Billing and Revenue Management: How to Stop Revenue Leaks and Speed Up Payments

The revenue you close should be the revenue you collect.

Yet too many companies lose money to outdated billing systems, poor invoice design, and manual processes that slow down payments. According to the latest State of Sales report, sales teams are bringing in more recurring revenue than ever — 79% of sales leaders say revenue has increased over the past year. But if billing processes can't keep up, that growth doesn't translate into predictable cash flow.

A billing and revenue management system does more than automate invoicing‌. ‌It protects revenue, increases flexibility, and ensures sales teams get paid for every deal they close.

• What is billing and revenue management (BRM)?
• Why is billing and revenue management important?
• 6 key functions of billing and revenue management
• Examples of billing and revenue management
• 5 best practices for implementing billing and revenue management
• How can sales AI and automation improve billing and revenue management?
• The future of billing and revenue management

Billing and revenue management (BRM) is the process of managing customer billing, payments, and revenue recognition to ensure accurate financial reporting. For sales teams, BRM represents the final step in turning closed deals into realized revenue.

It covers everything from subscription and usage-based billing to pricing adjustments, invoicing, and revenue forecasting. BRM systems help companies stay agile‌ — ‌allowing them to shift pricing models, automate revenue tracking, and reduce inefficiencies that slow down cash flow.

Billing and revenue management (BRM) is the process of managing customer billing, payments, and revenue recognition to ensure accurate financial reporting. For sales teams, BRM represents the final step in turning closed deals into realized revenue.

It covers everything from subscription and usage-based billing to pricing adjustments, invoicing, and revenue forecasting. BRM systems help companies stay agile‌ — ‌allowing them to shift pricing models, automate revenue tracking, and reduce inefficiencies that slow down cash flow.

The way companies generate revenue has changed‌ — ‌and many billing systems haven't kept up. Businesses that once relied on simple contracts and one-time payments now need to support subscription models, usage-based pricing, and dynamic packaging. Without a flexible BRM system, adapting to these shifts becomes a challenge, limiting both revenue growth and efficiency.

The biggest issue? Rigid billing infrastructure makes it hard to scale. Teams struggle to modify pricing, introduce new revenue models, or automate invoicing without heavy customizations. Manual processes slow everything down, creating friction among sales, finance, and customers.

A BRM system removes these barriers. It automates billing, integrates with sales software, and supports real-time pricing adjustments, so businesses gain the agility to keep up with evolving customer demands. AI-powered insights take it even further‌ — ‌predicting revenue trends, identifying potential risks, and making sure every dollar earned is a dollar collected.

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Billing and revenue management connects sales, finance, and operations, ensuring that revenue flows smoothly from deal to collection. Without the right infrastructure, businesses risk slow payment cycles, revenue leakage, and pricing inflexibility that can cost them a competitive advantage.

One key component of effective BRM is seamless integration with pricing and quoting tools like Salesforce CPQ. When sales teams use CPQ to configure pricing and generate accurate quotes, those details flow directly into the billing system‌ — ‌ensuring invoices reflect the right terms, discounts, and contract details without manual adjustments.

Here are the key functions of an effective BRM system:

A BRM system supports subscription, usage-based, and hybrid pricing models, allowing businesses to adjust pricing structures without requiring extensive development work.

By eliminating manual errors and automating renewals, revenue lifecycle management software solutions speed up collections and ensure invoices are accurate.

Businesses can maintain financial accuracy and meet regulatory requirements by aligning billing with recognized revenue standards.

With access to historical and real-time data, AI for sales helps teams predict customer demand and improve revenue optimization and pricing strategies. When this is combined with AI-driven BRM, businesses can improve revenue forecasting, reduce missed billing opportunities, and speed up collections.

Tools like Salesforce CPQ ensure that pricing configurations and quotes flow directly into the billing system, reducing manual errors, preventing revenue leakage, and ensuring invoices reflect the correct terms, discounts, and contract details.

Customers can manage their accounts, update subscription management settings, and make payments with ease, improving the overall user experience and reducing administrative burden.

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Many companies don't realize their billing system is holding them back until they try to scale. Whether it's a fast-growing SaaS company shifting from a subscription model to usage-based pricing or a global enterprise struggling to unify revenue operations, outdated billing processes create revenue bottlenecks that slow growth. Here are some examples of how a good BRM system can help:

Tracking annual recurring revenue (ARR) is essential for subscription-based businesses to measure predictable growth and long-term financial health. Without a system that can adjust pricing dynamically, businesses risk losing customers who need more flexibility.

For example, many companies build their initial pricing models on a fixed structure that works for early growth but struggles at scale. One common issue is the inability to modify pricing plans dynamically‌ — ‌a problem that BRM systems are designed to solve. With the right infrastructure, businesses can introduce usage-based billing, automate renewals, and adjust pricing models on demand without relying on engineers to manually update their systems.

Revenue leakage is one of the most overlooked risks in billing and revenue management. It happens when companies fail to bill for everything they've sold — whether due to contract misalignment, pricing inconsistencies, or untracked usage.

For example, some companies discover that their quote-to-invoice process doesn't always match‌. This means they're offering discounts or special terms that aren't reflected in their billing systems. AI-powered BRM solutions catch these discrepancies in real time, ensuring businesses bill accurately and collect the revenue they've earned.

Late payments can disrupt cash flow, and manual collections processes make it worse by relying on generic follow-ups that don't always reach customers at the right time. Businesses that take a reactive approach to collections often find themselves chasing payments instead of preventing delays.

For example, companies using AI-driven collections workflows can predict which customers are likely to pay late and adjust outreach strategies accordingly. Instead of sending one-size-fits-all payment reminders, a smart BRM system can determine whether a personalized email, text, or call is the best approach based on the customer's past payment behavior. This not only reduces time-to-payment, but also improves customer relationships by making collections feel less like a demand and more like a service.

Expanding into new markets comes with a long list of billing challenges — multi-currency transactions, tax compliance, regional pricing models, and local payment preferences. Companies that try to manually manage this risk delayed payments, regulatory penalties, and a disjointed customer experience.

For example, businesses that sell in multiple countries often struggle with tax regulations that vary by region. If their billing system isn't built to handle automated tax calculations, they end up relying on manual adjustments that slow down invoicing and increase the risk of errors. A modern BRM system ensures that taxes, compliance rules, and regional pricing updates happen automatically, allowing businesses to scale without complexity.

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Implementing a BRM system isn't just about replacing outdated processes — it's about setting up a foundation for future growth. Companies that rush into implementation without a clear strategy often find themselves re-creating the inefficiencies they were trying to eliminate.

To get it right, businesses should focus on these best practices:

A BRM system is only as effective as the data it relies on. Duplicate records, outdated pricing structures, and mismatched customer accounts can cause billing errors and revenue loss. For a smooth transition, it's important for businesses to standardize data and get rid of duplicate information before they launch a BRM system.

Many billing inefficiencies exist simply because "it's how things have always been done." Before implementing a new system, businesses should audit their processes and remove unnecessary complexities that slow down revenue operations.

Custom-built billing solutions often become a long-term liability. Instead of overengineering a system to match old workflows, companies should embrace out-of-the-box functionality that allows for flexibility and scalability without unnecessary development costs.

A disconnected billing system creates friction. Seamless integration using tools like Sales Cloud and revenue management software ensures that data flows correctly from quoting to invoicing to financial reporting, improving accuracy and efficiency.

BRM systems with built-in AI functionality help businesses predict revenue trends, improve collections, and automate billing workflows, reducing manual effort and improving cash flow. Companies that use AI to refine their billing strategies see measurable improvements in both efficiency and revenue capture.

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Billing shouldn't be a bottleneck. But for too many companies, outdated processes slow down collections, create unnecessary manual work, and leave revenue on the table. AI and automation change that by eliminating inefficiencies, predicting revenue trends, and improving collections‌ — ‌giving sales teams more flexibility and control over how revenue flows.

The results speak for themselves: 83% of sales teams with AI saw revenue growth in the past year, compared to 66% of teams without AI. Here's where AI is making the biggest impact:

• Faster, smarter support: When a billing rep doesn't understand an invoice, AI can break it down instantly, helping them respond to customers without back-and-forth between teams.
• Predictive revenue insights: AI can analyze payment history and flag potential late payers before an invoice is even due, giving teams time to act.
• Fixing revenue leakage: AI can surface issues — a missing charge, a contract misalignment, or unbilled usage — that would otherwise go unnoticed.
• Automated collections that work: Instead of blasting generic reminders, AI recommends the best way to follow up — whether that's a call, an email, or a text — based on how a customer has responded in the past.
• Smarter pricing strategies: AI helps businesses test new pricing models, adjust rates by region, and refine packaging to maximize revenue without losing customers.

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Revenue models aren't getting any simpler. Businesses are shifting to usage-based pricing, hybrid subscriptions, and dynamic billing structures that require more flexibility than legacy systems can handle. Sales teams need to know that the deals they close won't be held up by outdated processes, disconnected systems, or manual invoicing bottlenecks.

A billing and pricing for revenue lifecycle management approach ensures that pricing adjustments don't take weeks to implement, that invoices are accurate the first time, and that revenue teams can focus on growth instead of chasing payments. AI and automation take it a step further, helping businesses forecast revenue, improve collections, and reduce revenue leakage — without adding complexity.

The companies that get this right won't just speed up billing — they'll be on the fast track to new revenue, stronger customer relationships, and improved confidence to sell without limitations.

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