It’s sobering to think about the demise of Bear Stearns, the collapse of several regional banks, and the plummeting stock prices of larger financial institutions. Tech-savvy companies have discovered a relatively untapped revenue source – supplier electronic payments. 

PayStream’s analysts note that labor accounts for the vast majority of all invoicing costs, because of time spent manually creating and mailing invoices, answering questions, managing payment disputes, and correcting errors. Although it often goes unrecognized, another significant cost in accounts receivables is payment lag time. In large companies with high volumes, the processing cycle can last three weeks or more. Those delays are costly, both in terms of lost trade discounts and unearned interest on money that could have been invested during that time.

Today’s virtual invoice and payment solutions not only process payments, they can create electronic invoices from accounts receivable systems,…

Thanks to the ripple effect of the subprime mortgage crisis, today’s consumers are feeling a financial pinch like never before. Job losses abound, credit is tight, gas prices have topped $4 a gallon, food staples are priced like luxuries items – and many customers who’ve never before been late paying their bills are falling behind.

Those late and unmade payments, of course, put a crimp in business cash flow, and force companies to find a cost-effective way to increase revenues. As a result, many of them have discovered the benefits of virtual collections. Even those that may have previously shied away from full-scale debt collections, because of the cost and potential legal issues, are jumping on the bandwagon and quickly recouping their investments.

These highly customizable electronic collection solutions offer multiple payment channels (checks, PayPal, credit and debit cards) and contact…