Is your station embracing electronic payments? Or is something holding you back from offering this to advertisers? Sticking with paper invoicing and checks can have a negative impact on broadcast cash flow. This model typically results in longer days outstanding and reminders for past due amounts.
Let’s look at this dynamic in the radio revenue cycle.
The Check Cycle Creates Payment Delays
What’s the average days outstanding for your station when checks are the payment method? The average time to pay in the media industry is 72 days. In comparison, those using electronic payments as part of our platform have experienced a decrease of up to 32 days.
In an era where every advertising dollar matters for radio, continuing to rely solely on checks can grind cash flow to a halt.
Businesses Want Easy, Convenient Ways to Pay
The majority of businesses want to pay electronically. Only 8% of organizations use checks most often to pay their suppliers. In 2024, ACH and credit card payments accounted for nearly 55% of B2B payments.
This is one more reason to shift toward electronic payments. However, not all solutions are the same. Some help with broadcast cash flow more than others.
An Integrated Payment Solution and Cash Flow
For stations that want to see improvement in cash flow by accepting electronic payments, you’ll want to choose an integrated solution. So, what does that mean?
Here’s the workflow of a turn-key payments system linked to traffic systems.
- The traffic system automatically pushes invoices to the electronic payments portal. Without this connection, there would be manual tasks.
- Invoices arrive in inboxes.
- Customers have the ability to pay online by creating an account or using guest checkout.
- Once the payment goes through, funding can be as quick as one day.
Other Ways Electronic Payment Adoption Improves Cash Flow
When your station commits to electronic payments as its focus, there are more ways it can help cash flow. Platforms with specific features help you get paid faster, including:
- Payment reminders: In a few clicks, you can quickly send an email to past-due customers. No manual work required!
- Collections tool: When past due becomes a potential collection, sales can be an ally to help. With a collections tool feature, account executives can send reminders, generate guest checkout links and process a payment.
- Pre-payments: New accounts may require a pre-payment, and this functionality is available in an electronic payments platform.
Boost Broadcast Cash Flow with PayNow
Our integrated electronic payments platform, PayNow, has all the capabilities you need to get paid faster. It integrates with our traffic systems and streamlines the entire process from invoicing to payment processing to funding and reconciliation.
See how it works today with your traffic system by requesting a demo.
