10 Steps to Accelerate Cash Flow in Your Business

Regardless of a business’s profitability, cash flow determines its ability to sustain daily operations. Even organizations with strong revenue may struggle to cover expenses or pay employees on time if incoming payments are delayed.

To stay ahead of potential cash flow challenges, there are several proactive steps your business can take that accelerate cash inflows and improve financial flexibility. 

Key strategies like streamlining payments, using an automated accounts payable solution, and enhancing financial visibility can help you maintain a predictable cash flow to meet obligations while capitalizing on growth opportunities. 

Why cash flow acceleration matters

Cash flow is the movement of money into and out of a business during a specific time period. If a business has a positive cash flow, it has enough cash on hand to cover expenses and reinvest in growth. A negative cash flow, on the other hand, can hinder the organization’s ability to meet its financial obligations in a timely manner.

Accelerating cash flow speeds up the inflow of cash, which offers more financial flexibility and helps reduce reliance on short-term credit. Conversely, delays in receivables can lead to cash shortages that disrupt operations. 

For instance, a manual invoicing process may delay incoming payments and impact available cash reserves, making it difficult to cover essential expenses like payroll and supplier payments. 

To mitigate these challenges, many businesses implement cash flow acceleration strategies, such as automating invoice processing or leveraging virtual business credit cards. These solutions can help expedite payments and provide real-time visibility into cash positions to improve financial stability. 

10 proven strategies to accelerate cash flow

From local businesses to global enterprises, every organization requires access to cash to effectively manage expenses. These 10 steps can help you accelerate your incoming payments and maximize your liquidity. 

1. Reduce spending

Lowering operational costs is a straightforward way to accelerate cash flow. Start by conducting a thorough review of recurring expenses to identify opportunities to trim costs. 

For example, you might eliminate unused subscriptions or renegotiate vendor contracts to free up additional cash resources.

Additionally, automated expense tracking offers better visibility into spending, enabling you to reduce unnecessary expenses and allocate resources efficiently. 

2. Optimize accounts receivable for faster payments

A slow accounts receivable (AR) process can delay incoming payments. To improve payment timing, establish clear invoicing policies and create a process to follow up with outstanding accounts.

AR automation also helps streamline collections and receivables management. Automated AR solutions can schedule payment reminders, track overdue invoices, and offer customers convenient payment options, helping you proactively minimize late payments. 

3. Offer early payment discounts

Early payment discounts are another strategy to accelerate cash flow. By encouraging customers to pay ahead of schedule, you can receive payment faster while strengthening your client relationships.

For example, you might negotiate a 2/10 net 30 policy with specific customers, which provides a 2% discount if the invoice is paid within 10 days rather than the standard 30-day term. These incentives can boost cash inflows and reduce the risk of missed or late payments. 

4. Streamline payment processing with automated AP and AR solutions 

Automated payables solutions support cash flow by optimizing payment timing. Accounts receivable (AR) automation can accelerate collections by automating invoicing and reconciliation. 

Accounts payable (AP) automation also improves cash flow by streamlining invoice approvals and payment execution to help you track cash outflows accurately.

Together, automated AP and AR solutions enhance cash management and provide greater visibility into available funds for better cash flow forecasting.

5. Use virtual business cards for controlled spending

Virtual business credit cards offer greater control and transparency to manage business spending. For example, you can preset transaction limits or create single-use cards to restrict spending and reduce fraud risk. 

Many virtual cards integrate with accounting systems to automate expense tracking and monitor spending patterns. Additionally, look for payment platforms that offer flexible payment options — like the ability to pay any vendor with a credit card — so you can make the most of your cash. 

6. Reduce processing fees with smart payment solutions

High payment processing fees cut into revenue for businesses handling frequent card transactions. To minimize costs, consider using payment solutions that optimize transaction processing.

For instance, some merchant services platforms allow you to implement fee-based pricing models, such as convenience fees and surcharges for paying by credit card. This helps offset processing costs and reduces the impact of interchange fees when customers choose to pay by card rather than lower-cost ACH transfers.

7. Improve cash flow forecasting with real-time insights

Accurate cash flow forecasting hinges on real-time visibility into financial data. Rather than juggle multiple systems, it’s beneficial to use a unified commerce platform that consolidates key data points — like billing, sales tracking, and customer engagement — into a single view. 

Better visibility into upcoming revenue and expenses allows you to adjust cash flow forecasts dynamically and make timely decisions to avoid shortfalls. 

8. Enhance B2B payment efficiency with integrated solutions

Disjointed payment systems and manual approval cycles slow down B2B transactions, creating unnecessary work for finance teams and putting you at risk of late payment fees. 

By centralizing your B2B payments in an automated payables platform, you can take advantage of early payment discounts and automate the best payment method for each transaction to maximize efficiency and savings. 

9. Offer flexible payment options to customers

Offering multiple payment methods — such as credit cards, ACH transfers, and digital wallets — can help reduce friction and encourage faster customer payments. 

For example, solutions like Plastiq Accept enable businesses to accept credit card payments, even for invoices that traditionally require bank transfers or checks. 

Recurring payment options also offer the benefit of simplifying your B2B transactions while generating a predictable source of revenue. 

10. Regularly review and update your cash flow management plan

Your cash flow management strategy should evolve alongside your business. With the right payment solutions, you can regularly review key financial data and make adjustments to stabilize cash flow. 

Continuously refining your cash flow management plan helps you anticipate potential cash flow disruptions to maintain stability as market conditions and customer behaviors fluctuate. 

Accelerate cash flow with Priority

Every business depends on a healthy cash flow, and those that actively optimize payment timing and automate payment workflows gain a competitive edge.

With Priority’s unified commerce solutions, you can accelerate receivables, centralize cash flow tracking, and streamline your B2B payments, giving you the flexibility to reinvest in growth without cash flow bottlenecks holding you back.

Connect with Priority to begin optimizing your cash flow today.