| Totally agree that AP is designed as interest free financing in most companies, large and small. Though I don't know if a squeaky wheel solves that, even with AI or social engineering, etc., precisely because delay is explicitly incentivized. I concede that you are in the "squeaky wheel" business, so you probably have data showing me it does solve that! But I would argue in some/many cases, not your cases naturally, I think the squeaky wheel is a counterproductive social norm that actually signals I am OK not being paid. It tells the deadbeat customer, that 1) you haven't gone out of business yet so they can still delay and 2) when things get serious you will not be so subtle, and will start threatening real punitive action. Until then continue delaying. That's why most companies insulate the AR from the actual people involved in negotiations and selling. You can always blame those "people in accounting" and over drinks promise to "look into it" when all the while you are telling that poor chap in accounting to sit on the invoice. Bad form I know, but happens all the time. I agree that if you have a special "insider" relationship curated with the 1 person in accounting that cuts the checks, you can sometimes circumvent the accidental delays. No one ever got a larger bonus for showing FASTER cash outflows in a given quarter. So as long as that is true, line managers with PO authority will not be squeaked into submission. I think the trick to getting companies comfortable with "smart"-er autopay is to show them a compelling reason why it works for them on the other side of the equation. But since you are actually out there working hard in this space I'll definitely defer to your experience. Maybe it is impossible, at least in the short term. Being married to a PhD in psych, I know that changing human behavior is SUPER DUPER HARD...of course she'd say the same about my domestic behavior ;) |