Baird is a full-service financial firm with more than US$200 billion in assets under management and operations across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Despite the company's global reach, its three-person treasury team also handles accounts receivable. That's a critical function for the client-focused business. Unfortunately, in 2016, receivables processes were largely manual, and staff sometimes had trouble keeping up.

Every day, customers send hundreds of ACH payments and wire transfers to fund their Baird investment accounts. “When these payments come in, we need to post those funds to their accounts as soon as possible,” explains Steve Huse, director of client reporting at Baird. “We work in a real-time environment, with wires coming in throughout the day. These payments are very time-sensitive—they might meet a margin call or fund an imminent purchase. Our financial advisers might be waiting for the funds to hit the customer's account so they can put that money to work in the market.”