Now, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) can effortlessly collect payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts and seamlessly reconcile them in QuickBooks when they’re due. This means no more fretting over late payments, lost credit card details, or chasing manual payments.
Bank payment company GoCardless has unveiled an integration with Intuit QuickBooks, a prominent financial management software, in Australia. Through the new GoCardless app, now accessible in the Intuit QuickBooks Store, Australian QuickBooks users can utilize Direct Debit services to streamline payments, thereby minimizing delays and enhancing cash flow. This development comes as a boon for small and medium-sized businesses grappling with lengthy payment cycles, with reports indicating an average waiting period of up to 47 days for payment, as highlighted by the Australian Government’s Payment Times Reporting Regulator.
The GoCardless integration will allow Intuit QuickBooks small business users to gain greater control of their finances. On the date an invoice is due, payments are automatically collected directly from their customers’ bank accounts and reconciled on the Intuit Quickbooks platform. Direct Debit payments also cost less to process when compared to payment by credit cards. GoCardless’s standard fees are generally also cheaper than those charged by Stripe and PayPal.
In turn, small businesses can offer their customers more secure and seamless payment experiences, removing the hassle of updating expired, lost or stolen card details and the need to initiate manual bank transfers. For small businesses, this reduces the risk of customer churn, late payments and failed payments.
With SMBs typically waiting up to 47 days to receive payment, and recent GoCardless research revealing that 20% of SMBs lose between $6-$30K annually due to late payments, this integration couldn’t come at a better time.
As SMBs face an unprecedented insolvency crisis, with insolvencies surging by 22.6% in a year according to CreditorWatch, this integration is critical. Small Business Minister Julie Collins has even proposed reforms to the Payment Times Reporting Act to help SMBs get paid faster.
The urgency of the issue is evident in the findings of GoCardless’ new Pursuing Payments Report. The report highlights that over half (55%) of SMBs fear an increase in late-paying customers due to rising living costs. Moreover, 43% of business leaders report increased personal stress levels from avoiding money conversations with customers, while over 70% agree that chasing late payments from multiple customers simultaneously is a nightmare.
Given these challenges, 65% of business leaders express interest in adopting technology to alleviate the burden of chasing late payments.
Seb Hempstead, VP of Partnerships at GoCardless, said: “Our integration with Intuit QuickBooks is one way we can make life easier for small businesses in this tough economic environment. By reducing late and failed payments, plus the associated admin, and enabling automatic reconciliation, we can free up cash flow and keep costs down. This means that SMBs can spend more time growing their business.”
Lars Leber, VP and Country Manager Intuit QuickBooks Australia said: “We are excited to expand our international relationship with GoCardless to Australia. Our goal is always to make the lives of QuickBooks customers easier. Through this integration, businesses can put time back into other areas of their business that were previously dedicated to bookkeeping and chasing payments, while customers will not have to worry about their service expiring when their card does. With GoCardless, we are providing efficient solutions tailored for small businesses.”
This regional integration builds on the existing relationship between GoCardless and Intuit QuickBooks in the United Kingdom. Along with launching a new app in Australia, GoCardless has also introduced an app on the Intuit QuickBooks Marketplace in North America.
Aussie customers can now find the GoCardless app in the Intuit Quickbooks Store.
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