From building websites on a dial-up modem on a beach in Costa Rica to designing big concepts in fintech, Eddie Davis, VP of Business Development for FINSYNC, has an appetite for research on how to move the industry forward. And, if you ask Eddie what his favourite part about working with a cloud financial platform is, he’ll tell you it’s discovering new automation solutions for businesses that help them do business better.
M.R.: How is cloud-based fintech approaching new services like payments to cash flow and financial management?
Eddie: Fintechs are creating magical solutions where just running the business populates both traditional reporting (double-entry accounting) and real-time analytics such as graphical representations of a business’ daily cash position out through the next quarter or fiscal year. With an emphasis on real-time, businesses now have the opportunity to correct course before a website is built or a kitchen is renovated at a higher cost than the customer was quoted.
It’s also helpful because margins can be protected by a manager with a “heads-up” view of a project in phase 1, communicating with the team that they are over their allocated hours before subsequent phases commence.
M.R.: In terms of data insights, what are some of the differences between fintech solutions and traditional financial services? How does this impact your users like SMBs, for example?
Eddie: When it comes to cash flow management for our clients, having real-time cash flow projections are a game-changer. Any other way of attempting to create similar projections would require extracting data from up to seven separate financial software packages, combining it in Excel, and then modelling it DAILY. That process just happens because FINSYNC has the accounting, payments and payroll data flowing through it in real-time.
M.R.: What forecast do you have for fintech solutions in 2020?
Eddie: We’re starting to see more thought leadership and an emerging classification of services in the accounting world known as “Cash Flow Advisory.” Fintechs are bringing the type of analysis that large corporations have been able to access through robust internal finance teams and enterprise-level software to smaller businesses, who don’t have a CFO function. I also anticipate seeing more resources related to cash flow management in 2020.
When it comes to access to capital, lenders are sharing their products in networks that allow small businesses to apply once and be matched to credit that is appropriate to their risk profile. Traditional lenders (banks and credit unions) are leveraging these networks to solve credit needs for clients who are not quite ready for a traditional business loan.
All of that is to say, we forecast market forces will continue to accelerate the growth of “alternative lending,” and we expect the SBA studies to reflect increases in the number of loans funded due to improved efficiency and connectivity in the marketplace.
M.R. is Co-Founder at Sand Hill Group