Barrett Smith on turning complexity into cash flow

Barrett Smith doesn’t believe B2B payments are broken. He believes they’re buried in paper trails, fragmented systems, and decades of process inertia.

As Chief Payments and Customer Operations Officer at Versapay, Smith is leading an effort to address the complexity of accounts receivable at its source. The company sits at the intersection of automation, ERP integration, and payment orchestration. But Smith prefers a simpler description.

The company’s focus is on improving days sales outstanding (DSO), accelerating cash flow, and reducing the operational cost of collecting what’s owed. For finance leaders, the pitch is straightforward: digitise the receivables process and see the cash sooner.

Where automation meets legacy infrastructure

Many of Versapay’s customers operate in sectors where invoice volume, organisational complexity, or collections bottlenecks make receivables hard to manage. Manufacturing, professional services, wholesale and distribution are all in scope.

The product architecture reflects this range. From embedded ERP integrations to an internal gateway and cash application platform, Versapay is focused on stitching together the broken workflows that have traditionally separated data from payments.

Smith calls this the “last mile” of payments infrastructure where reconciliation is often manual, error-prone, or delayed.

Versapay’s edge comes from embedding intelligence at each of these points. Payment data isn’t just processed. It’s enriched and passed across systems in ways that support automation. For CFOs, this means fewer disputes, faster collections, and better liquidity.

Payments are still changing but the pain points remain

Smith is quick to point out that the problems haven’t changed. What’s changed is the data. While terms like omnichannel and embedded payments have become standard, the real shift is how much information must move with each transaction.

Passing the correct data for example, Level 2 and Level 3 fields for commercial card optimisation has become critical not just for compliance, but for cost efficiency. Visa’s commercial enhancement programmes, among others, now demand higher data quality to unlock preferred interchange rates.

The complexity isn’t new. But the expectations are.

Product strategy by simplification, not novelty

Versapay’s product roadmap is less focused on breakout features and more on simplification. With a platform built from five legacy companies, the goal has been integration, merging systems, reducing friction, and improving transparency.

Collections tools, ERP connectors, surcharging options, none of these are new. But Smith sees value in executing them seamlessly, especially for customers already dealing with complexity.

The team is also leaning into customer needs around predictability. A recent case study showed a reduction in DSO that allowed a client to cut its revolver by $6 million.

That kind of liquidity shift, Smith said, is what makes the value of automation tangible.

AI as teammate, not threat

Unsurprisingly, Smith is bullish on AI. From predictive analytics to internal process improvements, Versapay is already embedding machine learning across its platform.

Cash application matching now improves through usage. AI is also being used to triage support tickets, generate internal summaries, and automate common workflows. Even customer interactions are beginning to benefit from faster identification of issues and root causes.

Smith doesn’t see AI as disruptive in the negative sense. He sees it as inevitable and ultimately empowering.

“It’s not altruistic,” he said. “But it is a win–win. If we can free up cash flow for our customers, they grow. And we grow with them.”

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— The Unofficially ETA Transact Team

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