5 tips to increase working capital and cash flow in 2026

After years of reacting to one disruption after another, finance leaders are entering 2026 facing a different kind of challenge: slower growth, tighter margins and sustained uncertainty. Recent research tells the story:

• 75% of CFOs are now more focused on downside risk and cost containment than expansion (Gartner)
• Over half of mid-market CFOs report worsening forecasts for 2025 (CFO Alliance)
• Those same CFOs rank working capital among their top priorities (CFO Alliance)

The next wave of financial leadership isn’t about reacting to shocks, but building agility—and finding smarter ways to increase working capital without cutting costs.

When finance teams automate workflows and tighten control, they unlock the visibility that drives liquidity. And where does that liquidity live? Inside working capital and cash flow.

Why working capital and cash flow matter more than ever

Working capital and cash flow have always been essential metrics. What’s changed is how much volatility they’re expected to absorb. 

Slower growth, uneven revenue cycles and rising operational costs are forcing finance teams to treat liquidity as a lever for resilience, not just a reporting metric. And in a slow economy, even small timing shifts, like a late receivable or early vendor payment, can quickly tighten liquidity.

But the real constraint isn’t access to capital; it’s the visibility to manage it in real time. That lag limits agility—the very trait companies need most in 2026.

Closing that gap takes rethinking the systems that quietly drain liquidity. Here are 5 tips that help finance leaders do just that.

Tip 1: Automate manual finance tasks

Manual work is one of the biggest hidden drains on liquidity. Every hour spent matching receipts, correcting GL codes or reconciling transactions keeps finance teams from making fast, confident decisions. And those delays add up, tying up cash, slowing forecasts and missing opportunities for growth.

Automation as a lever for liquidity

Automation changes that dynamic by instantly capturing, processing and syncing expense data. Removing the burden of manual work means finance teams can manage outcomes, not processes. 

Case in point: Shannon Staley and Sons

The construction firm manages hundreds of distributed expenses. By automating reconciliation and expense reporting, the team reclaimed ≈ 2,430 hours per year—the equivalent of five full-time finance hires. Access to real-time transaction data also allowed leadership to spot margin issues early and adjust project strategies, ultimately protecting more than $100K in potential losses.

Automation doesn’t just save hours; it rewrites the rhythm of cash. What once took weeks now happens in real time, turning finance from a back-office function into the engine of agility.

Tip 2: Control company-wide spending

Visibility is powerful, but it’s not protection. Without built-in controls to enforce policy, real-time dashboards just show you how fast cash is leaving. The real advantage comes from guardrails that prevent out-of-policy spending before it happens.

Turning visibility into control

Automated spend rules close that gap. By setting customized parameters based on merchant, timeframe or amount, finance teams can enforce policy automatically across the company. Automated approvals ensure every transaction gets the right level of oversight.

Case in point: Artisan Capital Group 

After replacing 25+ corporate cards and spreadsheets with an integrated platform featuring spend controls, the firm gained company-wide visibility and discipline. Reimbursement and reconciliation cycles fell from 6-9 months to just 30-40 days, freeing roughly $150K in working capital and giving finance leaders confidence that every dollar followed policy.

Controls don’t slow spending; they make it smarter. Finance shifts from reaction to intention, steering spend proactively instead of cleaning it up after the fact.

Tip 3: Manage vendor payments with virtual cards

Recurring vendor payments can quietly drain cash if they aren’t managed centrally. Certain vendors might receive check or ACH payments via AP while individual teams sign up for subscriptions on a shared card. Unintended renewals, one-off charges or even duplicate payments can happen automatically, creating surprise outflows that drain necessary cash. 

Centralizing control through virtual cards

Virtual cards solve that problem by giving finance teams control at the source. They can issue each vendor or SaaS subscription its own unique card number, with custom spend limits, expiration dates and usage rules. That ensures that every payment is budget-compliant and traceable, and prevents unexpected charges.

Case in point: Family in Christ Community Church 

With multiple ministries managing their own subscriptions, the church needed to centralize vendor payments. By adopting virtual vendor cards, each ministry leader now handles their own recurring expenses within predefined limits. Finance maintains full visibility across all payments. And monthly spending remains predictable and policy-compliant, keeping funds in the church’s hands. 

Virtual cards don’t just manage vendors; they bring order to the flow of payments. They keep cash where it belongs: working for the organization.

Tip 4: Replace petty cash and manual reimbursements

Petty cash might seem convenient, but it’s the fastest way to lose track of liquidity.

Cash boxes and paper receipts create blind spots and open the door to errors and unapproved spending. Manual reimbursements create similar issues, slowing month-end close and draining valuable time from both employees and accounting.

Restoring visibility to everyday spend

Replacing petty cash and manual reimbursements with automated expense reporting reduces time-lags and brings spending under control. Every transaction is logged, tagged, approved and synced to accounting in real time, eliminating opaque outflows and improving compliance.

Case in point: Southwestern Healthcare

Before automation, teams relied on petty cash and manual reimbursements that made tracking difficult. By adopting a prepaid and corporate card program integrated with automated expense management, Southwestern Healthcare achieved 95% receipt submission compliance and saved 10 hours per month in manual reconciliation. Finance now closes faster and operates with full transparency, while also empowering field staff to make necessary purchases..

Digital disbursements don’t just replace petty cash; they reclaim it, converting idle cash into active capital.

Tip 5: Align financial systems for faster decision-making

Even the best cash management strategies lose power when systems don’t connect. Expense data in one platform, budgets in another and reconciliation in a third create lag. Disconnected tools turn yesterday’s numbers into today’s blind spots. That delay ties up cash that could be working for the business.

Connecting systems for real-time insight

Integrating expense management, accounting and reporting tools eliminates lag and closes visibility gaps. With real-time data syncs, finance teams can reconcile instantly, forecast accurately and act on insights instead of waiting for them.

Case in point: Wheelhouse Group 

The production finance team replaced manual processes with an integrated spend management platform, connecting card transactions directly to their accounting software, GreenSlate, for centralized visibility. The change cut close time by 4 hours per month and gave leaders real-time control over project budgets. What was once a fragmented workflow became a connected system, where decisions happen as quickly as the data does.

Integration doesn’t just speed up reporting; it sharpens decision-making, turning visibility into an advantage.

Turning visibility into liquidity

Liquidity isn’t unlocked by a single lever. It’s built by connecting the right processes, systems and people. CFOs who treat automation and visibility as strategic assets, not just cost-savers, are the ones who’ll move faster and adapt sooner in 2026 and beyond.

PEX helps finance teams do exactly that. By automating spend management, enforcing real-time controls and syncing data directly to accounting systems, PEX gives finance leaders instant visibility into where cash is moving—and where it’s being held up. Across our customer base, finance teams using PEX report on average:

• 657 hours saved annually through automation that eliminates manual reconciliation
• Over $35K in accounting time recovered each year, freeing cash and team capacity

That’s proof that visibility isn’t just about knowing more; it’s about moving faster. Want to see how to apply it to your business? Book a demo to explore how PEX helps finance teams keep more cash working in their favor.