Integrated Payment Solution

Integrated payments provide a seamless flow of transactional payments data into business software, such as an accounting package, customer relationship management (CRM) system, or ePOS system.

Payments data is posted directly into the software so it removes the manual, admin-intensive process of checking and reconciling accounts across multiple systems.

This in turn saves significant time, reduces financial overheads and the risk of human error – all of which means internal efficiency improves and creates a strong business structure.

Payments data can be embedded with software using payment APIs. This means an automatic payments process, a major benefit being there is less need to maintain manual processes as data is automated between systems.

Payment APIs are used in integrated payment systems for recurring and one-off payments, making them valuable for subscription model businesses. They’re also easy to customize and can be used with other systems, such as inventory management and accounting software.

Using a payments API gives up to the minute reporting and status updates, which gives businesses a real-time view of their cash flow as well as eliminates the manual reconciliation work.

An ISV stands for Independent Software Vendor and means a business or organization that builds and markets its own software, whether that’s for a particular vertical or on a wider, mass-market scale.

A key benefit for ISVs with integrating payments into their software is that it can be offered to their customers another part or module of their software. This in turn can mean a greater revenue opportunity and a way of gaining a competitive edge over other similar vendors.

There are several advantages for using an integrated payment solution for business:

1. Reduces your overheads: with traditional systems, time spent not just on reconciling against several systems, but the cost of maintaining several systems all adds up.
   
   This is the real advantage of integrated payment systems. Without the manual intervention or the various systems, there is less resource required to look after this process. This can save significant costs, meaning your margins will be higher compared to a more traditional payment process where manual entry is still needed.

2. Saves significant time: with automation comes faster processes. It means no more manual data entry, freeing up finance teams to focus on other areas of the business. It also means you receive your money quicker as everything is automatically posted, rather than waiting for manual input.
   
   With recurring payments, scheduling is also automated so invoicing is sent out with the manual work behind it. The knock-on effect for your business is improving your operations and consequently your business performance too.

3. Reduces risk: the manual side of payment data entry is a huge risk to businesses, not least because of human error but also in the event of staff absences or shortages. The knock-on effect here can also be significant if it damages customer trust.
   
   Payment automation for manual tasks means this risk is mitigated as data is automatically synced without any manual intervention.

4. Improves cashflow: with traditional payment systems which rely on manual admin and reconciliation, the speed of processing can mean payments to your merchant account can be slower. This can impact several areas of your business and put pressure on your operating costs.
   
   The automation in integrated payment processing platforms means you receive your funds faster, which in turn means you have better visibility and control over your cash flow with timely and reliable payments.

5. Analytics and trend data: this is becoming more and more important, the ability to recognize trends and learn critical information about your customers’ buying habits.
   
   Understand how your customers prefer to pay and when is just one aspect. Integrating payments into accounting software for example means you can understand which products are doing well, or not. This can affect what products you offer and how and where to invest to get the most revenue. In addition, it means a single source of reporting the truth – no need to pull data from multiple sources, all reports are derived from the same platform.