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Fiserv and Stuut Partner to Bring Agentic AI to Enterprise Receivables

Table of contents

• How Accounts Receivable Automation Works
• How AI Changes Manual Collection Tasks
• Driving Cash Flow With AR Automation
• Key Features of Modern AR Platforms
• Executing an AR Automation Rollout in Seven Steps
• System Requirements for AR Automation
• Securing CFO Buy-In for AR Automation
• FAQs
• Key Terms Glossary

Most accounts receivable software doesn't automate work. It gives the AR team a more organized dashboard to execute the same manual tasks: sending follow-up emails, matching payments to invoices, and keying remittance data into the ERP. Meanwhile, DSO (Days Sales Outstanding, the average number of days it takes to collect payment after a sale) drifts upward, the AR team burns out, and smaller accounts fall through the cracks because there's no capacity to reach them.

This guide explains how accounts receivable automation has evolved from basic email templates to autonomous AI agents that execute collections, cash application, and dispute resolution without human oversight. For AR leaders at mid-market industrial companies, understanding this distinction is the difference between buying a better dashboard and actually freeing up working capital.

How Accounts Receivable Automation Works

Accounts receivable automation software executes invoice delivery, customer outreach, payment processing, and cash application on the organization's behalf. It connects directly to the ERP as an execution layer that reads invoice data and writes results back in real time. The core distinction is execution: Legacy workflow automation organizes tasks for humans to complete, while autonomous AR completes those tasks independently and escalates only when human judgment is required, such as a complex contractual dispute or a payment plan negotiation.

This table shows the operational difference between the two approaches:

Key Building Blocks of AR Automation

A modern AR automation platform operates across four core components:

• Invoice ingestion: The platform reads open invoices directly from the ERP in real time, tracking due dates, customer contact data, and payment terms without manual exports.
• Communication engine: The system contacts customers across email, SMS, and voice before invoices go overdue, adapting channel and tone based on each customer's payment history and communication preferences.
• Payment processing: Digital payment rails (ACH, credit card via Stripe) allow customers to pay immediately when prompted, replacing manual processes like collecting card numbers by phone and keying them into SAP.
• Cash application: Incoming payments are automatically matched to open invoices using a proprietary three-way matching algorithm, handling exact matches, partial payments, bulk deposits, and missing remittance data.

The AR automation comparison guide covers how leading platforms handle each of these components across different ERP environments.

Why Automation Outperforms Manual Work

Manual AR has three structural limitations that are difficult to overcome even with additional headcount.

First, humans can only contact so many accounts per day, which means the long tail of smaller customers goes uncontacted for weeks. Those ignored invoices age past 60 days before anyone follows up, accumulating DSO drag visible in every aging report.

Second, payment matching is slow and error-prone when done manually. Unmatched payments create reconciliation bottlenecks that delay month-end close and frustrate Controllers waiting to finalize the AR balance.

Third, contact data decays constantly. Invoices bounce because an AP contact changed jobs, and the AR team spends hours tracking down the right person through LinkedIn and reception calls.

Every day of DSO represents cash trapped in receivables instead of funding operations. For a company with $100 million in annual revenue, reducing DSO by 10 days releases approximately $2.74 million in working capital.

Improving O2C Through AR Automation

The order-to-cash (O2C) cycle covers everything from customer order to cash collected. AR is the final stage, and it's where revenue stalls most often. Automating collections and cash application accelerates the tail end of O2C, which frees working capital faster and improves cash flow predictability for the entire business. PerkinElmer reduced overdue invoices from 50% to 15% in one year using autonomous outreach.

How AI Changes Manual Collection Tasks

The shift from rule-based automation to self-learning AI agents changes what's possible in AR. AI agents learn from every interaction and adapt automatically, which is why results compound the longer the system runs.

How Automated Dunning Boosts Collections

Dunning is the systematic process of communicating with customers to collect past-due accounts receivable. AI-driven dunning adapts. Stuut learns that one customer always pays on the 15th after two email reminders, while another customer consistently responds only to a phone call. Stuut adjusts channel and tone automatically based on customer behavior.

How to Automate Remittance Matching

Payment matching is the most time-consuming manual task in AR because format inconsistency is everywhere. Stuut's three-way matching algorithm parses remittance data from bank accounts, handling exact matches, partial payments, and bulk deposits.

Driving Cash Flow With AR Automation

Financial outcomes from AR automation are measurable within the first 30 to 60 days.

Accelerating Cash Flow Through DSO Cuts and Portfolio Coverage

Stuut customers achieve an average 37% DSO reduction and a 40% average cash flow increase across 74 customers and $1.4 billion collected in 2025.

How Automation Improves Team Outcomes and Customer Relationships

Eliminating 70% of manual tasks changes what the AR team spends time on. Collectors shift from keying remittance data into spreadsheets to managing complex disputes and strategic account relationships.

Key Features of Modern AR Platforms

When evaluating AR automation software, the feature set determines whether an organization is buying a better dashboard or genuine autonomous execution.

Automating Cash Application Workflows

Achieving a 95%+ automated cash application match rate requires handling the most common payment scenarios customers create.

Evaluating AR Automation Software Fit

Use this checklist when evaluating platforms:

• ERP compatibility
• Implementation speed
• Pricing transparency
• Voice capability
• Cash application accuracy
• Compliance

Executing an AR Automation Rollout in Seven Steps

1. Pinpoint Manual Bottlenecks in AR

2. Define Success Metrics for AR

3. Map ERP Integration Requirements

4. Set Up Custom Collection Triggers

5. Test With a Pilot Customer Segment

6. Train Staff and Plan Go-Live

7. Analyze KPIs to Improve Collections

System Requirements for AR Automation

SAP Data Mapping and Sync Requirements

NetSuite Setup for Automated Collections

Dynamics Setup for AR Workflows

Securing CFO Buy-In for AR Automation

How to Measure Freed Working Capital

Quantifying AR Automation ROI

Simplifying Internal Controls for AR

Key Metrics for Budget Approval

FAQs

What Is the Expected Timeline for an AR System Rollout?

How Does AR Automation Impact Team Roles?

How Do Organizations Calculate AR Automation ROI?

What Are Realistic DSO Reduction Timelines?

How Does the Platform Handle Complex Disputes?

Key Terms Glossary

Days Sales Outstanding (DSO): The average number of days it takes a company to collect payment after a sale has been made. Lower DSO means faster cash conversion and more working capital available to fund operations.

Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI): A metric that measures a company's ability to collect funds from customers relative to the total amount of receivables available during a period.

Cash application: The process of matching incoming payments (ACH, wire, check) to their corresponding open invoices in the ERP.

Remittance advice: A document sent by a customer stating that a payment has been made, used to match payments to invoices.

Dunning: The systematic process of communicating with customers to collect past-due accounts receivable.