7 Key Trends Giving a Bright Future for Business Financial Management

You may not believe this, but finance is a fast-paced arena, and it’s very much a case of “if you snooze, you lose”. We’re now living in an “I want it now” world which means that slow processing times, delayed payments and archaic finance management systems can drain your resources - and lose you clients. Because of this, we’re relying more and more on techy tools to help us to manage B2B finances and speed up processes.



In the past, getting to grips with new B2B finance technology was a fiddly and complicated endeavor - and one that was prone to falling victim to human error. While these tools certainly helped to a point, they brought with them their own set of problems including payment system glitches and mistakes made when loading information into those systems.

As the advance in fintech marches on, many consider this to be a good thing but unfortunately a lot of businesses - particularly SMEs - struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing financial landscape. In this article, we’re looking at some of the tech that is shaping the future of finance and asking “are we ready”?

1. Checking Out Of Paper And Into Digital

It’s hard to believe that business finance once relied on shifting countless documents from one place to another but this was very much the case. Thankfully, since the early 1990s, digital payments have revolutionized the way that businesses conduct financial transactions.



These days, as described in the Younium revenue recognition guide, payments can be made quickly, accurately and securely with no need for time-sucking paper and compiling checks. As the technology becomes more and more sophisticated, it has all but eliminated common errors, creating a more streamlined financial experience for B2B companies while simultaneously increasing trust and credibility.

2. Keeping It Real For Faster Payments

As great as the early tech was, the advent of real-time payments has been a real show-stopper for B2B companies. In the early days of business finance, bank transfers and ACH were clunky and time-consuming; taking days and sometimes weeks to reach completion. This could be a major headache when it came to managing cash flow - and making sure that it was flowing in the right direction.



As the name suggests, real-time payments are transactions that can be completed in the blink of an eye with on-the-spot confirmation for peace of mind. Many businesses in the UK and the USA are already on board with systems such as Faster Payments Service and FedNow for a few very good reasons. As well as eliminating the sluggish speed of traditional payments, these also lower costs and reduce the risk of fraud and scams - something that’s essential in a world where cybercrime is an ever-present threat.

3. Winning The Fight Against Losses With Machine Learning And AI

Artificial intelligence gets more than its fair share of headlines these days - and not always for the right reasons. Like it or not though, AI and machine learning are very much the future when it comes to fast and secure B2B payments. These tools have been transformative in empowering businesses to automate repetitive tasks but that’s not all. Because AI is able to analyze massive amounts of data, it can also:

• Detect fraud quickly and accurately
• Identify and predict trends
• Anticipate cash flow concerns

This means that businesses are able to nip potential fraud in the bud through early detection as well as managing cash flow more efficiently by predicting which payments are likely to be on time - and which are not. For B2B companies, all of this adds up to reduced losses in both time and money.

4. Data Paves The Way For The Personal Touch

Data is, of course, a big deal in today’s business world and an incredibly valuable asset for those in the financial management industry. Being able to efficiently crunch the data from every transaction gives companies a bigger bite at their market by allowing them to customize and personalize financial services and products.

Data-driven AI finance tools are essential for B2B businesses as they allow for specific solutions based on the customer’s individual circumstances; for example their credit-worthiness. This in turn, creates happier, more loyal customers which, of course, gives you an edge over your ever-growing competition.

5. When Cash Products Meet Commerce

This developing trend is all about simplifying finance through collaboration and here’s how it works; a business incorporates financial services right into its existing activities through collaboration with an embedded finance provider. This allows the business to offer a range of finance solutions such as loans, insurance and payment processing - all through the same platform that their customers are already accustomed to using.

For customers, this not only offers speed and convenience, it also increases their perception of the customer experience, your business and the value to them of using your business.

6. Access To Enhanced Security Through Blockchain

In the early 2000s, blockchain was considered to be the sole domain of shadowy characters looking to make some fast cash - but it’s come a long way since then. This technology is now recognized as a tool which allows businesses to conduct secure transactions which can be tracked back to an impenetrable decentralized ledger.



Because of this, blockchain is being used to cut down on fraud and scams when making B2B transactions as well as speeding up the process. As this technology becomes more embedded in mainstream finance operations, it’s likely to emerge as a trusted integral part of many finance management systems worldwide.

7. Automated Invoicing Fits The Bill For B2B

If you’re still using manual invoicing processes you’ll no doubt know how time-consuming, error-prone and, quite frankly, boring these systems are. With technology widely available and affordable, there’s simply no longer an excuse to not get on board with automated systems that can significantly reduce administrative expenses while improving management of cash flow through more streamlined invoice creation, workflows and overall management.

According to Small Business HQ, Xero has been proven to give businesses more visibility into accounts payable and receivable by allowing them to track payments more efficiently and reduce the risk of late payments.

Building Strength From One Business To Another

In the olden days, the world of finance was much simpler - and so were the tools needed to get the job done. In today’s world, however, fraudsters are more sophisticated and customers are more demanding which means that businesses who fail to keep up leave themselves wide open to financial crime and lost custom.

Advances such as real-time payments, embedded finance and AI-powered fraud detection are all crowd pleasers for B2B customers who value their security as much as their cash. For your business, the benefits are beyond valuable in terms of efficiency, security and growth as opposed to the harmful impact of late payments and dodgy systems. While investment in new technology does require an initial financial outlay, it's one that will pay for itself many times over as you leave your antiquated systems behind and stay one step ahead of the competition.