The industry veteran shares why the Qorbis all-in-one expense management and debit card system is a "game-changer," delivering time and cost efficiencies by seamlessly tracking yacht finances both on- and off-board
With almost four decades of experience in the marine industry, Joe Killian knows a thing or two about making sure yacht ownership is smooth sailing. His team at Killian Yacht & Ship Brokers are experts in the sales, marketing, service, and financial management of yachts.
“As a broker, I’ve been engaged in doing whatever is necessary to assist clients - from finding captains and crew to helping them with managing yacht finances,” says Joe. “And the more I look into Qorbis, the more I realize that it is what clients need to do so easily, quickly, and cost-effectively.”
Streamlining Financial Management
The yacht industry, known for its luxury and exclusivity, has long been plagued by cumbersome financial management processes. Owner/operators and yacht management companies alike have traditionally juggled multiple bank accounts and prepaid cards, resulting in inefficiencies and administrative headaches.
“Managing the finances of the yachts has been done the same way for a long time: people input everything into a spreadsheet, look at receipts, look at credit card statements, call staff members to verify things - it’s time-consuming, it’s prone to errors, its drudgery,” says Joe. "Qorbis eliminates that entirely. It gives the owner, crew, and administrative team the accountability and visibility to see expenditure in real time and takes so much time and work out of running a yacht, whether that’s for personal use or charters.”
Unlike existing systems limited to providing APA efficiencies, Qorbis is a complete solution with branded cards, banking, and spend management delivered via one platform covering everything from payroll, yacht maintenance, and owner provisions to gratuity disbursement, bunkering, and of course, APAs.
Significant Time Savings
Joe estimates that an owner/operator with one yacht would conservatively save 20 hours in admin time every week by using Qorbis – with that timesaving amplified for multiple vessels.
Rather than having to navigate a labyrinth of bank accounts, each tied to different yachts, logging in and out of various banking platforms, consuming valuable time, and increasing the likelihood of errors, Qorbis means seamless financial management.
A single, unified platform is used for managing all financial activities. Each yacht can be assigned an individual account, entirely siloed to make transfers and reporting easy and efficient, significantly reducing the complexity and time required for financial tasks.
Real-Time Oversight and Control
One of the standout features of Qorbis is its real-time oversight capabilities. Managing crew expenses and Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA) spend has never been easier.
Qorbis provides up-to-the-minute visibility into all transactions and easy receipt management of all transactions, enabling financial controllers to monitor spending in real-time. This level of oversight ensures that budgets are adhered to, and any discrepancies can be addressed immediately, preventing potential financial issues before they escalate.
Changeovers are also made more efficient with tailored end-of-charter statements as well as an optional service to provide real-time access to charter guests so that they can monitor their specific APA spend, eliminating any surprises at the end of their trip.
Enhanced Financial Flexibility
The limitations of prepaid cards are well-known in the yacht charter industry. These cards often come with restrictions on spending amounts and transaction types, which can be inconvenient and restrictive.
With Qorbis Visa debit cards linked directly to bank accounts, the need for prepaid cards is eliminated, offering greater flexibility and control over spending. Cards can be issued instantly and associated with a specific yacht – including in the vessel's, or the charter company's own branding - eliminating the need for crew to share cards and driving end-of-charter reporting efficiencies. Joe is convinced this level of control delivers the seamless experience owner/operators and those running charters are looking for.
“With Qorbis, you fund the account, you know what the budget is. Ahead of time, the captain knows roughly what the expenses of a trip will be, can add 15% as a buffer, and then that amount can be allocated onto the card. And while the crew is using this card for spending, the owner has complete real-time visibility of where the money is going and what’s going on with the finances,” he says. “If there’s a question or a concern, it can be raised, but otherwise, the crew is empowered to get on with doing their job, and the owner doesn’t have to be bothered with questions about which card to spend on, or to approve a transaction.”
An Investment in Efficiency
Qorbis is not just a tool; it’s a game changer for the yacht charter industry – and one worth the outlay, according to Joe.
By centralizing financial management, providing real-time oversight, and offering flexible spending solutions, Qorbis empowers yacht management companies and owners to operate more efficiently and effectively – and say goodbye to inputting data into spreadsheets for good. The platform's ability to save time and reduce costs directly contributes to improved profitability and enhanced service delivery.
In an industry where luxury and precision are paramount, Joe is confident that Qorbis stands out.
Want to see how Qorbis can transform your yacht finances? Book a demo today.
The average consumer has long discarded their check book in favor of the convenience of digital payments. Shockingly, though, business-to-business (B2B) transactions have only recently started digitizing.
A surge in the uptake of digital payment methods is fueled by various factors – advances in technology and digital payment platforms and an increased need for security measures as well as improved convenience for businesses on both sides of the transaction.
Here we explore the most significant benefits that digital B2B payments deliver.
Streamlined Efficiency
One of the main drivers behind the adoption of digital payments in the B2B space is the remarkable efficiency it offers. In the US alone, $3 trillion is estimated to be tied up in a business’s outstanding accounts receivable (AR). The average business has 24% of its monthly revenue held up in AR, payment terms, or trade credit.
This lag represents more than just money in limbo. Traditional payment methods, such as paper checks and wire transfers, can be cumbersome, time-consuming, and prone to errors. Conversely, digital payment platforms allow for seamless, real-time transactions that enable businesses to streamline their financial operations while also reducing the risk of errors. Digital payments, such as P2P and mobile payments, streamline the accounts receivable process, too, because transactions include encoded information that helps accounting teams easily track where the money is coming from and which invoice it is going to.
Cost Savings
Switching to digital payment methods can result in substantial cost savings for businesses. Traditional payment methods often incur additional expenses, including printing and mailing costs for checks, transaction fees, and manual processing charges. Digital payments eliminate many of these expenses, offering a cost-effective alternative. In fact, a check costs at least four times more to process than a digital transaction, while some platforms offer no-cost digital payment processing, instead opting for a transaction-as-a-service model.
Enhanced Security
Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important in an era of heightened scams and hacking. Historically, security concerns have been a major barrier to the widespread adoption of digital payments in the B2B space, but advancements in encryption technologies and robust security measures have significantly bolstered the safety of digital transactions. Stringent regulations have also helped to earn the trust of businesses – 83% of respondents to a McKinsey survey about payments in the B2B sector globally cited enhanced security features as a critical factor in their decision to adopt digital payment methods.
Global Mobility
Expense reporting and reconciliation are often tedious and laborious tasks for both employees and finance teams - a fact amplified when team members are working abroad and still using paper pay-and-claim methods..
Digital spend management solutions like Qorbis allow finance teams to monitor and track all spending in real-time, assign and adjust individual spending limits, transfer funds, and more – all from one cloud-based platform.
With real-time spend data, every expense is logged immediately and traced back to the individual purchaser – making it easy to know what is being spent, by whom, and why - no matter the time zone, location, or currency.
Integration with Business Systems
Digital payment platforms are increasingly offering seamless integration with a wide array of business systems and accounting software. This integration enables automated reconciliation of transactions, simplifying the accounting and bookkeeping processes for businesses and boosting departmental efficiency.
“Integrated AR solutions can deliver immediate B2B payment wins by accelerating order-to-cash processes, leveraging automation in support of high-level invoice reconciliation accuracy, centralizing AR management processes to ensure faster payments, and promoting enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration that turns rich AR data into actionable insights.”
Reads a report by PYMNTS.
The growing trend of digital payments in the B2B space is more than just a passing fad; it represents a fundamental shift in how businesses interact financially. From streamlined efficiency and cost savings to enhanced security and global reach, the adoption of digital payment methods offers an array of benefits that traditional payment methods simply cannot match. As businesses continue to embrace the digital revolution, those who leverage these innovative payment solutions are better positioned to thrive in an increasingly competitive and interconnected global marketplace.
Qorbis helps businesses take advantage of advances in digital payment technologies. Speak to us about our streamlined, integrated options, today.
A Qorbis report
Households across the U.S are facing increasing pressure as the cost of living crisis threatens to give way to a full-blown recession. It’s a worrying time for individuals and businesses, but Americans are known for their ingenuity and resilience, so much so that historically, economic downturns are often periods of significant innovation.
One such innovation that’s trending globally is the digitization of business processes, and expenses in particular. Expenses are a notoriously tricky but essential part of most businesses and digitizing them is a way to lower costs, improve cash flow, and importantly, keep workers happy.
We believe every business should have access to better digital expense management, which is why our as-a-service, cloud-based approach is such a game-changer. Our clients benefit from all the advantages of a digital solution but avoid the significant investments that are associated with traditional IT-based versions.
Please feel free to reach out to discuss how we can help you and your staff benefit from the latest in corporate spending and expense management.
Stephen Williams
CEO & Co-Founder of Qorbis
Successfully navigating the challenge of employee expenses
Soaring costs for businesses and individuals are highlighting the shortcomings of traditional pay-and-claim reimbursement models, with a new breed of digital expense management systems stepping in to fill the gap.
Expense management is a notoriously challenging aspect of business operations. Add in the current cost of living crisis and finding a solution that effectively balances the interests of both employer and employee becomes more of a priority than ever.
Businesses are facing the fallout from rising costs and supply chain issues, further challenging finance teams to not only balance costs and expenses against profits effectively but also maintain proper records in case of audits or inquiries from tax authorities. All this before considering the month-end shock of a flurry of higher-than-predicted expense claims awaiting reimbursement in times of lower-than-predicted cash flow.
Inflationary pressure has significantly affected costs across the board, with the U.S. rates reaching a 40-year record high in 2023. Food prices, transportation expenses, and healthcare costs are putting a squeeze on the standard of living for many - making lengthy waits to be reimbursed for payments made on behalf of their employer a stress point for even the most conscientious employees.
It’s clear that in these difficult times, it’s more imperative than ever for organizations to find ways to support their workforce that are not only innovative and compassionate - but efficient enough to be cost-effective.
The age of expense reimbursement is over
Gone are the days of traditional reimbursements being an accepted and functional method of expense management.
Seventy-two percent of employees between the ages of 18 and 34 are expected to pay work-related expenses out-of-pocket and submit for reimbursement. For an entry-level employee making $35,000 a year, a $1,000 airline ticket is more than a third of their monthly salary before taxes. That’s a burden no one should be asked to take on. This style of reimbursement also negatively impacts businesses. It it hinders the type of real-time cash flow visibility that is required for effective decision-making and growth.
The problems with a pay-and-claim reimbursement model are numerous:
- The burden of a personal bankroll. Expecting employees to front up cash when they have it is a tough ask. Expecting them to front up cash when they don’t is near disastrous. In many companies, one of the greatest sources of frustration is the expense approval process. What was frustration in the best of times can become a dire struggle during challenging economic times, when the cost of living is soaring. For employees who need to pay out of pocket for work-related expenses, the time between submitting a claim and being reimbursed can feel like forever. The average business takes a little less than two weeks to complete the reimbursement process for each claim. Others, however, can take a month or longer. With basic outgoings like groceries and electricity bills increasing so significantly, it’s easy to see how even a few work expenses can burst someone’s budget - particularly for more junior employees.
- Dissatisfied = unproductive. It’s a given that employee empowerment encourages employee satisfaction which in turn promotes productivity and results. Zenger Folkman “found that only 4% of employees are willing to give extra effort when empowerment is low, but 67% are willing when empowerment is high,” in a study cited by The Wharton School. Employees dissatisfied with bearing the burden of company expenses are not likely to perform to a high standard. Conversely, one of the most effective ways to empower employees is to show trust in them - but giving them the financial freedom to spend where necessary can be a decision fraught with problems like overspending and even fraud. The most successful balance comes with expense management systems that have frameworks built-in - so that an employee can make purchases with a corporate card, but not on certain categories selected by their employer. And transparent guidelines on what staff can and can’t spend on are a must.
- A drain on resources. Slow expense processing is a drain not only on staff, but on finance departments and the company as a whole, too. In fact, research shows that the average expense claim takes more than 45 minutes to process - including 30 minutes for an employee to find a receipt and fill in the necessary paperwork, another 5 minutes to get manager approval, and a further 10 minutes for finance to process and pay the claim. Add in multiple expenses across multiple team members and the result is a significant chunk of time lost in paperwork - even more so when human error means expense processing takes even longer than usual.
- A lack of control. Expense reimbursement processes are often susceptible to fraud or inaccurate claims and especially if submitted at month end, can be highly unpredictable. This lack of control can wreak havoc on company cash flows and make budgeting and financial planning far more challenging than a real-time expense management model. For instance, the time taken to process reimbursement claims might create a "float" period, during which the money owed to employees is still in the company's accounts. During this time, the funds could be utilized for other purposes, but when the reimbursement is processed, it leaves the company's cash flow temporarily depleted. Worse still, if a business doesn't have sufficient cash reserves to cover reimbursement claims, it may need to rely on external financing or credit lines leading to additional interest expenses and financial strain in the long run.
Digital expense management solutions: A win for employers and employees
Digitization is changing the way we communicate, how we bank - and now, how businesses can effectively manage expenses. Digital money management models with corporate spending cards like those offered by Qorbis offer significant advantages to both employers and employees, including improved cash flow, efficient expense processing, and complete control over spending.
- Improved cash flow. Corporate cards that can be linked to a business account with funds ringfenced for expenses take away the surprise of month-end reimbursement forms, giving finance teams real-time visibility of transactions across cards. Managers can track spending as it happens, enabling them to make informed decisions, identify overspending, and enforce budget controls effectively, and finance teams are better able to balance business cash flows.
- Digital receipt capture. Manual expense reporting is prone to errors, such as incorrect calculations or lost receipts. Receipts can quickly and easily be captured on the go via an app such as Qorbis, minimizing these errors by automatically calculating expenses and storing electronic receipts securely in the cloud.
- Spending controls. Corporate cards linked to a digital expense management system put employers back in control over employee spending. Setting dollar amounts and spending category limits is easy and instant - as is freezing a card when necessary. This not only reduces expense fraud and employee compliance with expense policies but empowers staff through complete transparency.
- Automated integration with existing accounting software. Digital expense management systems seamlessly integrate with accounting software, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, and other financial tools. This integration streamlines the flow of data and eliminates
- Time and money savings. Digital expense management systems automate the process of capturing, submitting, and processing expense reports. This saves time for employees who no longer need to manually fill out paper forms and attach physical receipts. It also reduces the administrative burden on finance teams, as the system can handle the entire expense management workflow.
- Fewer delays and errors. In addition to reducing the time it takes to reimburse employees, the expense management systems also improve accounting accuracy. Employees often make data-entry errors when submitting a claim manually, which can be further compounded when finance staff transcribe the information into spreadsheets. Expense management software can flag errors and duplicate entries and prevent overpayment, or notify managers if the dollar figure seems too high.
- Enhanced analytics and reporting. Digital solutions provide in-depth analytics and reporting features, providing insights that help businesses identify spending patterns, evaluate expense categories, and make data-driven decisions to optimize expenses.
- Increased compliance. Companies can use expense management software to keep on the right side of compliance with local, state and federal tax agencies. Businesses can categorize expenses into various categories, such as office, travel and mileage and tag them accordingly.