalVCard also provides OFAC and KYC checks to ensure clients’ are making cross-border payments to legal suppliers. globalVCard also offers a proactive supplier enablement program—customers only need to supply a vendor list, and the GVC supplier enablement team will manage enrollment and ongoing vendor support. GVC’s supplier network includes over 50,000 vendors, and is continually growing.

Implementation and Pricing

A typical GVC implementation requires only a few short 30-45 minute conference calls—a kickoff call, an implementation call, and a few training calls. Tailored to customer size and needs, GVC provides a variety of flexible training models, including on-site training and support, webinars and online training, guides and videos, online chat tools, and support from a dedicated AP-certified relationship manager. Every customer also receives a dedicated account management team, so they always have someone to contact for help or questions.

Inworks

Founded in 1979, Inworks has offered electronic payment solutions since 1995, and currently processes millions of payments each year. The Inworks solution eliminates most of the work in payment management by taking over the process as soon as users submit payment files. Inworks’ offerings are supplier-centric, providing seven different electronic payment methods in a single payment file— with no cost to suppliers. Its supplier onboarding campaigns are continuous (i.e., quarter after quarter for the life of the engagement), ensuring a high supplier enrollment rate. Inworks currently has over 60,000 suppliers in its payment network.

Solution Overview

Inworks’ solution is SaaS-based, and its security features are PCI- and HIPAA- compliant. Inworks currently makes payments in the United States and Canada.

The Inworks solution is available in a mobile application for both buyers and suppliers. Suppliers can update payment methods and preferences and see the status of payments, while buyers can check statuses on invoices, payments, and discounts. Inworks offers functionality for purchasing, ghost, fleet, and corporate/T&E cards.

Inworks also supports and manages several types of virtual account cards, including single-use (pull) cards, and BIP (push) cards through both the MasterCard and Visa networks. The Inworks system acts as cardholder and manager of its clients’ p-card programs, working to maximize electronic payments and AP-generated revenue while minimizing oversight requirements for clients and credit risk. The Inworks p-card management suite includes card account management, dashboard reporting, and account issuing and termination for the cardholder. The p-card program manager typically has access to all cardholder capabilities, as well as the ability to track all transactions. Inworks controls transactions with overall credit limits and approved user and supplier settings. Inworks also offers verification of a DDA before transmission of p-card transactions.

Inworks’ Strategic AP program offers a straightforward approach to paying supplier invoices. Clients submit approved invoices to Inworks in a file that is generated on a recurring basis. Inworks pays supplier invoices via the supplier’s specified form of electronic payment and according to any applicable early payments discounts. Inworks also provides automatic payment functionality on specified invoices.

Inworks’ Intelligent Pay platform accepts native payment files from most AP systems. Transactions are posted to AP, AR, and GL systems via a daily reconciliation file. Inworks DirectPay pushes card payments directly to suppliers’ bank accounts, and includes the ability to provide Level 3 data with every payment. The Inworks’ Intelligent Pay platform also supports dynamic discounting on a continuous basis or an invoice-by-invoice basis. Inworks offers a no-cost analysis of clients’ payment terms and contract obligations, and provides a strategic plan to optimize DPO. Clients can use cards in combination with supply chain financing and dynamic discounting, both of which are managed within the payment platform.

Clients can reimburse Inworks via ACH for the full invoice amounts either at term or an agreed-upon future date—typically 30 to 45 days from the original invoice date. Remittance formats include CTX, ANSI standard 820, CSV, and a number of other supplier-specified formats. Inworks provides clients with reconciliation data via a daily file that details all settled payments. Each month, Inworks sends clients a rebate payment that represents their share of all revenue generated by interchange fees and early payment discounts.

Inworks’ supplier portal allows suppliers to update payment methods and preferences and see payment status. The solution also checks suppliers against Do Not Pay lists, such as OFAC, to ensure that all supplier payments are compliant with regulatory requirements. Inworks currently has over 60,000 suppliers in its payment networks.

Inworks Access provides a dashboard for tracking the payment status of all invoices, including all descriptive information, payment types, and current statuses of the payments. Full search and filter capabilities allow for the generation of detailed reports and liability information for forecasting. Inworks also provides a spend analysis and supplier-segmentation analysis at no additional cost.

Implementation and Pricing

During implementation, Inworks provides extensive communication and collaboration strategies to ensure that the solution is fully customized for its clients. Inworks assigns a dedicated relationship/account manager to each user organization, and ongoing training is available for the life of the engagement.

The use and implementation of the Inworks electronic payment program is provided at no cost to clients. The program generates revenue for clients, and Inworks provides them with a percentage of all transaction fees generated by the solution’s electronic payments.

About Levvel Research

Levvel Research, formerly PayStream Advisors, is a research and advisory firm that operates within the IT consulting company, Levvel. Levvel Research is focused on many areas of innovative technology, including business process automation, DevOps, emerging payment technologies, full-stack software development, mobile application development, cloud infrastructure, and content publishing automation. Levvel Research’s team of experts provide targeted research content to address the changing technology and business process needs of competitive organizations across a range of verticals. In short, Levvel Research is dedicated to maximizing returns and minimizing risks associated with technology investment. Levvel Research’s reports, white papers, webinars, and tools are available free of charge at www.levvel.io

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