It is a testament to the business-to-business (B2B) landscape that firms tend to pivot toward, and not away, from it. After all, you hear a lot more about one-time business-to-consumer (B2C) firms embracing B2B channels than vice-versa. But that doesn’t mean that the B2B landscape, for all its attractions, is an easy one to thrive within. Fortunately, a suite of modern innovations is transforming the landscape by helping B2B firms solve long-standing legacy frictions, as well as keep an eye on what can’t be controlled for — at least not yet. That’s why PYMNTS keeps an ear to the ground, listening for all of the latest initiatives. The top themes we heard this week were around the benefits of workflow automation; the need of smaller firms for flexible financing solutions; and why operational visibility is at its most important when uncertainty is the only certainty

Payroll infrastructure company Check has teamed with Wave, a money management platform for small businesses. The collaboration, announced Wednesday (April 3), will let the more than 300,000 small businesses using Wave access “full-service payroll functionality” in all 50 U.S. states. “Payroll has long been a growth hurdle for small businesses due to its complexity,” Check said in a news release. “There are 11,000 U.S. payroll jurisdictions, and the administrative burdens that come with proper tax calculation, form filing, and remittance can be stifling for small business owners who are often wearing multiple hats across HR, marketing and more.”