BDO’s cash management becomes tool for financial inclusion

A number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Negros Occidental will soon be able to utilize BDO Unibank’s cash management services (CMS) not only to efficiently manage their cashflow, but also to serve as an important financial inclusion tool for their own employees.

In an SME Forum titled Usapang Negosyo held recently at the Circle Inn Hotel & Suites in Bacolod City hosted by BDO, SMEs witnessed firsthand how BDO’s bundled CMS package consisting of Business Online Banking, payroll and check disbursement will be able to help their businesses run smoothly by leveraging on the bank’s online and digital solutions.

But what really piqued their interest was how the payroll of CMS will help them automate their own payroll preparation and delivery. Under this feature, SMEs will open savings accounts for their employees, thus enabling their staff to receive their salary semi-monthly through their accounts.

This will be of great importance to SMEs as a number of them still process their payroll manually. Moreover, most if not all of their employees do not have a bank account yet.

Automatic savings account for their employees

“The payroll of CMS is good for our employees because it will also serve as their savings account. All of our employees don’t have a bank account yet,” Jamielyn Tampus, dealer and operator of EcoOil gas station, said. “It’ll make the payroll process convenient and save us some resources. We won’t need to use envelopes. And even on weekends, processing the payroll will just be one click away.”

Perry Ong, Jr., owner of MOKS Recipes Frozen Foods, echoed this assessment, noting that their employees’ money is more secure if deposited in a bank.

“What I like about BDO’s CMS is our employees’ salaries will now go directly to their BDO savings account where their money will be safe,” he pointed out. “Manual processing of payroll is very time consuming and also usually includes my weekends. But with the extra free time that I’ll now have, I can use that to look for more clients.”

Since BDO Cash Management Services include the creation of a payroll account for a client’s employees, that account will have no maintaining balance.

Seamless payment to suppliers thru check disbursement feature

Another service of CMS that the SMEs lauded was its automated check disbursement feature. This allows clients to prepare, manage and print checks for quick and easy payment.

“It already has a voucher. After I print the check, I can already issue it to my supplier. I’ll avoid instances of constantly manually correcting it,” said Anna Liza Santiago, owner of Triple K Drugstore.

Tampus, a newly signed-up BDO payroll client, said that as a dealer and operator of EcoOil gas station, this feature likewise saves her the burden of manually writing checks—a process that is usually prone to errors.

“I can issue checks wherever I am. I don’t need a physical check to sign, I can just do it in the website. It can be printed out and then used to pay a supplier right away,” she said. “I used to issue a minimum of 20 checks in a month. And of course, it’s hard to avoid human errors like the spelling and the ensuing corrections. Using CMS checkwriting facilities, will save us more time.”

CMS gives SMEs more time to grow their business 

“It is about having the right service accessible to the SMEs, and guiding the business owners on how these tools can improve their day-to-day operations,” said Grace R. Caguioa, BDO Unibank first vice president and head of its Transaction Banking Group CMS-SME segment. “Most entrepreneurs do not quantify their time as a valuable resource, so this is where we come in. BDO has CMS SME packages designed to make payments easier and receipt of payments faster—so that they can focus more on growing their business,” she added.

By also having a venue by which their current and future business needs were tackled during Usapang Negosyo, SME clients also gained an opportunity to be introduced and mingle with each other during the forum. By bringing this network of clients, vendors, and suppliers together, BDO put this supply chain community to work with a chance to further grow.

“One of the key objectives of BDO in holding this forum is to help develop networks. What’s important is we work together and develop what we can in our own little communities. We, in BDO, is committed to providing not just our cash management services and financial education, but more importantly help businesses continue to learn from each other and grow,” said Carlo B. Nazareno, Senior Vice President and head of Cash Management Services of BDO. “We are here and we will always be here with you to help you scale up your operations and build a resilient supply chain to drive sustainable growth for your businesses and communities.”