Tips for Automating Your Payment Processing
Automation continues to change nearly every industry. As technology improves and organizations invest in digital transformation, businesses of all sizes are finding new ways to make standard operations more efficient than before. When most people think of automation, they picture high-tech machines simplifying industrial workflows. However, automation software can be a game-changer for many modern businesses both online and offline.
The best example is a payments automation platform. Your company likely pays several vendors or contractors. Depending on the type of work your business does, you may have thousands of freelancers, marketplace sellers or affiliates to pay. From lawyers paying class-action settlements to telehealth networks paying health care providers worldwide, countless industries must send payouts at a large scale.
Manual processes might be adequate in the early stages of your company's success. But growth puts stress on your accounting and accounts payable departments. Eventually, they can fall behind as manual workflows become unsustainable. That's when having an automated payment system makes a difference.
Automated payment processing can handle electronic payments in minutes, eliminating the time-consuming work of manual labor while dramatically reducing errors. It saves your business time and money, creating a more efficient way to send payments to whoever you need to.
Not sure how to get started with payment automation solutions? Keep reading to learn valuable tips from Dots and get a closer look at how the platform will change how your business moves money.
A Brief Overview
When you shift to automated payment processes, your company implements new technology to manage payment-related data and perform specific actions without much human involvement. It's about ditching your old manual process in favor of a more efficient and cost-effective alternative. Automation not only saves on the human labor aspects of accounts payable, but it also works faster and is infinitely scalable to meet the growing needs of your business.
With Dots, you can also automate payments through multiple rails. Instead of limiting contractors and other payees to one payment method, you can provide more flexibility without the added complexities. There's no need to implement special workflows to send money to bank accounts, a virtual card or one of the many digital mobile payment apps. Payable automation software handles all of that for you.
Automate everything from payee onboarding to processing. Many businesses use automation to put payouts on autopilot. Choose a day, schedule recurring payments and allow the API to do the rest.
What are the Benefits?
There's much to gain from automating your payment process. In addition to saving time and money, it can decrease your risk of fraud. Electronic payments are the safest solution for businesses because they are difficult for bad actors to manipulate, and automation technology takes that security to new heights. It's safer for your company and the recipients you pay. Automation can provide peace of mind, especially when making global payments.
Another benefit is that automation can significantly reduce duplicate payments and human error issues in your AP process. Even the most skilled AP teams can make mistakes. Unfortunately, those mistakes can cost your business big by negatively impacting your reputation among recipients and the expense of correcting errors. A payouts API can flag potential accuracy issues for human review, catching problems even seasoned payable clerks might miss.
When you automate your payment processing efforts, you also invest in your company's success. It greatly improves how your business manages cash, streamlining how you send money to payees. The simplicity of automation reduces personnel workload, giving your accounting departments more time for other tasks. Plus, the right software serves as a unified platform for all payout activity. That means no more chasing down data from multiple sources and things getting lost in the shuffle. It helps you stay organized and efficient, leading to even more growth potential and a better bottom line. Software for automated authorization and payment processing can also save you money. Your business saves on labor costs by not requiring human intervention, and automation can also lower payment processing costs.
Automating payments may feel like a big transition, but the work is worth the effort. Read our tips below to switch effectively and use automation technology to your advantage.
1. Have a Plan for Implementation
The first step in automating your payment processing is to have a plan. Many leaders understand that automation software can make a big difference. Still, not everyone knows how to implement it or how to convince decision-makers it's the right choice for the business. The costs of using a payouts API for automation are more reasonable than ever, and minimal-code solutions can help you get running faster than you think. However, having an implementation plan will get others on board and make the transition as smooth as possible.
Understand how you plan to use automation and what it can do to improve the bottom line. Emphasize how long manual processing takes and highlight how automating the workflow can improve efficiency and accuracy.
Then, create a goal and master plan. Outline the steps your payable team will take and the costs involved and the timeline you expect to transition fully.
2. Find the Right Software
Your next priority should be finding the right software for your company's needs. There's no shortage of payment platforms with automation features. Even standard accounting software might have features that help you streamline your workflow. But if you want to lean into automation as much as possible, you'll need to find purpose-built software to handle payout tasks for your growing business.
There's a lot to consider. The best payment automation systems offer seamless integration through a developer-friendly API. For example, the Dots API is a minimal-code solution that's easy to implement. Despite its simplicity, it's feature-rich and has all the automated capabilities you need to make your payment processes more efficient than ever.
Other factors to think about when choosing payment solutions include multi channel payment options. Offering payouts through several different payment gateways and rails ensures that your recipients can get money on their terms. It's also good to consider white-label customization for brand continuity, flexible payment workflows, compliance features, tax reporting, and more.
3. Consider a Self-Service Portal for Clients
After successfully automating payment processing, the next step can be creating a self-service portal for your clients. This portal will act as a simple gateway to send payments. It gives the people working with your company an easier and more direct way to move money.
Those who need to send money to you, such as customers, can use the portal as a more convenient alternative to traditional payment rails. Clients provide the details, choose how to pay and initiate the transaction. It's simple, quick and more fun than trying to send money through their bank or credit card provider.
Self-service portals are also fantastic for the people you pay, such as contractors, vendors, marketplace sellers, etc. Instead of setting new people up manually, you can send money through a payout link. These portals are easy to create. With Dots, it's as easy as using the API or dashboard. Provide the amount, the recipient's name and contact information. Then, send the portal via email, text or link. Upon receipt, the payee claims their payout. They can choose how they receive their funds and provide information to ensure they get the money safely.
One of the great things about using payment solutions like this is that it handles the laborious task of financial data collection and verification. Think of it as a self-directed onboarding process. The portal can onboard new payment recipients in different stages, collecting everything from identification information for Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws to social security numbers for tax reporting. It's a smoother process that helps build and maintain trust while creating a fantastic experience.
Simplify Your Payouts With the Dots API
Using software to automate how your business processes payments can make all the difference. It's essential for producing growth and keeping payees happy in a digitized world. Manual processing isn't a huge deal when you only do a handful of daily payments. But once your company has hundreds or thousands of payouts to send, the old way of doing things is no longer sustainable.
Automation provides many great benefits. It makes processing payments more efficient, reducing manual labor to create a more streamlined workflow. Plus, it reduces human error and can scale up as your business grows.
When you're ready to put your payments on autopilot, check out Dots. Whether part of a small business or a large enterprise operation, the Dots API can help you send and receive money through multiple platforms without complex coding or difficult workarounds. Lift limitations while automating the entire process. Send money to contractors worldwide, give your payees a choice in how they get their money and let Dots do the rest! Sign up for your free demo today and see what Dots can do for your business.