6 accounts receivable software tools for smarter billing in 2025

Cash flow and management are critical considerations for companies, especially during lean times. When every pound counts, your ability to get paid on time, manage late or missing payments, and identify churn risks has an enormous impact.

That’s accounts receivable in a nutshell: getting paid on time, in full, and (hopefully) on an ongoing basis.

This used to be complex, with large collections teams – or stressed salespeople - endlessly chasing payments. Today, much of the work can be easily automated. Which means more money coming in when you need it, with far less effort.

This article introduces six of the best tools for this task, as recommended by CFOs and finance leaders in our survey.

But first, we’d better start with a couple of definitions.

What are accounts receivable?

Accounts receivable (AR) is the collective term for money owed to you by customers (or other debtors). It’s also commonly referred to as billing. And it’s obviously crucial to company success – if you can’t effectively receive payment for your goods or services, your business won’t last very long. 

AR goes on the balance sheet as an asset. Even if the money isn’t in your bank accounts yet, it will be soon enough. 

What is a billing or AR tool? 

AR software helps to manage the billing cycle by automating the payment process, or by shortening the length of time you need to wait for payment. When cash flows in seamlessly without delay, you can deploy working capital where you need it most. 

Just as vitally, you won’t have finance and sales team members chasing unpaid invoices. 

The recommendations in this list include classic billing tools that let customers pay instantly and tools that help you manage outstanding payments and receive what’s owed. 

Finance experts’ eight favourite accounts receivable software

This list comes from a survey of 155 experts from the CFO Connect community. The vast majority are CFOs, VPs, or Heads of Finance. For them, the value in a tool comes from efficiency gains and the freedom it offers to their team members. 

Stripe and Chargebee continue to be the most popular billing platforms among survey respondents, while we see several new additions to the list this year, including BILL, Kolleno, and Adyen.

Here’s what they recommend. 

1. Stripe 

Hugely popular with founders and finance teams, Stripe is the market-leading payment portal for modern companies – B2C in particular. Its API provides flexibility and lets you control how you bill your customers. 

Stripe integrates with your current CRM, ERP, or accounting software for a flexible and quick billing solution. It’s considered one of the most versatile and robust billing solutions available. 

Popular features

• Simple APIs

• No-code options

• Powerful data & dashboards

• ERP system integrations

Best for 

• Any company requiring online payments, but especially B2C businesses

What survey respondents said

• "Ease of integration with ERP systems, reporting & analytics, recurring billings, customisations, and a wide range of payment options."

• "Reliable and easy to implement."

2. Chargebee 

Chargebee automates the billing and subscription management process for SaaS companies. The tool lets you set up payment gateways so that customers can pay quickly and easily – similar to Stripe. But its true value is in managing longer-term, recurring subscription payments. 

A popular feature is Chargebee Retention, which helps subscription businesses identify and reduce churn risks. It would normally require serious diligence and complex internal data to monitor at-risk accounts, but Chargebee’s tools help you spot them easily. 

The solution goes beyond billing to provide pricing optimisation, revenue recognition, customer retention, invoicing, taxes, and more. Chargebee's specific focus on subscription revenue makes it the leading choice for many SaaS and software companies.

Popular features

• Revenue recognition

• Pricing & payment optimisation

• Multi-currency and multi-language support

• Customisable billing cycles

• Dozens of subscription models

• Good API

Best for

• SaaS and software companies 

What survey respondents said

• "Provides a complex range of possibilities."

• "Really intuitive for billing."

3. BILL 

A new entrant on this list, BILL is a finance operations tool that handles accounts receivable and payable. As such, it's not a pure billing platform but rather a cash flow management system. It makes posting and collecting payments easy and effective, and due date reminders help you streamline recovery. Overall, it's a great fit for companies that want to manage AP and AR in one tool.

Popular features

• Due date reminders & payment tracking

• Automated approval workflows

• Payment reconciliation

Best for

• Companies that want to manage accounts payable and receivable in one tool

What survey respondents said

• "Comes ready to use."

• "Always did the job for me in the past."

4. Kolleno

Kolleno automates receivables, payables, and payment operations.

Customers report a 32% reduction in days sales outstanding and a 50% reduction in outstanding receivables. So as a cash flow and working capital management tool, Kolleno is a real asset. It’s known to be quick to set up, going live in 10-14 days.

Popular features

• Invoice and payment matching

• Accounting and ERP integrations

• AI-enhanced recommendations

• Credit history and report creation

Best for

• Companies that want AR automation live in under two weeks

5. Adyen

Adyen lets you accept and send payments globally through a range of different methods: cards, wallets, transfers, and payment certificates. It connects to the Visa and Mastercard networks and lets your customers pay online, in-store, and via mobile.

Adyen gives finance teams the payments data and analytics they need while letting customer-facing teams manage refunds and track payment statuses for individual customers.

Popular features

• All major payment methods

• Strong international presence

• Fraud protection

• Coupon & discount creation

Best for

• Companies managing a range of payment methods, currencies, and markets

What survey respondents said

• "Most global footprint."

6. Workday

Workday is a comprehensive ERP (enterprise resource planning) tool with far more financial applications than a strict accounts receivable solution. For this reason, it won’t be for all businesses and certainly not as your first invoicing system. 

But survey respondents particularly noted the value in using the same system for accounting, invoicing, and preparing financial reports. And you’ll also have outgoing spend (accounts payable) recorded in that system, so overall cash management becomes much more robust. 

As with all ERPs, setup can be complex and time-consuming. But for larger businesses that need very detailed, tailored financial reporting and monitoring, it’s one of the best options available. 

Popular features

• Clear audit trail

• User and team workflows

• Multi-entity and multi-currency consolidation

Best for

• Larger enterprises or scaleups that need a single, comprehensive source of truth

What survey respondents said

• “Benefit of using the same ERP for accounting and invoicing.”

Keep cash flowing in, and focus on building

Effective accounts receivable isn’t necessarily as exciting or glamorous as a new product line or opening your next entity. Getting paid is table stakes for running a business.

But that doesn’t make it easy, nor does it mean there isn’t room to optimise. The tools above take care of the most important part first: ensuring customers can pay. They also help to chase late payments and follow up on failed transactions.

Other tools that received votes in our survey include Zuora, Hyperline, Billwerk, TrueRev, and FastBill.

If a smarter, more efficient accounts receivable process sounds good to you, try one of the solutions above. And when you're ready to streamline your procurement process, check out Spendesk's procurement solution to keep your entire financial workflow running smoothly.