By The Straits Times | APR 13, 2020, 4:00 AM SGT

Picture this: Brewing coffee has been a passion of yours ever since you made your first cup, and starting your own café is a dream that you have been working towards. After extensive research, a little help from your family and friends, and some serious determination, you finally opened your own café.

News spread that you make some of the best coffee in town, and business has picked up rapidly with a constant stream of new customers. As your business grows, you soon realise that there is more to the food and beverage business than just making a good cup of coffee.

Seeing happy and satisfied faces during the day spurs you on, but in order to keep your business running, you still have to do the hard work behind the scenes – like checking on and paying for your supplies, performing daily accounting and sales closing responsibilities, managing your cash flow and invoices, etc.

With so much to do every day, balancing the books seems like the most daunting task as it can be time-consuming to do on your own. Furthermore, you may not have the knowledge to ensure that you are doing everything right and in the most efficient way, and paying for accounting services may be too costly. So what can you do?

Financio could be your answer – an all-in-one online cloud accounting software designed for everyone regardless of their accounting knowledge. By connecting your DBS business account to Financio, you will be able to access a suite of useful tools that can help you manage your business finances with ease.

“Acquiring accounting software may not be the most glamorous task or top-of-mind priority for SMEs when setting up a new business; in fact, it can be quite daunting,” says Navinder Duggal, Group Head of GTS-SME at DBS. “We have integrated with Financio to provide SMEs a cost-effective, digital solution coupled with the right professional accounting expertise, to help companies have a quick start and gain working capital efficiencies”.

Especially in a pandemic situation like this, accounting is one area that small businesses do not have time to worry about, as they grapple with multiple challenges. Financio’s accounting solution, integrated with DBS, can help SMEs better manage their cash,  while juggling inventory management and business operations.

HOW DBS AND FINANCIO CAN HELP

By signing up for Financio, you can integrate your DBS business account into the accounting software in just a few clicks to get a single overview of your finances. You can churn out real-time reports, automate your bookkeeping, make immediate payments to suppliers and manage your cash flow and tax reports with ease. You can also enjoy daily automated matching of your accounting records and DBS bank statements. And in case you run into difficulties, the platform offers quick and helpful customer service via the in-app chat support.

In addition, Financio is IRAS-approved and designed to help local businesses stay up to date with the latest trends and compliance. So that you can truly focus on boosting your sales instead of spending time pouring over the numbers.

“The automated report via DBS and Financio integration has been beneficial in providing an overview of our financial position,” says co-founder Debra Lam of Society Staples, a social enterprise for people with disabilities. “Our sales department can now easily create and manage quotations, invoices and payments, resulting in an increase in productivity with the time saved on paperwork”.

Mr. Jeya Vijay of 1 Play Sports, a Singapore-based sports media company, has also found that managing his finances has become easier than before once he signed up for this integrated service. “Ever since I started with Financio, accounting invoicing and payment settlements have been a breeze. I used to manage many different reports but now it is all synchronised in one”, he says. “And with our DBS account connected to Financio, transactions and recording of entries are so much easier now. With tasks done quickly, I am glad it has benefitted our business, our clients and vendors too”.

LEAVE YOUR ACCOUNTING TROUBLES BEHIND WITH DBS AND FINANCIO

At just $8 per month, you can enjoy convenient, automated accounting with DBS and Financio with peace of mind. Enjoy six months of free subscription for the Financio Premium Plan when you sign up now. Or, get 18 months of free subscription when you sign up for the DBS Start Digital package*.

Sign up for Financio accounting software and link your DBS business account in just a few simple steps*. Not a DBS customer? Open a DBS Business Account online – no signature or documents required*.

Visit www.dbs.com.sg/sme/new-business-account/financio.page for more information.

*Terms and conditions apply.