Artificial IntelligenceE-commerce and Retail

Forwardly: AI-Driven AP & AR Automation To Manage Cashflow More Effectively

One of the most awful realizations I had as a business owner was that clients often don’t pay on time. As you invest in a client, this puts you in an awkward position. You don’t want to replace them as the work you’re accomplishing is making progress. And a slow-paying client may be better than no client at all.

Simultaneously, a stack of vendor invoices awaits, with payroll on the horizon. Approvals sit in inboxes while due dates creep closer. Every hour spent on chasing AR is an hour not spent running your business, and every AP payment delay tightens cash flow that’s already stretched thin.

The problem compounds as you grow. More transactions mean more data entry, more approval chains, more reconciliation, and more chances for something to slip through. Spreadsheets stop scaling. Late fees pile up. Your books fall out of sync with your accounting software, and month-end close turns into a multi-day slog. The tools meant to help often charge monthly fees and cap your users, so the cost climbs right alongside the workload.

It’s not an understatement: cash flow is the lifeblood of your business.

Forwardly

Forwardly automates both bill payment and invoice collection from a single dashboard, using AI to handle the manual work so money moves in and out on your terms.

Forwardly: Payments in Seconds

Forwardly is built to give you back your time and your visibility. By automating accounts payable and accounts receivable together, it removes the data entry and approval-chasing that slow teams down, while giving you a clear view of every bill and invoice in one place. You get paid faster through instant bank-to-bank transfers, you pay vendors on a schedule that protects your cash position, and your books stay accurate through automatic syncing.

There are no monthly subscription fees and no user limits, so the platform scales with your business instead of penalizing your growth. For finance teams managing higher volumes, role-based permissions and custom approval thresholds help maintain compliance without creating bottlenecks.

The platform brings together a connected set of capabilities. Here’s what you get:

  • Accounts Payable Automation: AI pre-fills details from vendor invoices and routes them through smart approval workflows, so you avoid late fees and keep full visibility over spending.
  • Accounts Receivable Automation: Forwardly syncs invoices, sends automated reminders, and enables instant collection, helping you get paid roughly five days faster without manual follow-up.
  • Advanced Approval Workflows: Assign roles and permissions, build custom approval chains, and set spending thresholds so the right people sign off on every payment without slowing operations.
  • AI Bill Capture and Inbox: AI automatically extracts key invoice details, while a dedicated inbox keeps every bill in one place, ready for quick approval and payment.
  • Flexible Payments: Split bills into partial payments, pay by credit card to earn rewards, or schedule payments up to 90 days in advance.
  • Forwardly Business Network: Connect with customers and vendors across different accounting systems so invoices and bills sync automatically, keeping contact and payment information current between connected businesses.
  • Multiple Payment Options: Choose instant bank transfers, same-day ACH, or credit card payments, depending on what each transaction requires.
  • Seamless Accounting Sync: Connect with QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics for automatic invoice, bill, and payment updates with no manual reconciliation.
  • Unified Dashboard: Manage every dollar coming in and going out from one view, with payments automatically matched and categorized.

The average time to send an instant payment is 60 seconds, even on weekends and holidays, and businesses save an average of 70+ hours per month with AI automation.

While I usually use QBO for my A/R and A/P, there are times when it is either too slow, too expensive, or doesn’t give me the workflow I need. When that happens, I turn to Forwardly.com for instant payments.

Alicia Katz Pollock, Founder, Royalwise

Taken together, these features turn payments from a recurring chore into a background process. Money in and money out are automated, matched, and categorized; your accounting stays synchronized in real time, and you keep control through approvals and visibility rather than manual effort. Whether you’re processing a few dozen invoices or several thousand, the system handles the volume while you focus on growth.

Get Started With Forwardly

Manual AP and AR will keep slowing your cash flow for as long as you let it. Forwardly gives you faster collections, smarter payments, and complete control over your money in one place, without monthly fees or user limits. Sign up today and get 30 days of free bank transfers.

Start your Free Forwardly Trial

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Forwardly help reduce manual accounting work?

Forwardly uses AI to capture invoice details automatically and routes payments through approval workflows, eliminating most data entry. It also syncs directly with major accounting platforms, so your books update without manual reconciliation.

How much faster can I get paid with Forwardly?

By automating invoicing, reminders, and instant bank-to-bank collection, Forwardly helps businesses get paid roughly five days faster. Instant payments can be sent in about 60 seconds, even on weekends and holidays.

Does Forwardly charge monthly fees?

No. Forwardly has no monthly subscription fees and no user limits, and new accounts get 30 days of free bank transfers. You can scale your team and transaction volume without rising subscription costs.

Related Articles