Bank payment company GoCardless, in conjunction with Intuit QuickBooks, has launched an integration that aims to assist a quarter of a million Australian small-and-medium-sized business (SMB) customers in timely payment collections. This integration allows for automatic collection of due payments directly from customers' bank accounts, in addition to their automatic reconciliation in QuickBooks.

The integration comes at a crucial time, as on average, small businesses in Australia wait for up to 47 days for payment. Current research by GoCardless reveals that 20% of SMBs lose between AUD $6,000 to $30,000 annually due to late payments. Thus the initiative offers a solution for SMBs navigating one of the toughest insolvency crises seen in years, a 22.6% increase over the course of a year according to CreditorWatch.

The initiative's emergence falls in tandem with proposals from Small Business Minister Julie Collins last week to overhaul the Payment Times Reporting Act, which aims to speed up the payment process for SMBs. The recent Pursuing Payments Report from GoCardless provides further insights into the contribution of late payments to both financial and mental stress endured by SMB owners.

Findings from the aforementioned report divulge that over half (55%) of SMBs apprehend a rise in late-paying customers within the next 12 months due to living cost increases. Avoiding financial discussions with customers over the past year has been linked to heightened personal stress for 43% of business leaders and 72% agreed that chasing late payments from multiple customers simultaneously would be regarded as a 'payment nightmare'. However, 65% have expressed interest in utilising technology to minimise the burden of chasing unpaid invoices.

Introduced today in the Intuit QuickBooks Store, the new GoCardless app empowers Australian QuickBooks users with access to Direct Debit, aiming to improve cash flow and reduce late payments. As payments are automatically collected directly from customers' bank accounts and reconciled on the Intuit QuickBooks platform on the due date, small businesses gain greater financial control. Direct Debit payments also prove cost-effective compared to credit card payments.

Seb Hempstead, VP of Partnerships at GoCardless, stated: "Our integration with Intuit QuickBooks is one way we can make life easier for small businesses in this tough economic environment. By reducing late and failed payments, plus the associated admin, and enabling automatic reconciliation, we can free up cash flow and keep costs down. This means that SMBs can spend more time growing their business."

VP and Country Manager Intuit QuickBooks Australia, Lars Leber, added: "We are excited to expand our international relationship with GoCardless to Australia. Our goal is always to make the lives of QuickBooks customers easier. Through this integration, businesses can put time back into other areas of their business that were previously dedicated to bookkeeping and chasing payments."

The GoCardless app is currently available for Aussie customers in the Intuit Quickbooks Store. This regional integration builds on GoCardless's global relationship with Intuit QuickBooks that was first established in the United Kingdom.