Bridger is solving late payment problem for B2B businesses

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Our previous company built automated supply-chain product for banks in Nigeria. Although it was long-work hours building this, it was enough to distill all the learning of how supply-chain work between Buyers and Suppliers, as regards Payments, Collaboration tools and Financing

There, the software was built to handle thousands of Invoices and finance origination daily. But most Invoices were - and still are, in a lot of companies - Paper-based and taken in person to the buyers. making it extremely difficult to manage Invoices and collect payments.

Fast-forward to March 2023, We launched our startup. Bridger
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Bridger offers paperless, cloud-based invoicing software. Companies are able to digitally send invoices and collect payment through it, expediting the whole payment process.

But we built Bridger with a bigger problem in mind: boosting cash flow cycles.

Companies usually pay suppliers in 30-, 60-, and 90-day cycles. This inevitably slows down the cash collection period, and smaller companies suffer — and often go bankrupt — because cash is not immediately available.

A survey among more than 500 small and medium-sized businesses in SA (and similar across Africa) found that 91% are impacted by their invoices being paid late due to a growing culture of late payments.

The average overdue invoice is paid about 18 days late, according to The State of Late Payments report by global small business platform Xero. This, in turn, has a big impact on a business's ability to pay its own staff and suppliers.

Buyers usually delay payments because they want more cash in hand to spend on more immediate needs, like R&D or dividend payouts. Because of this delay, suppliers often take out bank loans to sustain their business, which adds cost.

Late payments aren’t just a nuisance. They’re often the root cause of negative cash flow, which means companies can’t hire new staff, invest in new business, or pay the bills that keep the lights on. This ripple effect also impacts a firm’s credit score, making it harder to raise funds.

Closing the door on late payments

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To solve this late-payment culture, Bridger offers services that encourage companies to pay faster while Benefitting both parties. Bridger gives buyers and suppliers options

Account receivables Automation, to automate your order to cash in the bank process, including reminders, Smart Invoicing, to reconciliation

Invoice financing allows suppliers to sell their receivables for a discount instantly in exchange for cash.

One option is Dynamic Discounting, where companies can offer discounts to clients who pay early. Basically, the earlier the buyer agrees to pay, the less money is owed.

Another is called Supply Chain Financing. With this, a third-party (Bridger does this really well) would pay the supplier immediately, at a low-interest rate, and the buyer (who owes the money) would pay back instead in 60 days or more. This benefits both sides of the deal because the supplier gets the cash immediately and the supplier gets to delay the payment.

Although other companies offer similar services, Bridger is free for all suppliers, free e-invoicing capabilities, Business banking service and access to B2B payments solutions, and Invoice/purchase order financing.

100s of businesses have signed up and have gotten improved business processes, cash flow and business growth. We are proud to be part of their journey towards building successful businesses and optimal cash-flow cycles.

If you or someone you know runs a B2B business (business selling/buying from businesses), we encourage you to sign up for Bridger and start your journey towards less work, faster cash flow, and more revenues.. Let's help you grow

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