A Winning Campaign: AP Automation for Advertising and Media’s Next Growth Chapter

The advertising and media industry operates in an extremely complex financial environment. Budgets are dispersed across an expanding mix of platforms, vendors and formats, leaving agencies burdened with manual invoice processing, disjointed systems and rising payment delays. These inefficiencies not only create administrative headaches but also weaken cash flow, damage supplier relationships and stall growth. With late payments now reaching record highs across the sector, agencies are under mounting pressure to adopt smarter, more reliable financial processes.

Meanwhile, advanced technology is opening new pathways to stability and control. Automated invoice-to-pay systems streamline workflows, eliminate errors and provide real-time insights that help agencies manage spend and working capital more effectively while strengthening trust with vendors. As competition intensifies and margins tighten, automation promises to be the strategic foundation for the next chapter of advertising and media growth.

• A Complex Media Landscape Demands Smarter Financial Tools
• Automation Keeps Ad Spend in Bounds While Optimizing Working Capital
• Payments as a Foundation for Stronger Partnerships
• Putting Invoice-to-Pay Automation Into Action

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A Complex Media Landscape Demands Smarter Financial Tools

Fragmented media spending and outdated billing practices are fueling late payments and cash flow volatility across the advertising industry. Agencies need smarter, automated financial tools to regain control and protect growth.

Late payments and strained cash flow have become urgent problems for advertising and media companies.

Advertising and media companies are making headlines—but not necessarily of their own creation. Across the industry, payment delays are now the norm: OAREX reports that 58% of all digital media payments were late in the first half of 2025, the highest rate on record. This is up from 49% in the previous period, with nearly one in five payments more than 15 days overdue.

58%

of advertising and media payments were late in the first half of 2025, up from 49% in the previous period.

Other research provides a clue as to why this is. Ignition finds that 97% of agencies are experiencing late payments from clients, with 56% typically waiting up to 60 days to get paid. These late inflows on the accounts receivable (AR) side inevitably ripple through the rest of the business, putting agencies’ own accounts payable (AP) at risk. According to Ignition’s survey, 63% of agencies across creative, digital, branding, public relations and social media in the United States face somewhat to highly unpredictable cash flow, with 81% saying this factor has compelled them to delay or cancel strategic business initiatives. Moreover, agencies facing tight liquidity are often forced to delay payments to their own vendors, publishers and freelancers, potentially straining crucial relationships.

Outdated systems are a key contributor to these challenges.

Delayed income, however, is not the only source of strain. The modern advertising and media ecosystem is more fragmented than ever, with budgets spread across digital, social, traditional and emerging platforms. This complexity makes it increasingly difficult for agencies to track spending, prevent errors and maintain financial control. Exacerbating this challenge is the fact that too many agencies are still reliant on manual invoice approval and payment processes, leading to needless financial stress.

Indeed, according to Edenred Pay, outdated and mismatched systems across the invoice-to-pay life cycle intensify complications for advertising agencies and media buying companies. Some agencies still rely on invoice processing that feeds manual workflows, while others juggle several disconnected systems. Large buyers often manage reams of paper invoices, while spreadsheets and manual reconciliations make it nearly impossible to forecast payments or assure clients their money was spent effectively. Instead of analyzing performance and designing campaigns, buyers spend valuable hours reconciling hundreds of line items.

For media buyers, invoice management is as critical as the creative strategy. Without centralized processes, agencies struggle with cash flow volatility and limited visibility into spending patterns. The resulting financial unpredictability forces agencies into reactive postures, stalling hiring, investments and growth initiatives. In this environment, the need for structured, automated financial oversight is no longer optional.

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Automation Keeps Ad Spend in Bounds While Optimizing Working Capital

Managing ad spending with spreadsheets and manual systems is no longer sustainable in today’s fast-moving advertising and media landscape. Automation delivers the accuracy, speed and visibility agencies need to control costs and safeguard financial resilience.

Automation delivers efficiency, clarity and control to agency finance operations.

99.5%

Data capture accuracy achieved with automated invoice-to-pay platforms

We’ve seen how manual systems add layers of risk and inefficiency to agency operations, complicating everything from reconciling media buys to managing supplier invoices and campaign spending. Automation, by contrast, gives agencies real-time visibility into invoice and payment data, helping them protect margins, reduce financial risk and keep client campaigns on track. Cloud-based invoice-to-pay platforms centralize paper and electronic invoices in one place, eliminating manual data entry, accelerating exception resolution and enabling nearly flawless data capture accuracy.

Automation also helps agencies weather delayed inflows from clients by smoothing liquidity and unlocking working capital advantages. According to Edenred Pay, leading invoice-to-pay platforms incorporate working capital tools such as early payment discounts and cash-back rebates on qualifying virtual card payments, giving buyers more breathing room when receivables run late.

The benefits go beyond efficiency to include stronger fraud protection.

According to the Association for Financial Professionals, more than 60% of finance teams encountered check fraud in 2024, putting both their firms and their customers at risk of lost data or funds. In a sector where margins are tight and agility is critical, automation ensures not only operational speed but also resilience against financial risk. Agencies that delay automating AP risk falling behind competitors that can deliver both transparency and precision.

Cloud-based AP automation platforms embed multilayered safeguards that keep agency finances secure. These include advanced data encryption, role-based access permissions and multifactor authentication (MFA) to protect sensitive information from cyber threats. Built-in compliance modules such as audit logging and real-time visibility maintain audit-ready records and help agencies meet evolving regulatory standards. These measures ensure data integrity and transparency while allowing finance teams to focus on creativity and client service, confident that their systems remain protected and compliant.

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Payments as a Foundation for Stronger Partnerships

Strong vendor relationships are built on trust, and timely payments are at the core of that trust. With invoice-to-pay automation, agencies can strengthen partnerships, unlock better terms and ensure seamless collaboration.

Timely, accurate payments are critical to vendor relationships.

Advertising and media thrive on collaboration, but strained payment processes often undermine agency-vendor trust. According to Ignition, 84% of agencies spend three to 10 or more hours monthly chasing unpaid invoices, while 42% still create invoices manually. This inefficiency not only distracts from strategic work but also weakens service to both clients and vendors.

84%

of agencies spend three to 10 or more hours per month chasing unpaid invoices.

Reliable, automated payments unlock stronger vendor partnerships.

Automation transforms agency-supplier relationships from transactional to collaborative. For example, Edenred Pay’s automation tool enables straight-through processing and integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and accounting systems, so approvals move quickly and payments reach vendors on time. Faster, data-rich remittances and self-service supplier portals enhance transparency, reducing inquiries and disputes while building trust.

The ability to deliver timely, verifiable payments fortifies every partnership and positions agencies as preferred clients in an increasingly competitive media marketplace.

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Putting Invoice-to-Pay Automation Into Action

With late payments at record highs and fragmented billing systems draining time and resources, automation is no longer a future consideration — it’s a present-day imperative. By embedding invoice-to-pay automation into financial operations, agencies can regain control over cash flow, improve forecasting accuracy and transform back-office complexity into a strategic advantage.

PYMNTS Intelligence offers the following actionable roadmap for companies considering invoice-to-pay automation in advertising and media:

• Connect every part of the payment life cycle — from media buys to vendor invoices — on a single automated platform. This unifies financial data, reduces errors and enables faster approvals across fragmented campaign budgets.
• Adopt secure, cloud-based solutions to reduce fraud risk and enable real-time collaboration. Finance teams can approve payments from anywhere, safeguard sensitive data and keep campaigns moving even under tight deadlines.
• Give suppliers visibility with self-service portals to strengthen partnerships and improve terms. Transparent payment tracking builds trust and reduces disputes.
• Use automation’s real-time data to forecast spend and optimize campaign performance. Predictable cash flow and deeper financial insights help agencies plan confidently, seize new opportunities and protect margins.

By embracing these steps, agencies can do more than eliminate inefficiencies — they can free up capital for growth, deepen vendor trust and reclaim the agility needed to thrive in a fiercely competitive media landscape. In an industry where financial precision underpins creative success, automation is the foundation for long-term resilience and stronger client outcomes.

Advertising and media agencies are being asked to do more with less, all while navigating unpredictable cash flow and fragmented billing systems. At Edenred Pay, we believe automation isn’t just a back-office upgrade—it’s the foundation for financial resilience, stronger supplier relationships and sustained growth. By streamlining every step of the invoice-to-pay process, we empower agencies to focus on what matters most: delivering creative excellence and driving results for their clients.”

Alex Hoffmann
General Manager and CEO, Edenred Pay, North America

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