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Build vs buy · cited benchmarks

Accounts Receivable Automation Options

Two routes to AR automation: have it built around your ERP and controls, or compare the leading tools and configure one yourself. Here is how to choose.
Jack Finnegan, Founder & CEO, BA Copilot

By Jack Finnegan · Updated 22 June 2026

Get it built for you

Pick a tool, or get it built for you

Get it built for you

A process specialist maps your real order-to-cash flow, designs the automation around your ERP and controls, and ships a working build, invoicing, cash application, collections and reconciliation, without eroding segregation of duties or revenue-recognition controls.

Best for: Teams that want faster cash and a clear audit trail, not a tool-evaluation project.

Get it built for you

Compare AR automation tools yourself

Vendor-neutral

If you would rather buy and configure a platform, compare the leading accounts receivable automation tools on ERP fit, pricing model and verified review counts.

Best for: Teams with internal capacity to run a tool selection and implementation.

Compare the tools
ToolBest forPrice fromRating
BilltrustOrder-to-cash + payment networkQuote only4.7(Capterra (live-verified), 2026-06-22)
EskerGlobal invoice-to-cash suiteQuote only4.6(Capterra (live-verified), 2026-06-22)
Quadient (YayPay)SMB / mid-market predictive ARQuote only4.5(Capterra (live-verified), 2026-06-22)
VersapayCollaborative AR + paymentsQuote only4.4(Capterra (live-verified), 2026-06-22)
HighRadiusEnterprise autonomous ARQuote only4.4(Capterra (live-verified), 2026-06-22)
See the full comparison

The 3 highest-value places to automate

Three levers, each tied to a measured benchmark. The gap between the market average and the best performers is the prize, and most of it sits in these steps.

Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
46 daysBottom performers
30 daysTop performers
16 days faster
Automated dunning + collections prioritisation

Prioritised, automated collections is the largest lever on cash: top performers collect in about 30 days versus 46 for the bottom quartile, roughly two weeks of working capital.

Source(APQC via CFO.com (Metric of the Month, Jun 2024), 2024)
Touchless cash-application match rate
~20-30%Manual baseline
90%+AI-automated
3x+ touchless
AI cash application (auto-match)

AI matching of receipts to open invoices (including split and short-paid payments) takes the touchless rate from a typical manual baseline (~20–30%, an estimate) up to 90%+, the 90%+ figure cited by HighRadius (which says it serves 1,500+ finance teams); treat the vendor figure as best-in-class, not guaranteed.

Source(HighRadius (vendor benchmark))
Cost to collect (per $1,000 revenue)
$0.58Bottom performers
$0.18Top performers
69% cheaper
End-to-end AR automation

Top performers run the whole AR function for about a third of the cost of the bottom quartile per $1,000 of revenue, the efficiency payoff of automating invoicing, cash application and collections.

Source(APQC via CFO.com (Metric of the Month, Mar 2025), 2025)

What an expert would automate, step by step

  • 1. Credit assessment / onboarding: Automated credit scoring pulls bureau data and internal history, recommends a limit and auto-approves low-risk customers, routing only edge cases to a credit manager.
  • 4. Invoicing / billing: Auto-invoicing and e-invoicing (PEPPOL, EDI, XML, portal) issue accurate invoices the moment delivery is confirmed, removing the lag that inflates DSO and supporting global e-invoicing compliance.
  • 5. Payment receipt & cash application: AI cash application matches receipts to open invoices, including split payments, short-pays and missing remittance, reaching high touchless match rates and freeing analysts from manual keying.
  • 6. Collections / dunning: Automated, prioritised dunning sequences send reminders and statements by aging, balance and risk, escalate on a schedule and surface only the accounts that need a human call, the main driver of DSO reduction.
  • 7. Dispute & deduction management: Disputes are logged, categorised and routed automatically with supporting documents attached, speeding resolution and shrinking the unapplied-cash backlog.

What automating this could save you

Conservative, transparent maths. Drag your numbers and the range updates live. Nothing leaves your browser.

Start from:

$10,500
reclaimable per year

$7,875 to $13,125

300 hours saved per year

≈ 0.2 FTE reclaimed
These defaults are examples. Time-saved is a per-document processing-time estimate (manual invoicing, cash application and dunning versus automated), expressed at a loaded clerical rate; the APQC AR cost-to-collect gap ($0.58 bottom to $0.18 top per $1,000 revenue) and high-touchless cash-application rates are the separate benchmarks it sits alongside. The biggest AR payoff is usually faster cash (lower DSO) rather than headcount: roughly 16 days of DSO is real working capital. Replace the defaults with your own invoice volume, rate and automatable share. Minutes saved / invoice or receipt default: ~5 minutes saved per invoice / receipt(Ramp (manual ~5-8 min to 1-2 min per invoice); HighRadius cash application, 2025)

Get it built for you

Don't want to build the accounts receivable automation yourself? We personally match you to a vetted automation specialist who builds it for you, scoped to your systems and volume.

Vendor-neutral
Vetted automation specialist

Hands-on with finance & back-office tooling; they scope, build, and hand over the working automation.

Matched to your stack

We match on your ERP / systems, process volume, and timeline, not a generic agency pool.

You stay in control

Fixed scope agreed up front. No long-term lock-in; you own the result.

Frequently asked questions

Should I build AR automation or buy a tool?

Buy a platform if you have internal capacity to run a tool selection and implementation and your needs are standard. Have it built for you if you want a working result fast, tailored to your ERP and controls, without a long evaluation.

Which AR automation tools should I compare?

HighRadius (enterprise autonomous AR), Billtrust (order-to-cash + payment network), Versapay (collaborative AR + payments), Esker (global invoice-to-cash suite) and Quadient/YayPay (SMB to mid-market predictive AR). Match the tool to your ERP and segment first.

How much does AR automation cost?

All five leading platforms are quote-only (HighRadius uses outcome-based pricing), so there is no published per-seat price; cost scales with invoice volume and payment processing. A built-for-you solution is a one-off engagement; use the calculator to weigh either against your invoice and receipt volume, then consider DSO separately.

Related

Best accounts receivable software

The full tool comparison: ERP fit, pricing model and verified review counts.

Is AR automation worth it?

Run your invoice and receipt volume through the ROI calculator against cited benchmarks.

How to automate accounts receivable

The step-by-step best-practice sequence behind both routes.

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Not sure whether to build or buy?

Talk to a specialist who has done both. Get AR automation that fits your ERP, volume and controls without a long evaluation project.

Sources

  1. COSO, Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013), Principle 10
  2. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, §404 (PCAOB copy)
  3. GAO, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (Green Book), GAO-25-107721 (May 2025), Principle 10
  4. FASB ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)
  5. FASB ASU 2025-05, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses for Accounts Receivable and Contract Assets
  6. ACFE, Occupational Fraud 2026: A Report to the Nations (14th ed., May 2026)
  7. CFO.com, Days sales outstanding: a critical lever for managing cash flow (Metric of the Month, APQC, 5 Jun 2024)
  8. CFO.com, Boosting efficiency in accounts receivable processing (Metric of the Month, APQC, 5 Mar 2025)
  9. CFO.com, Metric of the Month: Uncollectable Balances as a Percentage of Revenue (APQC, 4 Aug 2020)
  10. APQC Process Classification Framework (PCF) Cross-Industry v7.4 (Aug 2024)
  11. Credit Research Foundation, Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI) / Average Days Delinquent (ADD) / Best Possible DSO definitions
  12. Billtrust, Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI): measure and improve your AR performance
  13. ScottMadden & APQC, Finance Shared Services Benchmark Highlights 2024
  14. HighRadius, Autonomous Receivables: cash-application straight-through / touchless match rates & DSO impact (vendor)
  15. Capterra product listing (live-fetched 2026-06-22): HighRadius
  16. Capterra product listing (live-fetched 2026-06-22): Billtrust
  17. Capterra product listing (live-fetched 2026-06-22): Versapay
  18. Capterra product listing (live-fetched 2026-06-22): Esker
  19. Capterra product listing (live-fetched 2026-06-22): Quadient (YayPay)
  20. Vendor pricing & integration pages (live-fetched 2026-06-21): highradius.com, billtrust.com, versapay.com, esker.com, quadient.com
  21. Ramp, How to reduce invoice processing time (manual ~5-8 min to 1-2 min per invoice)