AI’s Game-Changing Impact on B2B Revenue Management

Technology has made many tasks like paying employees, managing bills, and handling expenses much more manageable in business finance. However, tracking revenue—essential for any company’s success—has mostly relied on old tools like spreadsheets and emails, leading to a lot of manual work and confusion. Fortunately, that situation is starting to improve. 

In a recent Earmark Expo webinar, Blake Oliver, CPA, and David Leary explored how Tabs, a new AI-powered platform, transforms B2B revenue management by bringing invoicing, usage-based billing, and revenue recognition under one roof.

Why Revenue Management Has Lagged Behind

Even though significant improvements have been made in automating accounts payable and payroll processes, managing revenue still requires a lot of manual effort. David pointed out that the accounting department is responsible for handling payroll and paying bills, but revenue management often gets divided among different teams, including marketing, sales, and finance.

According to Ali Hussain, CEO and founder of Tabs, “Revenue is just a very complex discipline from a data standpoint.” Each contract can carry unique terms, amendments, and usage triggers. Until recently, this complexity kept automation efforts at bay.

In 2023, artificial intelligence advanced enough to tackle complicated business contracts, even those tucked away in emails or side agreements. Taking a cue from how today's accounting and payroll systems have combined various tools into a single platform, Tabs offers an all-in-one solution for managing the entire revenue process. This means businesses no longer have to search through multiple spreadsheets, contract systems, and scattered documents to close the books.

From Contract Ingestion to Collections and Revenue reporting: A Look Inside Tabs

During the demo, Caitlin Lu, Head of Partnerships, showcased how Tabs centralizes every step of the revenue cycle:

• Forward a contract (formal MSA, email agreement, renewal, side letter—English language only) to Tabs’ secure email.
• Tabs automatically scans the document, extracting billing terms, pricing details, renewal dates, payment schedules, and usage allowances.

• Tabs auto-generates invoices based on the extracted terms.
• Users can edit or confirm billing frequency or payment terms before sending.
• Integration with QuickBooks or NetSuite is bidirectional: once sent, the invoice syncs to the general ledger, and any subsequent changes in QuickBooks or NetSuite flow back into Tabs.

• For companies charging by hourly rates, seat licenses, tiered usage, or any variable consumption model, Tabs removes the need for manual calculations.
• To share usage data, simply upload CSV files or integrate a BI tool. Tabs then apply the contract’s negotiated rates.

• Tabs automatically computes deferred, unbilled, and recognized revenue aligned with GAAP requirements.
• It generates corresponding journal entries for each period, which are ready for import into the GL.
• For audits, every revenue schedule is tied to the original contract, creating a clear paper trail.

• A live collections dashboard highlights overdue invoices, pending invoices, and upcoming renewals.
• Automated reminders can be sent to customers.
• Renewal information, including price escalators or extended terms, surfaces well ahead of contract end dates, mitigating revenue leakage.

• Each invoice includes a secure payment link where customers can pay by ACH, credit card, wire, or check.
• ACH, checks, and wires incur no additional fees in Tabs; credit card fees depend on the Stripe terms negotiated by the merchant.
• Tabs applies payments and reconciles amounts automatically, marking invoices paid in both Tabs and your accounting system.

Implementation and Pricing

Unlike traditional billing systems that can take six to nine months to set up, Tabs is designed to help finance teams get started in just one billing cycle. There's no need for costly technical projects; many companies can simply export their usage data from their product team using a spreadsheet. Tabs takes care of everything else from there.

Tabs offers a straightforward pricing plan with a fixed fee, meaning there are no extra charges based on how much you use the service. They collaborate with Stripe to handle credit card payments, but you can choose any payment processor.

Transforming the Role of Finance

The Tabs approach offers a refreshing solution for accountants who often find themselves overwhelmed by complicated revenue models, spreadsheets, or the hassle of tracking down missing contract updates. Instead of getting bogged down with tedious data entry and reconciliations, finance teams can focus on more valuable tasks. This includes providing insights on pricing strategies or analyzing how profitable different customers are. Plus, the system helps ensure everything is ready for audits and automatically handles journal entries, which helps to minimize mistakes and keeps financial records tidy.

“This is your chance to do more with less,” says Ali. By centralizing contracts, usage, billing, and revenue recognition, Tabs enables finance professionals to be proactive rather than reactive—whether at a large firm managing hundreds of contracts or at a growing SaaS startup looking to modernize its revenue processes.