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Most businesses have thousands (or millions) sitting in unpaid invoices right now. Every day that money stays locked up is a day you can't invest in growth, pay your team, or cover expenses. The right DSO reduction software can turn that waiting period from months into weeks. We've evaluated the top platforms that help you collect payments faster, so you can choose the one that actually fits how your business operates.
TLDR:
- Reducing DSO requires automation that handles replies and portal uploads, not just sends reminders
- Invoice Butler acts as your outsourced AR team, managing collections end-to-end for less than hiring staff
- Most software shows you the work queue; Invoice Butler completes the tasks for you
- Real-time API integration beats overnight SFTP batching for cash flow visibility
- Invoice Butler combines AI with human AR specialists to handle everything from Coupa uploads to phone calls
What is Days Sales Outstanding?
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) asks a rather rude question: "How long until the money actually lands?" It measures the average days it takes to collect payment after a credit sale. Think of it as the queue for your revenue. If the line gets too long, your business starts gasping for air.
Cash flow is the oxygen here. You might have splendid sales figures, but if that revenue stays locked in unpaid invoices, you cannot pay staff or fund new projects. A high DSO points to poor collection speed, signaling that clients are treating you like a bank. AI accounts receivable automation tools can help address this issue. We prefer to avoid that scenario.
How We Evaluated DSO Reduction Solutions
Choosing the right kit to accelerate collections isn't about fancy charts. It is about actually getting paid. We graded market options on their ability to act as a proper extension of your finance team, focusing on collections software for small finance teams.
Here is the criteria used to judge each option:
- Real Automation: Does it manage replies or only send generic nags? We prefer tools that handle the back-and-forth conversation.
- Portal Handling: Uploading to Ariba or Coupa is a massive bore. Valid solutions must handle these uploads for you.
- Easy Integration: It must plug into QuickBooks, Xero, or NetSuite without needing the IT squad involved.
- Full Coverage: We checked for tracking from invoice dispatch all the way to payment confirmation.
- Cost: Is the price tag better than hiring a new staff member to chase debts manually?
Best Overall DSO Reduction Solution: Invoice Butler
Invoice Butler is an AI-powered accounts receivable service that removes the manual burden of collections by managing the entire process end-to-end on behalf of its customers. Instead of providing software that still requires in-house AR staffing, it combines automation and specialists to function as an outsourced AR department focused on faster cash collection.
What They Offer
- Personalized follow-ups: Invoice Butler sends automated payment reminders that read like human messages and manages back-and-forth replies so internal teams do not need to chase customers directly.
- Portal management: The service logs into procurement portals such as Coupa, Ariba, and Tipalti to handle invoice uploads and status tracking, reducing time spent navigating third-party systems.
- Smart escalation: When emails are ignored, Invoice Butler escalates using channels like Slack, LinkedIn, text, and phone to reach decision-makers and bring attention to overdue invoices.
- Real-time visibility: A central dashboard shows outstanding invoices and overdue balances, giving finance leaders clear visibility into current cash positions.
Good for: Mid-market B2B companies that want to remove manual AR work entirely while improving cash flow, like FERMÀT, which unlocked $500K+ in cash collections.
Limitation: Because Invoice Butler operates as a managed AR service, companies with highly bespoke internal approval workflows or strict policies against external handling of collections communications may face integration or compliance constraints.
Bottom line: Invoice Butler combines AI with human AR specialists to deliver a service that helps you reduce days sales outstanding by taking collections work entirely off your plate. Unlike tools that require your team to manage workflows, Invoice Butler acts as your outsourced AR department at a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time staff.
Billtrust
Billtrust is a heavyweight option designed for the massive enterprise. If you manage a large team and need a system to sort payments and invoicing, they are a solid choice for big organisations.
What They Offer
- Team workflows: A central hub for AR teams to manage tasks and assign duties internally.
- Batch processing: Uses SFTP integration designed for overnight data updates rather than live syncing.
- Payment handling: Capabilities to process customer transactions and track department performance.
Good for: Enterprises with revenue exceeding $100 million using legacy ERP systems.
Limitation: Because it relies on SFTP tech, data batches overnight. It lacks integration with newer billing tools like Stripe or Orb. Crucially, it requires your own staff to operate the software; it creates the list, but it doesn't do the chasing for you.
Bottom line: Billtrust fits massive enterprises with legacy infrastructure. However, if you need real-time visibility and a service that executes the work on your behalf, you might find the old-school batching a spot bothersome.
Tesorio
Tesorio serves as a performance dashboard for businesses that already possess a collections team. It helps your current staff manage their workflow to accelerate collections but does not replace the staff themselves.
What They Offer
- Workspace dashboard for AR staff to manage tasks
- AI agent that checks invoice and payment statuses
- Reporting and analytics for cash flow forecasting
- Integrates with legacy on-premise ERP systems via SFTP
Good for: Finance and RevOps teams that already have dedicated AR staff in place and want better visibility, coordination, and forecasting across their existing collections workflows.
Limitation: Tesorio streamlines task management and status tracking but still depends on humans for outreach, follow-ups, and portal work, and it offers limited compatibility with newer billing platforms like Orb or Rillet.
Bottom line: Tesorio optimizes the performance of an in-house collections team, while a service like Invoice Butler goes further by actually handling collections execution, allowing some companies to avoid building that AR function internally.
Upflow
Upflow acts as a visualization layer for teams that prefer managing collections in-house. It organizes tasks and keeps your staff sorted on who to contact next.
What They Offer
- Automated email sequences and reminder schedules help keep things ticking along.
- Task routing sends issues to Sales or CS teams for resolution.
- Polished dashboards provide invoice-level tracking.
- Syncing connects with standard accounting tools.
Good for: Teams wanting to visualize AR status and assign internal tasks via a tidy interface.
Limitation: It cannot touch supplier portals like Coupa, Tipalti, or Ariba. It also requires your team to draft answers when customers reply and lacks a collaborative Slack channel for support. You are limited to an invoice-level view rather than a full customer-level history.
Bottom line: Upflow generates the to-do list your team must finish. Invoice Butler clears the list for you, handling everything from portal uploads to W9 submissions and finding new contacts when emails bounce. .
Growfin
Growfin favors the crystal ball method. It uses AI to study your data and guess when cash might land. It focuses less on the chase and more on forecasting results for your team.
What They Offer
- Payment prediction: Uses history to estimate future payment dates.
- Drafting help: Tools to write personalized notes for staff to send manually.
- Cash flow analytics: Strong reporting dashboards for board meetings.
- ERP connections: Links with select enterprise systems.
Good for: Leaders needing predictive data and a copilot to draft messages.
Limitation: It drafts messages but leaves the sending to your team. It also ignores supplier portals (no uploading to Coupa or Ariba) and misses connections to newer tech like Campfire.
Bottom line: Growfin predicts when you get paid. We handle the actual work—portal management and replies included to make sure the money arrives.
Gaviti
Gaviti aims for the high end of the market, catering to large organisations that want customers to adopt proprietary payment rails for account settlement.
What They Offer
- Workflow management: A central dashboard helps collections specialists organise their daily tasks.
- Payment portal: Zero-fee ACH options are available, provided clients use their specific gateway.
- AI insights: An assistant offers status updates and data, though it stops short of taking independent action.
- Analytics: Reporting tools track team performance and metrics.
Good for: Large enterprises with over $200 million in revenue and massive AR teams.
Limitation: It struggles to connect with newer billing tech like Stripe, Orb, or Metronome. The AI observes rather than acts it offers data but won't reply to emails or chase a client for you. Requiring customers to switch payment portals creates friction, and support is based in Tel Aviv. Beewise turned AR into a seven-figure win in 30 days without asking customers to change their habits.
Bottom line: Gaviti asks your customers to change their payment habits. Invoice Butler fits into your current stack and handles the chasing.
Feature Comparison Table of DSO Reduction Solutions
Picking the right solution means deciding if you want a tool that lists your tasks or a service that completes them. Kojo kept DSO under 30 days while scaling by choosing the latter. Here is how the top options compare on capabilities that help accelerate collections and reduce days sales outstanding.
Why Invoice Butler is the Best DSO Reduction Solution
Most software on this list excels at showing you a queue of debtors. That is rather like buying a cookbook when you actually wanted a chef. Invoice Butler takes a different tack. We do not list the tasks; we finish them.
We pair smart AI with real human specialists to manage the collections cycle. If a client demands an invoice upload to a fiddly portal like Coupa, we log in and sort it. If they ignore emails, we pick up the phone. You avoid learning new tech while we accelerate collections.
For mid-market finance teams, this reduces days sales outstanding without adding headcount. See more customer stories to learn how companies achieve these results. We act as your dedicated AR wing, maintaining a polite tone that protects the client relationships you worked hard to build.
Final Thoughts on Getting Paid Faster
If your goal is to accelerate collections without expanding your team, you need a service that completes the work rather than software that organizes it. Invoice Butler pairs AI with real AR specialists to manage follow-ups, portal uploads, and escalations while protecting your client relationships. We act as your dedicated collections team at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house staff.
FAQs
How do I choose the right DSO reduction solution for my business size?
If you run a mid-market B2B company (under $100 million revenue), look for solutions with quick setup and real-time integrations like Invoice Butler or Upflow. Enterprises above $200 million with legacy ERPs may need Billtrust or Gaviti, though these require months to implement and dedicated staff to operate.
Which type of tool works best if I don't have a dedicated AR team?
Service-based solutions like Invoice Butler handle the collections work for you, eliminating the need to hire AR staff. Software tools like Tesorio, Upflow, and Growfin require your existing team to manage workflows, send emails, and handle customer replies—they organize tasks but don't complete them.
Can these solutions handle supplier portals like Coupa and Ariba?
Only Invoice Butler manages supplier portal uploads and status tracking on your behalf. The other options (Billtrust, Tesorio, Upflow, Growfin, and Gaviti) don't touch portals at all, leaving that tedious work to your team.
What's the difference between software that predicts payments versus software that collects them?
Prediction tools like Growfin forecast when money might arrive based on historical data, but your team still sends reminders and chases payments manually. Collection services like Invoice Butler actually do the chasing—sending follow-ups, handling replies, escalating to decision-makers, and confirming payments—so the cash lands faster.
How quickly can I expect to see results after implementing a DSO solution?
Solutions with fast setup (under a day) like Invoice Butler can start recovering overdue payments within the first month. Enterprise platforms requiring SFTP integration and months of implementation will delay your time-to-value, meaning you'll wait longer to see cash flow improvements.
