For a while, many client conversations started after the fact: “Here’s what happened last month.” But firms that are growing and keeping clients longer are moving upstream into the workflows that determine whether a business has enough cash to operate. With approximately 82% of businesses failing due to poor cash flow management, these future clients need experts in this area. That’s why more firms are implementing and managing accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) as a solution, not just a task.
When you help a client get paid faster, pay bills with control, and mitigate risk, you become more than the person who closes the books. You become the consultative partner who brings confidence and consistency to your client’s business. It’s time to break the cycle of mismatching incoming revenue and outgoing expenses to help your clients understand their business health. When AR/AP is built with smart automation and clear approvals, helping clients manage their money is efficient to deliver and low risk to manage.
Why AR/AP is a major lever right now
We have spoken to, and worked with, hundreds of small- to medium-sized business owners who don’t wake up worried about debits and credits. They worry whether they are going to make payroll next Friday, why their customers are paying late, and why their bank balance is down after a strong month.
These are cash flow problems, and AR/AP is where cash flow becomes controllable. Most clients don’t need another report. They just need a better system for how invoices go out, payments come in, bills are captured, and outgoing payments get approved and scheduled.
Firms that own the workflow around cash become stickier. Client retention is improved and firms are able to attract more clients because the workflow is integrated across the business. Along the way, you are designing the process, guiding decisions, and letting automation handle the routine.
The modern firm model
Most small businesses don’t have an AR problem. Instead, they have an AR process problem. Invoices go out late or inconsistently, payment options are limited, and follow up is sporadic. In fact, 56% of businesses stated they were owed money from unpaid invoices. With technology leading the way through automation and providing low risk through audit trails and user permissions, times have never been easier to start offering these services!
How do you know which clients are most likely to need or desire this service? Triggers we usually observe include poor cash flow, lack of clarity in ledgers, incorrect reconciliations, feeling overwhelmed with QuickBooks, inaccurate reporting, delayed or missing payments from customers, or lack of organization with money movement.
Here are some example questions you can ask your clients to know more about AP and AR:
- What methods do you currently use to accept payments from your customers?
- What issues have you experienced with delayed or missing payments?
- How do you track paid and unpaid invoices?
- What challenges do you face with your current processing system or process?
- How valuable would it be for your business to reduce data entry errors and improve cash flow management?
Here are some examples of how we see firms successfully take on AR:
- Consistent invoice timing.
- Clear net terms.
- Multiple ways to pay to reduce delays.
- Automated reminders before and after due dates.
- Escalation rules; for example, when the owner steps in vs. when the firm supports.
By helping clients create policies and structured workflows, you are integrating advisory services, not just creating invoices. These include, for example, deposits on certain jobs, tighter terms for consistent late payers, or a clear “pause work” threshold.
For AP, dysfunction usually comes from scattered bill intake, payments going out too early or too late, and too many or not enough systems in place. AP becomes more strategic when you help clients decide when to pay and how to make sure they pay every time.
The modern firm approach for AP looks like this:
- Centralized bill capture.
- Visibility into upcoming obligations.
- Scheduled payments aligned to cash flow.
- Approval workflows that match the business.
- Clear vendor communication guidelines.
Why it’s low risk
The biggest hesitation we hear is this: “If our firm gets involved with AR/AP, aren’t we liable for everything?” The answer is simple: not if you design the process correctly.
Approvals protect everyone. They create clarity and an audit trail, and this is a control upgrade for the client and a protection layer for the firm. You can oversee the workflow while ensuring the right people sign off on the right actions.
If you define the roles upfront, you don’t become the back office. A simple “RACI” model: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed, helps avoid scope creep.
- Client owns: Approves bills, final payment decision, and handles customer relationship.
- Firm owns: Sets the workflow, monitors exceptions, runs the cadence, reports on KPIs, and advises on policy.
- Client and firm owns: Review cash position weekly or biweekly.
With the right boundaries in place, AR/AP becomes a scalable managed service opposed to a collection of one off requests.
You can own the workflow
If you want clients to adopt modern money movement tools, the most effective approach is to tie recommendations to the workflow problem you are solving, not to the features.
Start with the client's pain in plain language through intentional discovery, connect the pain to a process change, offer the tool as the easiest way to execute the process, and frame success in measurable outcomes.
When firms own the workflows around cash, they earn a new seat at the table. AR/AP is no longer back office or after-the fact-work; it becomes operational advisory. As clients experience smoother money movement inside a workflow the firm designed, recommendations for the right tools provide good guidance, and continue to strengthen your relationship and trust with clients.
