Is Technology the Solution for the Small Business Late Payment Problem?

The subject of cash flow has sort of an adjustable lever that variably aligns with the size and segments of business, but can also include other factors such as geographic market, general economic growth trends and so forth.  So, for example, a Fortune 500 like ExxonMobil might think in terms of retained earnings available to buy back stock, while a mid-market firm like Pacesetter Steel Service might think in terms of free cash flow to offset the cost of capital if expanding the firm or investing in technology for operations. When you slide down to the small business segment, the very smallest will often be thinking of cash flow in terms of keeping the lights on. This piece, posted in ITProPortal, discusses SMB issues with managing late payments (particularly in the UK but generally applicable), and why business owners should be using available tech to help solve the problem. We tend to agree that supply is out in front of demand (we certainly see that in the U.S.) for cloud-based procure-to-pay solutions, either point (e-invoices, payables, etc) or comprehensive, but also see a clear trend for accelerated adoption in the coming several years.