Paystand’s David Gersten on Sustaining ROI for AR/AP Automation

In this podcast, Pam Misialek, VP, Community Director, Dynamic Communities, welcomes David Gersten, Director, Emerging Partner Ecosystem, Paystand, for a discussion on maximizing the ROI of technology investments and ways to improve efficiencies in AR/AP processes.

Key Takeaways

• Demonstrating ROI for AR: ROI is a top priority in today’s economy, and Gersten notes that automation is the lowest-hanging fruit for cost savings and efficiency. He advises that companies must “differentiate themselves, because everyone’s having that same conversation.”
• Focus areas: While many platforms offer functionality, true automation comes from enhanced solutions that free employees to focus on strategic tasks. Gersten emphasizes that automation doesn’t replace people but “enables them to be more valuable within the organization,” creating hidden ROI through time savings and missed opportunities.
• Building a business case: When making the case for AR/AP automation to the CFO, “it comes [down] to hard cost ROI versus soft cost,” explains Gersten. Hard ROI comes from improving working capital through automation of processes, while soft ROI often relates to labor efficiency. By automating AR and AP tasks, organizations can reduce DSO and accelerate cash flow, delivering financial benefits beyond operational savings.
• Sustaining long-term ROI: As revenue grows, traditional AR models increase costs through higher fees, manual labor, and slower collections, creating what’s called the “tax to transact.” Paystand addresses this by automating processes, accelerating time to cash, and eliminating transaction fees, reducing the total cost to collect revenue by nearly 50% and improving profitability.