Between collection systems and banks, ERP’s, and check scanning/management platforms, the reality for most AR teams in independent distribution is logging into four different systems trying to figure out if they've actually been paid.

Finance Hub was built to be an end-to-end finance platform for independent distribution. With the ability to collect and process nearly every form of digital and physical payments, Finance Hub saves time for AR teams and reduces DSO across the board. 

How Pepper gets distributors paid faster across every payment method

The problem isn't that distributors lack payment options, It's that the tools behind those options were never built for how distribution actually works: high-volume, multi-stop, route-based businesses where AR teams might spend half their day just reconciling payments to invoices. Legacy platforms bolt on digital payments as an afterthought, leaving AR teams to stitch together disconnected systems that create more work than they eliminate. On top of that, no one has built a specialized product for food wholesale distribution payments.

Our modern collections platform changes the equation. When every payment method flows through a single system that's purpose-built for distribution, the result isn't just faster payments. It's fewer deductions, less manual reconciliation, and an AR team that spends its time on exceptions instead of data entry. Here's how Pepper makes that real:

Check Scanning

Paper checks aren't going anywhere in food distribution. Between large accounts, long-standing customers, and older operators, checks are still a real part of the payment mix. The traditional process: get standalone check scanning software, wait for it to clear, manually match it to open invoices. You might even be waiting for checks in the mail or having your drivers pick them up.

With check scanning in Finance Hub, a check gets scanned directly into the system. It gets automatically matched to the customer we know it’s for, and automatically reconciled against their open invoices. It posts like any other payment - matched to the invoice, captured in the settlement report, flowing to the ERP. The check still exists. The manual work doesn't.

ACH

ACH is the workhorse of B2B payments, but also the most opaque. When a customer initiates a bank transfer, there's no guarantee the payment description will match anything in your system. You might not even know that they’ve sent it until it lands in your bank account! Finance Hub supports both standard ACH and Plaid-verified ACH, where the customer connects their bank account directly. Either way, the payment auto-matches to the invoice it's paying and posts to your ERP. No mystery line items. No manual matching at month-end.‍

See more: ACH payments in Pepper

In-Person Card Payments with Payment Terminals

Will-call and walk-up customers pay at the counter. Historically that means a card reader connected to nothing, a receipt that goes in a drawer, and an AR entry that happens later (if it happens at all).

Finance Hub's payment terminals are integrated into the same system. A customer swipes or taps, and that transaction is tied to their account and their open invoices in real time. The counter stops being a gap in the reconciliation process.

See how easy it is to accept payments in the following 3 minute snippet from our recent webinar:

Digital Card Payments

Card payments for distributors have always worked… the problem is they've worked somewhere else. A separate processor portal, a separate login, a separate settlement report. Finance Hub handles card acceptance directly, so when a customer pays by credit or debit, it flows through the same reconciliation layer as every other payment type. Same auto-match. Same ERP posting. No portal-hopping.

‍Bonus: Finance Hub is fully PCI Compliant so you don’t have to worry about security.

Statement Emails

For customers who need a nudge, statement emails let AR teams send a snapshot of open invoices directly to the customer — no phone call, no manual export. Customers see exactly what's outstanding and can pay from the same communication. It's the lightest-touch version of a collections conversation.

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Payment Plans

When a customer is behind and a lump sum isn't realistic, payment plans give AR teams a structured way to work through the balance. Instead of an ad hoc arrangement tracked in a spreadsheet, the plan lives in Finance Hub — scheduled, visible, and matched against invoices as installments come in, reconciled automatically into your ERP.

Read more: Creating Payment Plans in Pepper

Autopay

For customers who've opted in, Autopay removes the payment step entirely. Invoices reach their due date and get collected automatically against the customer's card or bank account on file. No reminder needed, no manual trigger, no follow-up. The AR team sees it settle like any other payment. Set it and watch the money come in.

Read more: Pepper Autopay, Set it and Forget it.

One Screen. Every Payment.

The shift Finance Hub creates isn't about any single payment method getting easier. It's about what happens when all of them live in the same place.

Settlement reporting, voids, refunds, receipts, payment reminders, bulk processing, direct charge: It all lives in PMC. AR teams stop toggling between a bank portal, a processor portal, a deposit log, and a spreadsheet. They work from one screen.

More practically: when a customer calls and says "I paid last Tuesday," the AR team doesn't have to go check three places. It's there. When the books need to close, everything that came in, regardless of how, is already matched, posted, and accounted for.

The payment method stops mattering to the AR team's workflow, because no matter how the customer pays, the next step is always the same.

Finance Hub is part of Pepper's platform for food distributors. Learn more here.

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