Published : 6 years ago, on 31/08/2018

• 36% of FDs spend their month-end doing unnecessary detective work, finding out who spent what on behalf of the business
• Soldo is encouraging business leaders to enable their FDs to innovate

Soldo, the London-based fintech solving the challenge of automating, delegating and controlling company spending, is encouraging businesses to reconsider the hidden potential of their finance teams, which have become buried under unnecessary and time consuming detective work.

Soldo commissioned YouGov to speak with 4,000 companies to identify where in the cash flow cycle UK businesses could become more productive and competitive when faced with the uncertainty of Brexit.

The resulting Soldo Spend Management Whitepaper revealed more than a third of UK companies (36%) end up doing unnecessary financial detective work at the end of each month to determine who spent money, where they spent it and why. This happens for both employees’ personal expenses (e.g. travel and food) as well as items bought directly for the business (e.g. office supplies, software and advertising).

Over a fifth (22%) of businesses also admitted they were willing to leave a percentage of company spending unreconciled at the end of each month subsequently creating an administrative nightmare at each financial year end.

Soldo is urging businesses to use the summer to rethink how the working hours of financial departments can be better spent. Soldo’s CEO and founder Carlo Gualandri says: “Finance departments have a lot more to them than simply chasing lost receipts, balancing books and making sure departments keep their cash flow in good order. Business owners and directors need to realise the enormous potential of their finance teams, and look beyond sales & marketing to breathe fresh ideas into the business.”

Gualandri concludes; “A Finance Director who can banish arduous tasks to automation often turns into the new company rockstar. The old myth that finance departments smother new ideas is quickly being debunked and with enviable analytical skills an enabled FD will find innovative ways to reduce cash ineffencines and expand into new markets at a surprising pace.”

Soldo has compiled a list of the fintech companies that Financial Directors should utilise to increase productivity and competitiveness:

SOLDO’S FD FULLSTACK

• When looking for additional funding: Funding Bay
• For slick looking accounts – Xero
• To automate payments for fully tamed cashflow – Soldo
• To ensure payroll and HR functions are in top shape – Gusto
• For equity management – Capshare
• When looking into cashflow finance – Gapcap
• For easy expense reimbursement – Soldo
• For smartest business intelligence – Domo

Soldo is currently offering a free trial period of its innovative spend control and management solution which automates the spend and expense management process through a combination of Mastercard® cards, an intuitive employee app and a web-based administration console that enables finance to manage the account in real time.