Paychex, a giant in human capital management, is joining forces with BILL, the financial operations platform trusted by nearly half a million businesses, to take some of the chaos out of small-business finance. Their new offering—Bill Pay, Powered by BILL—lives inside the Paychex Flex platform and unifies payroll, HR, and accounts payable in a single dashboard.
And the timing couldn’t be sharper. A 2025 BILL report shows nearly 40% of SMBs plan to automate financial ops in the next six months, while more than 60% say they can’t instantly view their cash position across accounts. In other words, visibility is low and the pressure is high.
“During a time when many small and midsize businesses are facing financial pressure and uncertainty, having a clear, real-time view of the organization’s financial health is critical,” said Cory Mau, VP at Paychex.
Why it matters
Running HR and payroll is already tough; managing vendor payments on top of that can be a time sink. By folding accounts payable into Flex, Paychex and BILL are betting SMBs can cut manual work, make faster decisions, and keep a tighter grip on cash flow.
Competitors like Intuit QuickBooks and ADP also push for SMB financial automation, but Paychex’s angle is deep HR/payroll integration—positioning it less as a plug-in tool and more as a central hub for running a business.
Key features of Bill Pay, Powered by BILL
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Automated bill payments with flexible options to fund and send
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Real-time dashboards for tracking payables and cash flow
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Access to BILL’s vendor network of 8+ million businesses
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Stronger accountant collaboration—a key angle, since nearly half of SMBs still lean on CPAs for guidance
John Rettig, president and COO of BILL, summed up the vision:
“We’re embedding the tools SMBs need directly into the platforms they already rely on, simplifying operations and empowering them to grow.”
The accountant angle
Interestingly, Paychex and BILL aren’t just pitching SMBs—they’re courting accountants too. With 47% of SMBs still leaning on CPAs and bankers for decision-making (per Citizens Bank), the platform aims to give advisors better tools to steer client strategy.
Michael Cerami of CPA.com noted:
“Payments and HR are critical pieces to this process. Through this new partnership, Paychex and BILL will be even better positioned to meet the evolving needs of accounting professionals and the clients they serve.”
What’s next
For now, Bill Pay is exclusive to Paychex Flex customers, but the company plans to expand it across additional platforms. The bigger picture: more consolidation of payroll, HR, and finance functions into single ecosystems—something SMBs have been quietly demanding for years.
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