Putting business owners in control of their own payments management and other finances helps them grow their business while being less reliant on accountants.
However, business owners don’t want to have to take over the tedious jobs of processing invoices or making payments from their accountant.
Luckily this problem can be solved with a number of simple services:
Processing purchase invoices. Banks can offer a service to scan and automatically categorize purchase invoices. This not only saves time, it also offers earlier visibility and therefore better control over spend.
Reconciling with accounting systems. Once banks offer invoice processing and order approvals, they can automatically mark invoices in the accounting system as reconciled.
Automating payments. Making payments is not only time-consuming, but it's also an error- and fraud-prone process. Many businesses have been the victim of invoice fraud where unsuspecting admin personnel were pressured into transferring unauthorized amounts to fraudsters. Once banks offer invoice processing and order approvals, SMEs would no longer need to do this. Approved invoices can be paid automatically on the due date, cash flow permitting.
Setting aside value-added tax (VAT). Once a bank processes invoices, it can automatically set aside sufficient funds to pay VAT every quarter. Banks can also offer a service to help manage payroll, cutting time and processing complications.
The question for banks has always been how to serve SMEs cost-effectively. When implementing a road map, this becomes even more important as the service portfolio becomes wider and potentially more customized.
