The B2B payments market is valued at $120 trillion, yet rarely does one hear about tech flowing into that sector beyond standardized automation – and even that is reserved for big corporations. In the US alone, 82% of small businesses fail due to cash-flow issues. A whopping 60% of these businesses were profitable but couldn’t withstand the negative cash-flow gap mostly caused by late payments.
EU governments are tackling this challenge head-on by implementing legislation to standardize and automate aspects of accounting, such as billing. But accounting professionals in countries like the US are not as lucky.
One Israel-based start-up is upping the ante on innovation in B2B payments, going far beyond standard automation and into solving the cash-flow gap. And it just secured the support of one of the largest professional accounting associations in the world.
The California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) took an unprecedented move to partner with the Israeli autonomous B2B billing and collections platform Anchor. Through the partnership, Anchor will bring its seamless end-to-end billing and accounts receivables solution to the largest statewide professional association of CPAs in the US.
“Anchor is emphasizing how technology and automation can help accounting match other complex industries in innovation.”
Denise LeDuc Froemming
“Anchor is emphasizing how technology and automation can help accounting match other complex industries in innovation,” said Denise LeDuc Froemming, CPA, CAE and president and CEO of CalCPA.
The fintech start-up provides CalCPA members a special membership price to access its consolidated billing and collections automation solution, which eliminates late payments, revenue leakage and manual work.
What is CalCPA doing with Israeli firm Anchor?
CalCPA members can now leverage Anchor’s platform to completely automate each laborious step in the billing and collections process. This will eliminate their firm’s late payments and revenue leakage, which impact 2%-5% of business’s top lines on average. In addition, Anchor’s consolidated platform will help members cut costs during the market downturn, by consolidating multiple software into one solution, and by saving resources spent on manual administrative work instead of on billable hours, which impact 5%-9% of the top line, on average, for Anchor’s existing clients.
“Creating benefits and bringing innovation to our members is a priority for CalCPA, and partnering with a new company helps address more efficiency and business management challenges for CPAs everywhere,” Froemming said.
Beyond solving the cash-flow issue for small businesses themselves, the technology also saves accountants a lot of hassle. CPAs report feelings of daily stress at work, and dealing with rudimentary technology or antiquated procedures does nothing to alleviate this pressure. Addressing the progress gap is especially vital to benefit everyday accounting professionals that deal with tedious, multi-step accounts receivables processes.
“CalCPA is an incredibly prestigious and innovative organization, and we are proud to provide our platform to their wide network of CPAs and financial professionals across many different industries and sectors,” said Rom Lakritz, CEO and cofounder of Anchor.
Innovative tech should not be reserved for only the most thrilling and hyped-up industries. Anchor is just one of many home-grown companies that focus on helping close the progress gap in an often overlooked field.
In a crowded tech market focused on flashy and high-octane development, it may be worthwhile for enthusiastic entrepreneurs and developers to focus on industries that need real solutions to make positive impacts.