Billtrust B2B Sales Index™ Rebounds In August, But Shows Anemic Growth For Recent Three Months

- Metric by Leader in Outsourced Billing Services Gauges Growth Rates in Business-to-Business (B2B) Invoice Dollars

- Index Growth is Highly Correlated with GDP Growth Six Months Hence

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Sep 12, 2013, 10:00 ET

HAMILTON, N.J., Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Billtrust, the leading outsourced billing services provider, today announced its second release of the Billtrust B2B Sales Index™. The monthly Index is an indicator of current and trending U.S. economic conditions, based on a reliable sampling of business-to-business invoice activity. The Index rebounded 3.1% in August after an historically pessimistic June-July result.

Over the three-month period ending 8/31/2013, the Index's average value was 100.3 – nearly flat when compared to May's level of 100.0. As a result of the Bureau of Economic Analysis' revision of nominal GDP for 2013Q2, the Billtrust B2B Sales Index™ has led the GDP with a correlation of 0.77 (revised from 0.79). These results contribute to the notion that the economy may be slowing ahead.

Overseeing the Billtrust B2B Sales Index™ is Arthur A. Ferri, Ph.D., Advanced Analytics Consultant for Billtrust. Ferri was formerly Associate Professor in the Finance and Economics Division of Columbia Business School. He holds a doctorate in finance and international business from NYU's Stern School of Business. "Although the Index rebounded in August, concerns remain for the U.S. economy post-November 2013, should the historical, leading correlation persist" said Ferri.

The Billtrust B2B Sales Index™ is developed by scientifically assessing invoice data from a range of industries including hardware, plumbing, heating equipment, electrical goods, building supply and other wholesale trades. Firms in the Index are selected on the basis of low monthly sales volatility. On average, each firm sends 11,000 invoices per month to 1,500 customers; together, the firms in the Index generate aggregate invoice amounts of $17 billion per annum.

"This index helps fill a void by providing fresh, timely data on the important and under-reported, B2B sector of the economy. As an economist, I value having this new reading on the health of the B2B sector," said Joel Naroff, Ph.D., President of Naroff Economic Advisors.

"I find the Billtrust index very valuable in that it is based on actual transaction data provided in real time. And it is a bonus that it seems to be a leading indicator of GDP," said Robert Wiedemer, author of The New York Times best-seller, Aftershock Investor.

Currently serving more than 1,000 corporate customers that represent over 250 million transactions and over $200 billion in annual receivables, Billtrust is a pioneer in the fast-growing e-billing industry. Its menu of services spans a range of paper and online billing channels for the delivery and payment of invoices and statements.

To learn more about the Billtrust B2B Sales Index, visit www.billtrust.com/b2bsalesindex.

About Billtrust
Headquartered in Hamilton NJ, Billtrust is a premier provider of outsourced billing solutions. Its products and services help companies' billing practices become "Customer-Centric," a concept that emphasizes flexible accommodation of customer needs. Billtrust's billing channels span paper, fax, e-mail, online billing (EBPP, EIPP, Invoice Central), eBanking and IVR. In addition, the company provides expert bill design, in-bill marketing services, and CustomerCare, an integrated online customer service portal. Billtrust's comprehensive tools automate the billing process so businesses can save money, increase productivity, improve cash flow, and seamlessly migrate to electronic delivery. For more information, visit Billtrust online at www.billtrust.com.

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SOURCE Billtrust