Many of the best accounts receivable (AR) automation solutions, such as Billtrust, offer advanced technologies that can positively impact the customer experience in AR. Data proves that these tools indeed strengthen customer loyalty and retention. According to Vanson Bourne findings, 92% report AR automation software has enhanced their customers’ experience. Here’s a closer look at the best AR automation features that heighten the quality of the business-to-business (B2B) purchasing experience.
Key features of the best AR automation solutions that enhance the customer experience
- AI capabilities: Agentic AI enhances service quality by predicting payment issues before they occur, enabling proactive and personalized communication that notices and respects each customer’s preferences and circumstances. It can also help resolve disputes faster and alert when customers might be struggling to pay their bills. The result is the ability to deliver a more frictionless, consultative experience without burdening AR teams with more manual work. Learn more about AI in AR.
- Personalized communication: A modern AR automation solution with AI-driven systems can tailor reminders and collection messages based on customer history and preferences. It also knows when a buyer is mildly delinquent versus severely delinquent, helping AR teams craft the right message automatically and at mass scale. See how Billtrust helps collectors improve the effectiveness of their communications.
- Self-service billing and payments portals: Effective invoicing automation provides suppliers with branded portals where buyers can log in to view invoices, check payment status, and make payments online, enrolling in auto-pay features or initiating an invoice dispute process. Buyers benefit from the convenience of online service anytime, anywhere and clear transparency into the status of their account. See all the buyer-facing features inside Billtrust’s billing and payment portal.
- Multiple payment options: Offering a variety of ways to pay makes it easier for customers to settle unpaid invoices and overdue accounts. For instance, more companies today like to pay using virtual cards, and yet many suppliers aren’t set up to accept these payment methods. AR software platforms help suppliers expand their payment modalities without the complexity of manually handling PCI DSS compliance, surcharging fees, and adjustments to payment policies and terms.
- Automated reminders: Proactive, automated reminders for both upcoming and overdue payments help customers stay on track and reduce confusion, while internal AR teams are freed from the administrative workload.
- Reduced disputes: This is a key benefit of invoicing automation: when invoices are generated automatically via accurate data capture and submitted electronically to the client’s inbox or accounts payable portal, it reduces the likelihood of disputes and errors. This, in turn, avoids client dissatisfaction.
“While the business recognizes efficiency and cost savings, our team and our customers receive a better experience too. With Billtrust, our customers have consistent, accessible correspondence they need to manage their accounts.”
Credit Manager at a Heavy Equipment Rental Company
Why should an AR automation solution improve the customer experience?
AR activities are important customer-facing functions that can leave a lasting impression on buyers. Afterall, the invoice payment is typically the last touchpoint in the sales cycle, making AR a strong influencer of repeat business. For this reason, more finance leaders are focused on elevating the buyer experience through AR automation solutions.
92% of finance and AR leaders believe improving the B2B digital buying experience is important to achieving organizational goals like revenue growth, according to Forrester research.
A study by IDC shows that improving the customer experience is one of the top three reasons CFOs are investing in AR automation software. Other reasons include the need to improve operational efficiency and cash flow visibility.
How do I create a B2B customer payment experience that rivals B2C?
Today’s commercial buyers want to purchase goods and services just like they shop. With modern online shopping experiences raising the bar for B2B suppliers, many AR teams are feeling the pressure to deliver a payment experience that rivals B2C (business-to-consumer) online shopping portals. These are the primary ways to meet buyer expectations when it comes to payments:
- Expand your payment options. With virtual card use increasing over 320% in 2025 alone, suppliers need to ensure they are catering to the desires of their buyers. Many card programs include rebates or cash-back incentives, which can make or break a sale. With buyers now factoring card perks directly into their purchasing price – your ability to accept cards directly affects their perceived cost. Learn how Billtrust can expand your payment methods and become your payment policy advisor.
- Make it easy for clients to pay you. Allow clients to pay online and enroll in auto-pay. Buyer-facing payment portals empower clients to see their bills and quickly make payments without the need to write an email or pick up the phone.
- Be upfront about any card processing fees. B2B buyers want clear transparency into how they’re being charged. Include your card fee policies right on the invoice, so clients can see them as they go to make the payment. This avoids customer frustrations and later disputes.
- Connect your eCommerce software to your AR software. Nothing streamlines the sale more than seamless transaction where buyers can view products online, utilize webstore quoting and order functionality to place a new order, and then immediately see their invoice waiting in their billing and payment portal. See which eCommerce platforms Billtrust’s AR automation software works with.
- Deliver invoices however and wherever your customers want them. Don’t make clients search for your invoice. Ask them where they want their invoices to appear, as more enterprise companies are asking for invoices to be submitted to their AP portal. When invoices are right where clients expect them, payments run smoother. Learn how Billtrust helps you submit invoices to AP portals and comply with eInvoicing compliance requirements.
Here are five other ways to ensure your customers have a high-quality payment experience.
How does AI create a frictionless payment experience for B2B customers?
Intelligent payment predictions and proactive outreach
AI analyzes historical payment patterns, customer behavior, and external factors to predict which invoices are at risk of late payment. This allows AR teams to reach out proactively with personalized reminders before issues arise, rather than reacting after payments are overdue with dunning schedules and collections efforts. Customers appreciate the helpful nudge rather than aggressive collections tactics.
Don’t miss the guide to Next-Gen Collections, which helps you trade one-size-fits-all dunning schedules and static payment reminders for AI analytics that leverage debtor behavior patterns to get invoices paid on time.
Personalization at scale
AI enables AR automation software to tailor communication strategies based on individual customer preferences and behaviors – and do so at scale. It can determine the optimal time, channel (email, SMS, portal), tone, and frequency for each customer. Some customers prefer detailed reminders while others want minimal contact – AI learns and adapts to these preferences, making interactions feel more respectful and less intrusive.
For instance, Billtrust’s research finds that collectors seeking a better customer experience should:
- Use debtor data to create risk groups and define preferred communication channels
- Use a segmentation-based approach to outreach
- Use AI-optimized action sequences
- Measure success for continuous improvement
AI can also be used to identify the best practices for outreach. Billtrust, for example, finds:
- Payment reminders should start 30 days prior to the invoice due date
- Calls are most effective after the payments are due
- Timing matters – communications should be spaced with at least 5 days between touchpoints
Learn more collections communication best practices.
Payment flexibility and optimization
AI can analyze a customer’s financial situation and payment history to detect potential cash flow issues. What’s even better? It can make suggestions and recommendations on how to adjust credit scores or payment terms in response to the problem. This turns a potential conflict into a collaborative solution, strengthening the buyer relationship.
Reduced errors and friction
AI validates invoice data, matches payments automatically, and flags anomalies before they reach customers. Fewer billing errors means fewer frustrated customers and fewer time-consuming corrections, leading to smoother experiences overall.
The core benefit is that AI shifts AR from a transactional, often adversarial process into a more consultative, frictionless experience that respects customers’ time and circumstances while still ensuring timely payment.
How to Measure Customer Experience in AR Automation
Measuring the impact of your AR automation strategy on customer experience is essential to ensure it’s delivering value. This involves tracking both direct feedback and operational metrics that reflect customer satisfaction.
Key metrics to monitor include:
- Self-Service Adoption & eDelivery Rates: Track the percentage of customers who enroll in and actively use your self-service payment portal. Similarly, monitor your ePresentment or eDelivery rate (how many invoices are sent electronically vs. print). High adoption of these digital channels signals that customers find them convenient, valuable, and superior to manual methods.
- Payment Mix: Monitoring the proportion of payments made via different methods (ACH, card, check) gives you a clear view of your customers’ payment preferences. A good experience means offering the modalities they want to use.
- First-Time Invoice Accuracy: This metric is critical for reducing friction. It measures if invoices are correct the first time they are sent. High accuracy reduces customer-facing issues like disputes, short pays, and confused phone calls.
- Dispute Metrics: A primary source of customer frustration is billing errors. Measure the change in dispute volume (a decrease indicates higher accuracy) and the average time to resolution (TTR). Faster resolution directly improves the customer experience.
- Payment Behavior: Metrics like Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and Days to Pay (DTP) are strong indicators of customer experience. A high or rising DSO can signal issues in your AR ecosystem, such as confusing invoices, a poor collections experience, or a lack of convenient payment options.
- Approval Times: Measure how long it takes to approve a credit application. Faster approvals support better customer experiences and quicker sales cycles.
- Application Completion Percentage: Tracking how many credit applications are fully completed can indicate a poor customer experience. Low completion rates on paper or digital forms can point to a process that is too complex, delaying credit extensions and frustrating new customers.
Focus on the metrics that matter most. Learn more about the best performance metrics for AR teams using advanced automation to enhance customer experiences.
How Billtrust’s AR automation solution helps deliver a superior customer experience
Here are just a few of the best AR automation features from Billtrust that help your AR operations deliver superior customer experience:
- Flexible payments and payment policies: Billtrust provides some of the most flexible payment acceptance capabilities and payment policies to help your finance department maximize revenue while enhancing buyer experiences.
- Real-time AI insight: Financial AI analytics deliver visibility into customer behavior, helping finance leaders at large and mid-size enterprises monitor and adapt to changing payment patterns. This way, they can reduce financial risk and even prevent it with proactive alerts.
- Automated Email Handling: Agentic Email features allow collectors to resolve emails 10x faster by eliminating the need to dig through lengthy email threads, ensuring customers receive timely communication and swift resolution. Collectors experience a 3.2X increase in capacity with Billtrust’s Agentic Email features.
- Centralized Case Management: The Cases feature transforms dispute resolution from a fragmented, manual process into a streamlined workflow where disputes flow directly into the Collections platform. Disputes are automatically tracked and managed in a centralized portal, accelerating resolution times to protect customer loyalty.
- Personalized Collections Communications: Automated collections software enables personalized outreach at scale to reach the right customer at the right time, providing a positive interaction for buyers.
- Advanced self-service: Portal capabilities allow buyers to manage their accounts independently, view and download invoices, see order histories, and make payments online, at their convenience.
AR is a critical touchpoint that influences customer loyalty and repeat business. Choosing the best AR automation solution, one with AI-powered automation, flexible payment options, and self-service tools, is essential. Billtrust empowers your finance organization to deliver the frictionless, personalized experience that modern B2B buyers expect.
Ready to see how Billtrust can transform your AR operations? Hear clients explain why Billtrust is a critical part of their AR operations, and discover how enterprises everywhere are delivering superior customer experiences while maximizing revenue.
