Small Businesses Look to Outsource Payment Processing in 2020

With the beginning of a new fiscal year, business owners across the United States are reevaluating their operational and financial strategies. Every business function—from payment processing to check printing to everything in between—is being reevaluated and business owners are deciding whether to keep these operations in-house, to outsource them, or to utilize both options.

Last year, more than half (52 percent) of all business owners claimed they planned to increase their outsourcing efforts. As more business operations are pushed into digital spaces, it has become easier than ever for business owners to find outsourcing partners that can effectively meet their needs.

One of the leaders in payment processing outsourcing solutions, Smart Payables, expects 2020 to be even busier than years past. The company, firmly abiding by its “get smart” mantra, hopes to offer a wider range of payment processing options than ever before.

Payment Processing in 2020

Based in Littleton, Colorado (Denver Metropolitan Area), Smart Payables was originally founded in 2005. The company has consistently offered many payment processing solutions, including accounts payable management, check printing and issuing, and many others.

Since 2005, the payment processing industry has witnessed a considerable amount of change. The vast majority of check issuing has been shifted online and today, many companies rely entirely on digital payment processing platforms to manage funds and make payments on time. In response to these industry-wide changes, Smart Payables has made a considerable amount of adaptations. With the launch of their new client portal back in 2008, their software can seamlessly schedule bulk check printing via API, same day ACH payments, and automated printing and mailing features. These features are helping business owners big and small

The Benefits of Outsourced Payment Processing

Businesses choose to outsource for a wide range of reasons and, in many cases, the justification for outsourcing has only grown stronger as time has gone on. Working with a specialized payment processing firm like Smart Payables makes it easy for business owners to access infrastructure and bulk discounts they would not be able to reach on their own.

In the vast majority of cases, outsourcing payment processing can help businesses save money and find themselves in a position where they can direct resources in a much more lucrative direction. A recent survey of 500 top executives demonstrates that “outsourcing is enabling a competitive advantage”. As a result, about 84 percent of executives have begun taking the steps needed in order to increase these outsourcing efforts.

In terms of payment processing, cloud technology has enabled companies like Smart Payables to offer solutions that are considerably more efficient and secure. In fact, in the aforementioned Deloitte survey, 93 percent of executives are considering taking advantage of these technologies. Rather than investing unnecessary capital and building cloud infrastructure from scratch, companies are outsourcing and looking for the most effective and accessible payment processing solutions available.

Finding Comprehensive Payment Processing Solutions

While there are quite a few outsourced payment processing partners available, Smart Payables has taken several active measures to distinguish itself from the competition. One of the reasons Smart Payables has been able to attract the attention of industry giants like Honeywell has been the company’s unique ability to offer comprehensive, scalable payment processing solutions.

In some cases, outsourcing payment processing can reduce the cost of issuing an invoice by $10 or even more. These comprehensive solutions include features such as check printing, eCommerce development, invoicing, address cleansing, and many others. Generally speaking, businesses that are able to operate at higher volumes can expect to pay less per invoice or per check issued and mailed—this means that as a business continues to grow, the benefits of outsourcing payment processing will perpetually increase.

Productive New Year’s Resolutions

While a Forbes survey claims that just 8 percent of all people achieve their New Year’s Resolutions, there is still ample evidence that setting goals (especially SMART goals) is more productive than not setting goals at all. Among business owners, one of the most common resolutions is to reduce expenses and increase profit margins.

Achieving broad objectives such as these is often accomplished by making several smaller changes, rather than making many big changes. Outsourcing payment processing—and other essential business functions, for that matter—is one of the many “small” steps that can make a major difference and increase the likelihood of achieving your business’ goals.

Conclusion - Outsourcing Payment Processing Trends 2020

In the rapidly changing payment processing industry, Smart Payables and other firms are offering solutions that are more comprehensive, more digital, and more efficient than ever before. For both small businesses and mature Fortune 500 companies, 2020 will likely witness a continued shift towards outsourced payment processing solutions.