Survey of finance and revenue leaders reveals cash delays originate upstream in revenue structure
A new study released by RecVue, the leader in billing and revenue management solutions for enterprises with complex revenue models, found that cash conversion is incrementally improving for most organizations, but traditional levers like collections and term extensions deliver insufficient progress in a mixed-signal market.
The biggest delays to cash conversion improvement are found upstream, where revenue is structured, billed, and validated.
In the new study, From Days to Dollars: Cash Conversion Under Pressure, 89% of organizations report year-over-year cash conversion cycle (CCC) improvement but more than half (53%) report only modest gains. As finance leaders enter 2026 under sustained margin pressure, elevated capital costs, and rising board expectations, modernization of the revenue architecture, including how it is structured, executed, and governed, will play a larger role in CCC performance.
“Traditionally considered a downstream efficiency metric, CCC is now being used as a leading indicator of financial health,” said Nishant Nair, Founder and CEO, RecVue. “While most organizations report modest improvement in CCC, the pace of change falls short of what market conditions demand.”
Hybrid monetization is accelerating
Customer expectation and the hunt for higher revenue is driving companies from one-time sales transactions to hybrid monetization models that include subscriptions, usage-based billing, and outcome-based pricing.
- 82% use hybrid invoicing across usage, subscription, and one-time charges.
- 66% can change pricing models in ≤60 days without code changes.
- 71% can launch new pricing models quickly.
However, structural issues undermine the agility of hybrid models, influencing how revenue translates into cash.
Upstream obstacles extend CCC
The primary sources of CCC friction aren’t collections or accounts receivable processes. Cash delays start much earlier in the revenue lifecycle:
- Invoice accuracy slows cash: 7% of invoices contain errors.
- Dispute resolution lags: Half (54%) of all disputes take up to 10 days to resolve and 59% say manual dispute handling is a leading barrier to CCC improvement.
- Slow supplier payments impact relationships: 37% of supplier on-time payments fall below 89%.
- Forecasting accuracy is fragile: 82% of organizations model DSO/DPO/DIO scenarios yet 64% say errors exceed 5% in 13-week forecasts.
“The path to faster cash begins long before an invoice hits accounts receivable,” said Brian Johnson, CFO, RecVue. “The biggest delays to cash conversion improvement are found upstream, where revenue is structured, billed, and validated. In 2026, cash performance will be determined less by trying harder at what we’ve always done and more from the strength of the underlying revenue architecture.”
Automation and AI use grows but performance lags
Organizations are leaning into automation and AI for key revenue processes:
- 81% use no-code tools for bundles and discounts.
- 80% automate RPO, roll-forward, and disaggregation disclosures.
- 78% use AI to flag billing anomalies before invoices are issued.
- 86% maintain daily consolidated cash visibility.
Despite growing use, performance data lags. Siloed data is a top challenge to CCC improvement (43%). “When revenue systems don’t share contract terms, usage events, pricing rules, amendments and renewals, AI and automation become reactive rather than transformational, illuminating problems rather than eliminating them,” Nair said.