How Small Business Payment Solutions Help With Supply Chain Issues

Key takeaways

• Adopt digital payment solutions to pay bills and get paid without slow paper checks.
• Recognize that checks cost more and move slower, which strains cash flow when money is tight.
• Use payment scheduling and tracking to time bills and keep more cash in your business.
• Choose a tool that fits your cash flow needs and syncs with your accounting software.

How supply chain issues affect small businesses

Supply chain delays and rising costs hit small businesses hard. When shipments run late and prices climb, owners feel the squeeze on both sides.

Confidence slips when you face inventory shortages and unfilled roles. Thin cash buffers make every delay riskier, so steady cash flow matters more than ever. In fact, the typical small business holds only about 17.6 days of cash, per the JPMorganChase Institute. And 39% carry less than a month of cash on hand, per Bluevine’s 2025 survey.

Why outdated payment systems hold small businesses back

Many small businesses still lean on paper checks and manual bank bill pay. These methods are slow, costly, and hard to track when cash is tight.

Checks aren’t fading fast, either. They still made up 26% of business-to-business payments in 2025, down from 33% in 2022. That figure comes from the 2025 AFP Digital Payments Survey.

Checks also cost more than you might think. A paper check runs about $2–$4 or more to issue, while ACH costs roughly $0.26–$0.50, reports IOFM. That gap adds up when money is tight.

How digital payment solutions help small businesses

Small business payment solutions are digital tools that let you pay bills and get paid without paper checks. They make payments faster, safer, and easier to track.

Going digital helps you stay on top of your finances. Here’s what that looks like day to day:

• Better tracking: See every payment in one place.
• Flexible scheduling: Time payments to protect cash flow.
• Faster delivery: Pay vendors without waiting on the mail.

Late payments make this even more urgent. Today 56% of small businesses are owed money on unpaid invoices. Each is owed about $17,500 on average, found the 2025 QuickBooks Late Payments Report.

Paying vendors and bills with a credit card

Some tools let you pay a vendor with a credit card even if they don’t accept cards. The vendor gets paid in the form they prefer, while you hold onto your cash longer.

This gives you more control over timing. You can cover a bill now and pay the card on its next billing cycle.

How to choose a small business payment solution

The right solution fits how you already work. Look for a tool that matches your cash flow needs and your accounting setup.

• Payment options: Check for bank transfers, cards, and vendor payouts.
• Speed and scheduling: Look for flexible timing that protects cash flow.
• Integrations: Make sure it syncs with tools like QuickBooks or Xero.
• Security: Confirm the platform keeps payments safe and compliant.

Making the switch to digital payments

Switching to digital payments is simpler than it looks. Start small, connect your accounting tool, and move one vendor at a time.

For small businesses like New York-based Martin’s Handmade Pretzels, digital payments have saved real time. Just like the shift to email, the change soon feels natural.

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