If you’re running a business today, you already know the headaches that come with a lot of things.
Managing payments is one of those headaches. You struggle with manual check signing, slow approvals, payment errors, and cash-flow blind spots that appear at the worst possible moments. Guess what? These challenges aren’t just annoying; they’re actively costing you time, money, and growth opportunities.
The good news? You don’t have to live with these problems in 2026. There are practical, modern solutions you can adopt right now to fix your internal payment processes.
Some companies are even implementing secure check printing, as well as other forms of payment automation, and are seeing real results. You can too.
Ready to optimize your internal payment processes this year? Here’s what it takes.
Reduce Manual Payment Processes
Old habits die hard. True. But in 2026, habits that don’t benefit your business process should die. And one of those habits should be your manual payment processes.
You probably feel more “in control” signing checks by hand or scrolling through pages of spreadsheets to see what’s happening in your business. But the truth is that paper checks, spreadsheet tracking, running documents to someone’s desk, and so on, are where errors breed and days get lost.
According to a survey cited by Forbes, manual processes have an error rate of between 1% and 3% and can lead to dozens of mistakes in every 1,000 transactions.
The fix? You’ve got to embrace some level of automation. This means moving to digital payment platforms and setting up automated payment processing.
If you make lots of payments via check, why not consider a system for secure check printing and signing? This isn’t just printing a PDF; it’s a controlled, auditable process where checks are generated and signed electronically, then mailed automatically.
According to SmartPayables, this approach allows for blank check protection, positive pay, signature security, and lots more, all of which can prevent business check fraud in the long run.
And the direct benefits?
- Payments go out days faster.
- Human data entry errors drop.
- You have a perfect digital audit trail.
The key takeaway here? Manual payments no longer cut it. Automation is the way forward.
Streamline Approval Workflows
Remember that invoice from your key supplier that sat for three weeks because Julie in Accounting was on vacation and no one was sure what to do? That’s what happens when your approval workflow is not streamlined. It creates what is called approval bottlenecks.
Not surprisingly, if you have approval bottlenecks in one area, you’ll likely have them in others. They’re not restricted to finance and accounting only. Take AI adoption, for example. According to a recent McKinsey survey, 8% of businesses cite complex approval processes as a reason for slow adoption. That’s AI that could already be reducing manual work across the business.
In payment workflows, approval bottlenecks aren’t just annoying. They slow everything down.
So, what can you do?
- Set up role-based approvals so the right person always sees the right payment request.
- Use pre-set spending limits so small expenses don’t need executive sign-off.
- Turn on real-time approval notifications so nothing sits in an inbox for days.
This approach can be a total game-changer if you run remote or distributed teams. The result? Faster approvals mean faster payments, and far fewer frantic internal emails.
Improve Cash-Flow Visibility in Real Time
Most businesses operate with a lagging view of their money.
You might know what was in the bank last Friday, but do you know what’s pending, what’s approved but not yet paid, and what’s about to hit? Did you forget about the three large invoices that were just approved?
This blind spot leads to overdraft fees or, worse, missing a critical payment to a vendor. In fact, a 2025 survey by QuickBooks found that about 56% of small businesses are owed money from unpaid invoices, with an average of $17,500 that’s yet to come in.
For many of these delayed invoices, the problem stems from poor visibility into payment status and cash flow management.
The solution is investing in tools that give you real-time cash flow visibility. You want to be able to know what’s pending, what’s approved, and what has already left your account.
When you have this data, you can make better decisions about hiring, inventory, and expansion without the stress of an accidental overdraft.
Strengthen Controls and Reduce Payment Risk
Fraud is getting more sophisticated every day, and SMBs are at risk. In 2024, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) reported that businesses lose roughly 5% of their revenue to fraud each year. This is enough reason for you to strengthen controls in your payment processes.
Basically, if one person has the power to create a vendor and pay them without anyone else looking, you have a massive hole in your security.
Some practical steps you can take to strengthen controls and reduce payment risk include:
- Separating duties so the person approving a payment isn’t the same person entering it.
- Creating spending limits below which approvals are automatic.
- Keeping detailed activity logs and alerts for unusual patterns.
Even better, modern financial systems come with these controls built in, making compliance and year-end audits far simpler. Investing in one will help you protect your cash, your business’s credibility, and your own peace of mind.
Build a System That Grows With You
Here’s a truth many business owners ignore: your current system will not always work for you. What’s working now that you have five employees will probably break when you have fifty.
And it’s not just employees alone. As you grow, the number of vendors and the complexity of your payments will skyrocket. Your current system of operation will definitely not keep up.
The trick is to plan ahead by choosing a scalable infrastructure that integrates with your current tools. This infrastructure should support multiple payment methods — checks, wire transfers, virtual cards — under one roof. A 2025 report by Juniper Research showed that digital B2B payments are growing at over 20% each year. If you maintain your old way of making payments, you will be left behind.
Investing in a solid system now ensures that your finance department can support your growth rather than slowing it down.
Wrapping Up
Modernizing your payments is not just a “finance thing.” It is a strategic move that protects your bottom line and saves your team from burnout. This is something you should consider implementing in the coming months.
To quickly recap:
- Move away from manual work and embrace automation.
- Fix your approval bottlenecks.
- Get a clear view of your cash flow every single day.
- Lock down your security with better controls.
- Choose tools that can grow with your business.
So, how do you start? By taking a good look at your current processes. Find the one spot where things always get stuck and start there.
Making your payment process efficient is no longer just a nice feature. It’s a competitive advantage.
Also Read: Payment Orchestration Platform: Ownership, Control, and Scalability in Modern Payments
