Turning data overload into business intelligence.

Finance teams today are often drowning in data. Transactions. Payments. Inventory. Payroll. Production. Forecasts. Each area generates its own river of data essential to the business, and navigating the current can be daunting. But these days, simply keeping your head above water isn’t enough.

Growth-minded organizations are unlocking the power that comes from integrating their data into unified systems. Doing so allows teams to analyze data more deeply and find opportunities to improve cash flow, reduce costs and be more strategic with their work.

CommercePayments® has emerged as a leader in data integration in the corporate finance space. It offers products to optimize both payables and receivables, giving business customers a more productive experience. They are also investing heavily in research and development, strategic alliances and the security required for banking systems.

“It’s great to be on the edge of something new in an industry that hasn’t historically had a lot of innovation,” said Tom Gregar SVP of product management for CommercePayments®.

For accounts payable, products such as Payment Hub and AP Invoice Automation allow businesses to automate tasks from invoice reception to payment reconciliation. This automation reduces manual labor, minimizes costs, and enhances the overall efficiency of financial processes.

“Each of the initiatives we have underway are designed to help our customers manage their business and make their lives easier,” said Chris Wiedenmann, SVP and director of product management.

In its work in the construction industry, for example, CommercePayments® has helped contractors streamline their accounts payable processes. By removing some of the manual work involved with paying subcontractors, businesses have been able to issue quicker payments — a key to maintaining good relationships.

“It’s getting harder and harder to find good subcontractors to do good work,” Gregar said.

“One way construction companies are trying to incentivize workers is by paying them faster. The more they show they value the subcontractor, the more likely that person is to do the next job.”

On the receivables side, our Integrated Receivables solution utilizes artificial intelligence to automate and refine accounts receivable processes. This suite integrates everything from credit and collections to cash applications, providing real-time insights and improving days sales outstanding by offering customers various payment options.

Customers report huge efficiency gains, Wiedenmann noted. “When you have multiple employees working on receivables, we can reduce the amount of time a business spends posting payments by 10 hours or more per day,” he said. “That allows our customers to focus on value-added services.”

CommercePayments® also focuses on making it easier for customers to leverage their products and services. The company’s technology team uses Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs, and batch file transfers to assist customers with transferring data from Commerce Bank to their business systems.

It’s also rolling out a developer platform that allows customers to create custom integrations with CommercePayments® products.

Looking ahead, one of the most exciting developments is a Visa+ integration for the CommercePayments® PreferPay® platform, our business-to-consumer payments solution that gives customers fast access to payments, reimbursements, or other funds. This integration will allow companies to issue payments to consumers through Visa+ and directly into Venmo, PayPal, Cash App or another digital wallet.

“The bank is investing in both people and technology in the areas that will allow us to better serve our customers,” Wiedenmann said.

“Whether that is in healthcare, construction, insurance or another industry, we’re making the investments to ensure we’re able to deliver those solutions to market.”

Data integration will continue to play an important role in helping companies increase their finance teams’ productivity and elevate that teams’ role in shaping business strategy. Having the right financial organization in place for these integrations is crucial, and CommercePayments® plans to stay at the forefront of this technology, bringing a collaborative approach to customers.

“We start with the ideal state of where the customer wants to go,” Wiedenmann said. “Then, we work backward to determine how we can get a solution to market for them as fast as possible.”

Data will keep on flowing. When companies can harness the power of data integration, they transform the white water of challenges into streams of opportunities.

CommercePayments® solutions are provided by Commerce Bank.