Managing cash flow can be a challenge for businesses of all sizes. Balancing supplier invoices, and operational expenses against cash reserves demands strategic planning. While credit cards offer extended payment terms and flexible financing, they’re often underutilized in B2B transactions. Billhop changes this by enabling 100% card acceptance for any supplier—no process changes required on their side—allowing CFOs, financial controllers, and AP teams to seamlessly optimise cash flow and streamline payments.

In this article, we’ll show you how Billhop works and present two practical strategies, complete with illustrative examples, to help you maximise financial efficiency.

How Billhop Works: A Simple 5-Step Process

Managing supplier payments can feel like navigating a maze of inefficiencies, especially when you need flexibility to optimise cash flow. Billhop streamlines this process into five easy steps:

1. Submit Payment: Enter supplier details such as name, bank account, currency, amount, and reference.
2. Card Charged: Billhop charges your corporate card for the invoice amount plus a service fee for each transaction. There are no additional costs or subscription fees. 
3. Supplier Paid: Funds are transferred directly to the supplier via bank transfer.
4. Reconciliation: Receive detailed payment information and reporting for any reconciliation need.
5. Flexible Repayment: Repay your credit card based on its terms, unlocking additional cash flow flexibility.

Two Strategies for Optimising Cash Flow

Billhop offers two core options: extending payment terms or securing early payment discounts. Below is an illustrative scenario:

• Invoice Amount: £300,000
• Card Cycle Date: 15th of the month, with 28 days to pay after the statement date
• Billhop Fee: 2.5%
• Early Payment Discount: 3% if paid within 10 days

(Note: Figures here are for example only; your actual fee and payment terms may vary.)

Option 1: Extend Payment Terms

If you need to stretch your payment schedule:

• Submit Payment: December 18^th
• Card Charged: December 18th (£300,000 + £7,500 fee)
• Card Statement Generated: January 15th 
• Supplier Paid: December 20^th
• Card Statement Due: February 12th (statement date January 15th + 28 days)
• Total Paid: £307,500
• Benefit: Extend payment by 56 days to improve your cash flow flexibility.

Option 2: Secure Early Payment Discounts

If you want to capture supplier discounts:

• Submit Payment: November 18th
• Card Charged: November 18th (£291,000 discounted + £7,275 fee)
• Card Statement Generated: December 15th 
• Supplier Paid: November 20th
• Card Statement Due: January 12th (statement date December 15th + 28 days)
• Total Paid: £298,275
• Benefit:
  • Gross Discount: £9,000 (3% on £300,000)
  • Fee on Discounted Amount: £7,275 (2.5% on £291,000)
  • Net Savings: £1725
  • Extended Payment Terms: Gain an additional 25 days of flexibility while saving money.

Why Choose Billhop?

Billhop removes barriers to supplier card acceptance, offering businesses the flexibility to either extend payment terms or capture early discounts—all through a user-friendly platform. Here’s why Billhop stands out:

• Optimise Working Capital by extending Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) preserving cash balance until the commercial card statement is due, up to 90 days for some customers (dependent on card issuer).
• Negotiate Early Payment Discounts without reducing accounts payable.
• Make International Payments by using Billhop to pay suppliers globally without having to onboard them, in 13 supported currencies.
• Seamlessly Integrate with ERP or TMS Systems to streamline payment processes and enable real-time data sharing without altering existing workflows​.
• Minimise Payment Friction as suppliers receive payments directly via bank transfer with no changes to their processes.
• Pay Per Transaction flexible financing model with no hidden or subscription costs, and no long-term commitment required.

Which Strategy is Right for You?

• Option 1 (Extend Payment Terms): Ideal for businesses facing short-term cash flow constraints or waiting for customer payments.
• Option 2 (Early Payment Discounts): Best for companies seeking to maximise supplier incentives, cut procurement costs, and optimise DPO using their commercial card line. 

Both options can help you better control your cash flow and achieve financial efficiency.

Contact us for a demo or to learn more!