Working with MYOB Essentials, targeting micro and small businesses, the ezyCollect add-on wants to be your "set-and-forget" system for managing debtors and chasing unpaid invoices.
ezyCollect. It is an “advanced, cloud-based accounts receivable solution that easily adds on to MYOB accounting software to automate debtor management".
The company has now added MYOB Essentials to its arsenal of supported accounting platforms, and aims to be a simple set-and-forget system that helps you get the money in you’re owed via unpaid invoices.
A.J. Singh, managing director of ezyCollect, noted the software brings “big business methodology to small business owners who have the same cash flow concerns as larger companies but frequently don’t have the resources to consistently chase outstanding invoices".
{loadposition alex08}Singh said: “Small business owners are busy and stressed out. They can’t afford to lose a day a week chasing money that is owed to them.
“ezyCollect gives small businesses an affordable solution with two major returns that are typically in short supply: time and money.”
The launch of ezyCollect on MYOB Essentials comes just three months after the Australian Small Business and Family Ombudsman handed in her suggested reforms (see PDF report here) to reverse the late payments trend crippling small businesses.
We are told that the Payment Times and Practices Inquiry reported a “troubling domino effect when big businesses are late to pay their small business suppliers:”
- 1 in 2 businesses report late payments on more than 40% of bills owed.
- 78% of small business owners reported adverse impacts on mental wellbeing/increased stress/anxiety.
- 35% of respondents report they are at risk of insolvency/liquidation as a result of late payments.
Now, while ezyCollect’s customer base has typically been “medium-sized businesses and enterprises” to date, Singh unsurprisingly says his software can help the small and micro business market as well.
“Every small business that has done the work and issued the invoice has the right to be paid on time. Resources are few and far between in any micro or small business, so being able to automate the time-consuming task of accounts receivable can free up man hours for performing other essential tasks such as sales and business development.”
Keran McKenzie, who sounds like having a sweet job as “Futurist in Residence at MYOB”, said that “even the most successful of small businesses were at risk of failure if they didn’t manage accounts receivable efficiently".
“ezyCollect takes the pressure off small and micro businesses, offering them a professional interface that is intuitive and results-driven. It addresses all phases of debt management, from mapping outstanding invoices and tracking customer communications to sending personalised reminders and setting up payment gateways.
“The new ezyCollect add-on to MYOB Essentials is a much-needed solution that will give any business — not just the ones struggling with cashflow — the tools they need to successfully stay on top of ageing invoices,” added McKenzie.
Ensuring a well-rounded media release comes commentary from “cloud integrator consultant Paolo Coniglio” has been working with “several small business clients over the past few months to implement a beta version of the ezyCollect integration on MYOB Essentials".
Coniglio said: “Small business owners often make the mistake of simply focusing on the number of sales they close. However, if payments don’t come along in a timely fashion, you’ll be out of pocket for the service provided, material purchased, time, and in some cases taxes.
“My SMB clients immediately noticed a change in their existing customers’ behaviour after implementing ezyCollect. All of a sudden, debtors were the ones calling to negotiate payments terms, rather than the other way around.
“The effect on new customers was even stronger; having ezyCollect setting the standard made it clear from the outset that the business ran a tight ship, and new customers always paid on time.
“I had one of my clients call me to say that their debtor account had been cut down by up to 60%, and that their cash flow was healthier than ever,” Coniglio concluded.
ezyCollect reminds us that its automation software “sends overdue invoice reminders and accepts online payments”, and that, “on average, businesses using ezyCollect are automating 110 reminders each month, realising a 60% reduction in staff management time and significant improvements in working capital as customers pay overdue invoices".
If you are an MYOB Essentials user, you can try ezyCollect on a “free 30-day trial with no credit card required. There is also a special launch offer promotion for new customers, with three months free followed by $19 per month for the first 1000 users” with more detail here.
A Sydney-based start-up founded in 2014, the company is used by more than “1200 users in 26 countries, and most recently completed a $1.25 million capital raise led by Tank Stream Ventures”, in a journey that presumably hasn’t been an easy collect but has required a lot of hard work.
Congratulations to the company on its successes and new software release – may many more Australian start-ups emulate the trajectory and likewise go global!
Here's ezyCollect's YouTube video: