For decades, accountants have had to schedule payments days in advance, juggle multiple bank logins, and painstakingly track every invoice and bill to ensure vendors get paid on time. That outdated process is rapidly changing, thanks to new platforms that leverage real-time payment rails like FedNow and RTP (Real-Time Payments). These innovations promise to streamline payments, reduce risk, and free accounting professionals to focus on strategic advisory services.
During a recent Earmark Expo, Forwardly CEO Nick Chandi joined hosts Blake Oliver and David Leary to showcase how accountants can tap into these instant payment rails. Below are the highlights from the conversation, illustrating how a platform like Forwardly can upgrade your payment processes—without requiring a drastic overhaul of your accounting systems.
FedNow and RTP: The Dawn of Real-Time Payments
The U.S. payment infrastructure is evolving. FedNow is the Federal Reserve’s new service enabling near-instant settlement—often in under a minute—while RTP (offered by The Clearing House) also provides real-time capabilities. According to Nick, about 77% of bank accounts are already covered by one or both of these rails, making real-time payments more accessible than ever.
But what if a payer’s bank doesn’t support instant payments yet? Forwardly’s fallback is same-day ACH—at no charge—ensuring no disruption in payment flows. This approach guarantees the fastest possible route for every transaction without complexity on the user’s end.
A Single Dashboard for All Clients
One of the biggest challenges for accountants is managing payments across multiple clients, each with their own bank accounts and approval chains. Forwardly consolidates all this data into a single dashboard, showing:
- Real-Time Bank Balances: Aggregated balances across each client’s accounts, updated continuously (via Plaid, when available).
- Outstanding Bills and Invoices: Pulled from integrated accounting systems such as QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho.
- Approvals at a Glance: Quickly see which bills need sign-off and where each payment stands in the workflow.
No more guessing whether there’s enough cash on hand—Forwardly’s system checks and balances before processing bills. The platform sends a warning if a payment is scheduled but funds are insufficient. For accountants, this level of visibility is a huge step toward proactive cash flow management and strategic advisory.
Four-Way Sync and Flexible Integrations
For those who already maintain invoices and bills in QuickBooks Online or Xero, Forwardly automatically pulls those records into its dashboard. Conversely, if you create an invoice directly in Forwardly, it syncs to your ledger. Nick described a “four-way sync” feature that can even pass invoices from a QuickBooks user to a Xero user, bridging two different accounting systems.
What about clients on QuickBooks Desktop or those without a formal accounting system? Forwardly allows you to accept or send payments by connecting directly to a bank account. This flexibility means you can standardize real-time payment processes for all your clients, regardless of their tech stack.
Auto-Payments and Approvals
Recurring invoices can be an accountant’s headache—especially if payment amounts vary. Forwardly addresses this with “auto-payments.” After requesting client authorization via a white-labeled form, the platform automatically collects any invoice that appears. You can also schedule future payments or pay right at the due date, minimizing the float time and optimizing cash flow.
The system enforces proper controls via robust approvals. You can set multi-step thresholds (e.g., payments over $5,000 require two sign-offs). Only when the last designated approver clicks “okay” does the money move. In a nonprofit or multi-partner environment, this ensures checks and balances without bogging you down in manual processes.
Simple, Transparent Pricing
Forwardly’s pricing reflects its focus on instant payments:
- Instant Payments (FedNow or RTP): 1% of the transaction, capped at $10 per payment.
- Fallback Same-Day ACH: Free when instant rails are not available.
- Credit Cards: 2.99% + $0.25 per transaction to get paid on invoices. You can choose to pass through the credit card fee to your customer.
Because same-day ACH is free, you only pay a fee when an instant transaction goes through. This keeps costs low while delivering the speed your clients want—no monthly fees or subscription costs are required. Also, another added benefit is that paying bills with Forwardly is free and it takes only 60 seconds.
Enhanced Role Permissions for Accounting Firms
Firms often need to assign different levels of responsibility to staff. In Forwardly, an Admin or Advisor role carries “superpowers,” meaning they can bypass approval workflows if necessary. A Payment Manager can schedule or initiate payments but cannot override set thresholds. A Reviewer can view details without being able to approve or send money. Each user can be assigned different permissions for different client files, making it easy to stay compliant and maintain sound internal controls. You also get an unlimited number of users at no additional cost.
Transforming Accountants into Payment Strategists
In the demo, Blake and David underscored how real-time payments free accountants to offer more proactive advice to clients. Instead of guessing when to cut checks or dealing with delayed receipts, you can precisely time cash outflows and inflows. You’ll know within seconds whether a transaction succeeded, and you can immediately confirm the date and time in the ledger.
With manual drudgery reduced, accountants can shift their focus to cash flow forecasting, budgeting, and even advisory on optimal payment timing—turning what used to be a cost center into a high-value service offering. By adopting real-time payments, you enable your clients to pay (and get paid) at the speed of modern business.
Looking Ahead
Currently, Forwardly caters exclusively to B2B transactions. Nick explained that personal (consumer) payments are not yet part of the platform. However, expansions to other ERP systems like NetSuite and Sage Intacct and potential consumer capabilities are on the roadmap.
Ready to Upgrade Your Payment Process?
Payment automation isn’t just about moving money faster; it’s about transforming how accountants serve their clients. From centralized dashboards to auto-payments and real-time visibility, modern tools like Forwardly make handling everything from daily bills to large, time-sensitive transactions easier.
To learn more and earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit, watch the full Earmark Expo session. Once you see how effortless real-time payment management can be, you’ll never go back to five-day lead times and manual checks.