Ramp Debuts AR Tool to Keep Finance Teams From Chasing Payments

Fintech company Ramp has unveiled a new tool aimed at streamlining invoicing and payment collection processes for its corporate clients. The tool, named Ramp Accounts Receivable, was introduced on Tuesday, September 22. This solution allows Ramp's clients to effectively manage both their costs and revenue.

Geoff Charles, Ramp's chief product officer, stated in a press release that finance teams often spend excessive time chasing payments for outstanding invoices. Ramp's AI system converts contracts into easily manageable invoices, prepares well-informed follow-ups, and matches payments back to the company's records.

The release highlights that for most businesses, accounts receivable details are scattered across various sources like contracts, purchase records, spreadsheets, email threads, and bank teams, resulting in a significant amount of manual work for finance teams. This manual process also leaves room for delays and errors.

Ramp's Accounts Receivable product aims to automate the complete invoice-to-cash workflow, enabling businesses to receive payments faster. Finance teams can now generate invoices without manual input, swiftly draft follow-ups, and effortlessly match payments to invoices.

This development is particularly crucial considering that 56% of small businesses find paying operating expenses challenging, as per Federal Reserve data. Additionally, 51% of these businesses struggle with inconsistent cash flow, implying that a single late payment can further complicate their ability to pay bills or cover payroll.

Research conducted by PYMNTS Intelligence reveals that one-third of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) still rely on manual accounts receivable (AR) processes, despite having fast payment rails. Furthermore, 32% of businesses cite payment speed as a significant pain point, even when legacy systems like paper checks offer perceived cost savings.

PYMNTS Intelligence notes that the situation is evolving, with 35% of SMBs explicitly stating their willingness to pay fees for instant payments, as the stability of their cash flow outweighs the transaction cost. Industries that embrace digital technologies are leading this trend, receiving payments instantly in 41% of cases, compared to just 30% in less tech-savvy sectors.

Ramp's announcement of the new tool follows its recent expansion to include corporate cards, expense management, bill pay, and accounting automation services for businesses in the United Kingdom. Jacob Wallenberg, vice president for international expansion at Ramp, stated in the announcement, "The UK is home to some of the fastest-growing companies in Europe, and we built our product to match that." He added, "We have a team based right here in London and we can't wait to get to work."