INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Paymerang’s Innovative Finance Technology Transforms Accounts Payable for K-12 Education Clients

Since 2017, Paymerang has witnessed explosive growth in the education space, solidifying its place as a leading finance automation provider for K-12 Schools. Some of the most prestigious Independent Schools nationwide now use Paymerang, including Kent School, Porter-Gaud School, Frederick Gunn School, and Kinkaid School.

Paymerang’s dedication to delivering intuitive, easy-to-use products with white-glove service to its customers has significantly contributed to its exponential growth. While Paymerang’s award-winning Payment Automation software began its early market capture within the K-12 industry, the rapid rollout of its Invoice Automation solution, designed at the request of its education clients, propelled that growth even further. Paymerang has achieved 3,000% growth in the K-12 industry in the last five years—and has processed close to half a million payments for K-12 schools since the beginning of 2020, totaling $2.73 billion.

To celebrate this success, Paymerang held its inaugural Innovation in Education Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May. Schools throughout the Northeast gathered to network with Paymerang team members and others in their profession to learn about optimizing their use of Paymerang’s platform and how to protect their schools from the increasing threat of payments fraud. Participants also had the chance to visit Paymerang’s Innovation Studio for a sneak peek at upcoming products and gave feedback that will be implemented to create and refine products.

Paymerang’s full technology suite empowers finance departments nationwide by helping them become more efficient and secure. This is critical in education as business offices play a significant role, acting as a bridge between schools and communities. Staff members are responsible for navigating challenges like declining enrollment, severe staffing shortages in the classroom and business department, and a rapidly changing economy.

“Helping business offices achieve greater efficiency by eliminating tedious manual processes allows them to prioritize students instead of endless paperwork,” said Nasser Chanda, CEO of Paymerang. “Doing so improves student outcomes, and on an even greater level, the future of education in America.”

Partnering with prominent Independent School associations nationwide has also driven Paymerang’s growth within the industry. Currently, Paymerang is recognized as a preferred partner and vendor for Mid-South Independent School Business Officers and the Philadelphia Area Independent School Business Officers Association. Additionally, Paymerang is a proud member of several associations, including the National Business Officers Association, New Jersey Association of Independent Schools, Association of Independent Schools in New England, North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, Virginia Association of Independent Schools, Tennessee Association of Independent Schools, Georgia Independent School Association, New York State Association of Independent Schools, California Association of Independent Schools, and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States.

One of the biggest AP challenges hindering business offices is manual, paper-based processing. Manual invoice processing is challenging for schools as invoices often require approval from more than one department. Interoffice communication makes it difficult to receive invoice approvals promptly, resulting in late payments. In 2021, the average time to manually process a paper invoice was 10 days¹, whereas Paymerang’s Invoice Automation saves 80% of time on invoice processing. Schools have reported saving upwards of 25 hours per week while using Paymerang’s solution.

Another disadvantage to manual AP processing is its susceptibility to fraud, which is a major concern for the education industry. AP departments have an increased chance of becoming victims of a business email compromise fraud attacks², and education is the industry most affected by this type of fraud³. However, implementing Paymerang’s world-class Invoice and Payment Automation platforms help clients curb these risks.

Automating and digitizing workflows saves AP departments thousands of hours annually, allowing K-12 education finance teams to focus more on strategic initiatives—improving student retention and completion, improving campus diversity, equality, and inclusion, and fostering a sense of belonging for students. Also, staff now have more time to focus on providing a quality education for students, ensuring that they obtain lifelong learning and leadership skills and the confidence they need after graduation.

In addition to freeing up a busy schedule, Paymerang’s finance automation tools also empower staff to advance their careers. For instance, one client was able to leverage the technology to go from practitioner to accountant, and another client was able to move into more of a development role to focus on student-facing activities.

As a premier finance automation provider, Paymerang understands that AP departments face a growing challenge of doing more with less, creating a dire need for AP automation. Implementing Paymerang is easy and straightforward, taking 10 hours or less from start to finish. Paymerang seamlessly integrates with a range of ERPs, including Blackbaud, QuickBooks, Veracross, and Senior Systems.

Paymerang’s K-12 education clients are valued clients, and the company is thrilled about the growth in this industry. We look forward to continuing our growth in education and forging the same success in other verticals as we did in the K-12 space.

Sources:

¹Ardent: Accounts Payable Metrics that Matter in 2021

²2021 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report

³Baker Hostetler 2021 Data Security and Incident Response Report