How to Choose the Best Accounts Receivable Software for Your Business (+6 Solutions)

As a business owner, you’re ideally looking forward to modernizing accounts receivable to boost cash flow and sustain your business’s growth. One effective solution for this is accounts receivable automation software. However, with many options available online, you might be wondering what to look for in these software solutions.

In this article, we’ll discuss the 7 main features you should consider when searching for an accounts receivable management tool. We’ll also review the six best AR automation solutions this year, allowing you to make an informed decision when choosing the best AR automation software for your company.

Read on to know more.

7 Main Features and Considerations to Look For in Accounts Receivable Software

Here are some key features and considerations to help you get started:

#1. Invoicing Capabilities

One essential feature is the ability to create professional invoices. This includes creating invoices using customizable templates, allowing you to insert your company’s branding, logo, etc. Getting a software solution that has invoice tracking is also handy for efficient cash collection.

#2. Automation Features

Another important aspect you must consider when finding accounts receivable automation software is its automation capabilities. This lets you eliminate repetitive tasks like manual data entry and lets your finance team focus on more strategic initiatives. Processing invoices on automated workflows that involve automatic payment reminders allows you to get paid faster, enhancing cash flow.

It’s also essential to choose an AR automation software with customizable workflows to tailor to your business’s accounts receivable processes, such as invoice approvals and cash applications.

#3. Budget and Scalability

If you’re a small business, acquiring an accounts receivable management tool that’s within your budget and could scale with your business’s growth is ideal. This means considering AR automation solutions with flexible pricing plans that can accommodate increasing transactions, workflows, team members, etc.

#4. Third-Party Integration Support

Ensure to get an accounts receivable automation software with diverse third-party integrations. This includes accounting software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and payment processing tools.

#5. Payment Processing Options

It’s important to look for an accounts receivable software that supports multiple payment options and integrates with various payment gateways or point of sale (POS) systems. Having these, along with real-time customer payment tracking, improves overall customer experience.

#6. Reporting and Analytics Tools

Ensure you choose an accounts receivable automation tool with customizable dashboards and built-in reports. This way, you can gain insights on demand, track cash flows, and monitor the performance of your AR process. It’s also ideal to get a software solution to track key metrics like days sales outstanding (DSO) and create AR aging reports to track outstanding invoices.

#7. Data Security

Finally, finding an accounts receivable management solution with robust security features for protecting sensitive company and financial information is essential. Check if the tool uses advanced encryption to secure your data and adhere to key compliance regulations and policies.

6 Best Solutions for Your Accounts Receivable Process

Here are some of the best accounts receivable software you can consider as a business owner. We’ll highlight important details of each software, including key features and pricing, giving you all you need to know when choosing the right accounts receivable tool for your business:

#1. Envoice

Best For: Small businesses and finance teams

Envoice is a robust expense management and pre-accounting software for small businesses. It contains accounts receivable (AR) features like invoicing and approvals. It also mainly uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate manual work and reduce errors brought by data entry.

Key Accounts Receivable Features

• AR Automation Features – Envoice allows you to automate the invoicing process based on the products you offer and the clients you sell to through smart rules. This way, you can bill clients more efficiently, encouraging on-time customer payments and a healthy cash flow.
• Communication Tools – Envoice’s centralized communication lets your sales team collaborate and be updated on various AR tasks, like invoicing, approvals, and payment reminders. This promotes transparency and keeps everyone on the same page.
• Integration Support – Envoice seamlessly integrates with major accounting software like QuickBooks, Sage Accounting, and Xero, allowing you to sync sales invoices and other accounting data faster and with no errors.

Pricing

Envoice offers the following pricing plans:

• Essential – The Essential plan is excellent for small companies that want bookkeeping automation features. It starts at $7 per company/month.
• Business – The Business plan is recommended for growing businesses and finance teams. It costs $14 per company/month.

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#2. QuickBooks Online

Best For: Small and medium-sized businesses with invoicing needs

QuickBooks Online is a popular, all-in-one accounting software with powerful features for automating your accounts receivable process. It offers professional invoicing tools, including customizable templates to add your logo and branding. QBO also allows you to create recurring invoices and automated reminders to make the receivable process more efficient and avoid late payments.

Key Accounts Receivable Features

• Invoicing Tools – QuickBooks Online provides robust invoicing features, allowing you to create professional invoices that contain your company’s branding and specialized messages. You can receive payments directly from your invoice by adding a payment button and processing them through QuickBooks Payments or a payment processor add-on.
• Built-in Reports – QBO offers a variety of built-in reports and data visualization tools that you can directly access on your dashboard. It includes AR aging reports, profit-and-loss statements, and balance sheets. This lets you see trends, calculate days sales outstanding (DSO), and make informed decisions on improving your receivables management.

Pricing

QuickBooks Online has the following pricing tiers:

• Simple Start – The Simple Start plan costs $35 per month.
• Essentials – The Essentials plan starts at $65 per month.
• Plus – The Plus plan costs $99 per month.
• Advanced – The Advanced plan begins at $235 per month.

Note: QuickBooks Online only provides workflow automation features on its Advanced plan, which costs $235 monthly. For an affordable add-on for your business’s bookkeeping and AR automation needs, consider Envoice. Our platform offers customizable and dedicated sales team workflows, making invoice creation and sending a breeze for your team. Contact us to learn more!

#3. CollBox

Best For: Collections management for professional services firms

CollBox is an accounts receivable management service for growing businesses and firms. It specializes in collecting payments from overdue invoices. This boosts your cash flow and eliminates bad debt on your accounts through effective follow-ups on past-due invoices.

Key Accounts Receivable Features

• Robust Cash Collection – CollBox helps you eliminate time spent on manual collections through automated outreach on past-due customer invoices. Once connected to your accounting system, it automatically detects overdue payments and begins a set of friendly payment reminders to each client, enabling you to get paid faster.
• AR Specialists – If automated reminders aren’t effective, their AR specialists will handle your unpaid invoices and continue the outreach with human phone calls. This makes the collections process more effective; CollBox will turn over disputes to your collections team for transparency.

Pricing

CollBox varies its pricing models depending on the number of clients you bill monthly:

• $599 per month for 1-100 monthly clients;
• $1,099 per month for 101-200 monthly clients and;
• $1,399 per month for 201-300 monthly clients.

They also offer custom pricing if you bill over 300 clients per month. You can contact CollBox’s sales team to learn more.

#4. FreshBooks

Best For: Startups, freelancers, and small businesses

FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting solution that specializes in AR management and payment processing. It enables you to get paid faster through effective invoicing tools and automated payment reminders. FreshBooks also offers time-tracking tools and allows you to set up client retainers, making it an excellent tool for startups and freelancers.

Key Accounts Receivable Features

• Invoicing Capabilities – FreshBooks lets you create customized invoices containing your brand’s logo and add line items such as sales tax, labor, and expenses. You can set up automated reminders and request a deposit on each invoice to ensure payments on projects.
• Online Payments – FreshBooks allows your clients to choose their preferred payment terms online, including ACH or credit card via Stripe, allowing you to get paid faster. You can post checkout links on your webpage to make the payment process seamless for your customers.

Pricing

FreshBooks has the following pricing plans:

• Lite – The Lite plan starts at $19 per month.
• Plus – The Plus plan costs $33 per month.
• Premium – The Premium plan begins at $60 per month.
• Select – The Select plan is for large businesses with custom accounting needs. To learn more about this plan, contact FreshBooks’ sales team.

Note: FreshBooks charges an extra $11 monthly for additional users, making it costly for you when adding your whole team. If you want an alternative with robust expense tracking and team collaboration features, try Envoice. Our platform allows you to add your entire team at no additional cost, allowing you to collaborate with your team through centralized communication and real-time updates. Contact us now to enhance your team’s collaboration!

#5. Chaser

Best For: Accounts receivable automation and credit management

Chaser is an AR automation software that specializes in optimizing your collections process and credit monitoring. It improves your receivables process by conducting credit checks on customers, managing outstanding invoices, and recovering late customer payments. It also seamlessly integrates with notable accounting platforms like QuickBooks and Xero.

Key Accounts Receivable Features

• Effective Cash Collection – Chaser makes time-consuming tasks, such as chasing late payments, easier for many businesses through effective methods like payment reminders on different channels, letters, and AI-driven follow-ups. Customers can process payments through self-service portals and flexible payment options.
• Credit Monitoring – Chaser helps reduce credit risks for your business through real-time credit reports and insights, letting you check which customers have poor payment histories. You can establish payer ratings on each customer and conduct different follow-ups tailored to their payment behavior, allowing you to get paid on time.

Pricing

Chaser provides the following pricing tiers:

• Basic – The Basic plan starts at $50 per month.
• Standard – The Standard plan begins at $190 per month.
• Enterprise – The Enterprise plan costs $500 per month.

Chaser also offers custom plans for large enterprises needing automated receivables workflows. Contact their sales team to know more.

#6. Versapay

Best For: AR automation and cash application

Versapay is an AR automation software that encourages a collaborative approach toward your customers, eliminating manual processes and allowing you to receive payments efficiently. It also provides efficient cash application tools for automatic payment posting on ERP systems.

Key Accounts Receivable Features

• AR Automation – Versapay makes the payment process transparent and less time-consuming for your customers through self-serve payment portals. You can also manage disputes on the portal through built-in commenting.
• Cash Application – Versapay uses AI and machine learning to accelerate the reconciliation of payments made outside of the platform. This makes cash application easier and helps reduce per-payment processing costs.

Pricing

Contact Versapay’s sales team to get a custom quote.

Final Thoughts

Improving your business’s account receivable system boosts a company’s cash flow, allowing businesses to manage working capital needs and establish financial stability. To choose the right AR automation tool for your business, you must find key features like effective invoicing, automation, and payment processing capabilities.

If you’re searching for an effective pre-accounting and accounts receivable add-on to pair with your current accounting system, consider Envoice. Our platform provides automation tools that help simplify the whole invoicing and approval process, enabling you to receive payments faster.

Ready to streamline your operations and enhance productivity? Try our automation features today and transform how you manage accounts receivable for your business. Contact us to get started!