Why accounts receivable is harder in staffing
Weekly billing, many clients and payroll paid up front make staffing AR uniquely demanding. Here is why, and what helps.
Key takeaways
- Weekly billing multiplies invoice volume: thousands of invoices a year for a few dozen clients.
- Workers are paid before clients pay, so slow collections are expensive.
- Every client has its own approvals, portals and habits, which turns AR into a patchwork of exceptions.
- Automation that follows your rules, consistent follow-up and live DSO by client help most.
Most finance teams send a handful of invoices a month. Staffing finance teams often send invoices every week, to every client, for every placement. That changes what accounts receivable work looks like.
More invoices, more often
Weekly billing multiplies invoice volume. A firm with a few dozen clients can easily issue thousands of invoices a year, and each one needs to be sent, tracked, followed up and matched to a payment.
You pay out before you get paid
Workers are paid on a regular schedule regardless of when clients pay. The gap between payroll going out and payments coming in is funded by the business, which makes slow collections expensive.
Every client works differently
Clients have their own approval steps, portals, purchase orders and payment habits. Rules that work for one client do not work for the next, so AR processes become a patchwork of exceptions.
Visibility gets lost
With high volume and many exceptions, it becomes hard to see which clients are paying slowly and how cash will land next month. Reports built in spreadsheets are out of date as soon as they are shared.
What helps
- Automation that follows your rules. The right tool adapts to the processes and integrations you already have, instead of forcing a new workflow.
- Consistent follow-up. Reminders that go out on schedule, every time.
- Real-time insight by client. DSO and trends you can act on today, not at month end.
- People when you need them. Automation handles the routine. A human handles the exceptions.
ReceiveUp is accounts receivable automation purpose-built for the staffing industry. Schedule a demo to see it with your own process.