Cultivate Growth: How B2B Plant Nurseries Benefit from Accounting Automation

The time is now for nurseries to embrace accounting automation. B2B buyers are younger. Check fraud is a serious problem. And climate change is affecting growing patterns, making it more difficult for nurseries to sustain off-peak seasons. 

Accounting automation is a surefire way to modernize the payment process and accurately predict and monitor cash flow. 

This blog explains how accounting automation, especially when it comes to an AR (accounts receivable) process, benefits B2B nurseries and their customers. 

Flexible payment options

A majority of B2B buyers were born after 1980. They’re not accustomed to and perhaps have no idea how to write out a check. And with check fraud on the rise, nurseries need to minimize or put an end to this form of payment. 

Nurseries offer their customers fast, secure payment options through accounting automation with Bill360. We give your buyers access to self-service portals where they can set up and manage payment wallets and pay digitally through ACH and with credit cards by simply clicking a button. This is the simplicity and convenience today’s B2B buyers crave – and it gets you paid faster. 

Bill360 also processes payments for credit cards and ACH, saving you thousands on swipe fees. 

Rather than waiting more than a week for checks to arrive and clear, nurseries are paid in a day or two with accounting automation. More importantly, you and your customers are shielded from check fraud. 

Better cash flow management

Seasonal fluctuations in revenue are part of operating a plant nursery. But that doesn’t make it any easier, especially when it comes to cash flow.

Bill360 does more than accelerate payments. We provide full transparency into your financial health. That includes real-time updates on crucial metrics like AR aging and DSO (Days Sales Outstanding), which measures how long it takes you to get paid. You can better gauge when a slow season is coming and make the necessary adjustments to ensure you have enough cash to cover expenses. Getting paid faster also stabilizes your cash flow. 

AR automation enables you to see which customers have the most overdue invoices and proactively reach out to them. Once you know who to target, you can customize automated workflows that send payment reminders to whomever, whenever, and how often you choose.

More time for plants 

Time is valuable to all industries. But it’s of critical importance to nurseries because most of your stock is alive and perishable and can die without proper care. 

You hired your team because they know plants. Automating your AR process ensures your employees spend time on watering schedules, pruning, and pest and insect management. That’s hard to do if your staff spends four hours a week - or more than 200 a year, the equivalent of five work weeks – chasing down late payments or dealing with a manual AR process. 

Accounting automation gives your team its time back.

Reduces human error

Whether it’s bulk items like soil and much, solid goods like pots and stakes, and countless variations of plants, nurseries have more SKUs (stock keeping units) than most. That can make invoicing difficult, especially when done manually. 

AR automation simply pulls information from the orders and creates and distributes payment-ready invoices. This eliminates the risk of human error, saves your team from manually entering hundreds of line items, and gets the invoice to your customer faster. These invoices are embedded with payment links that simplify the process and get you paid faster. And because it grows along with you, there’s no risk of AR automation lagging or burning out during busy seasons or a sudden surge in business. 

Modernize your nursery with Bill360 

Accounting automation from Bill360 was built specifically for B2B companies like your nursery. We make it simple for customers to pay you digitally, accelerating the collection process and eliminating the risk of check fraud. 

Our embedded platform does it all: e-invoicing, auto reconciliation, and payment processing for credit cards. That’s why Bill360’s clients get paid an average of 36% and saves up to 15 hours a week. We make sure your employees spend more time digging in the dirt and less time digging through overdue invoices. 

Schedule a personalized demo and see how Bill360 solves pain points specific to your B2B nursery.

FAQ 

How does accounting automation help nurseries handle seasonal changes in revenue? 

Bill360’s clean and accessible dashboard provides the insight you need to anticipate slow seasons and ensure you have the cash on hand to cover expenses. 

Why should nurseries stop accepting checks? 

Checks can take weeks to arrive and clear and require manual deposits, slowing collections and hurting cash flow. They also leave nurseries and their customers vulnerable to check fraud, the most common form of financial deceit. 

How does accounting automation make things easier for my staff? 

Accounting automation handles invoicing, payment reconciliation, and payment processing with precision and speed, freeing your employees from doing manual accounting chores and enabling them to better serve your customers and stock.