Category: Around The Box

Posts about our awesome team, our favorite things and happenings in our community.

SaaS, Fintech And The World Technology

Looking back at our lives 10 years ago, we will be surprised at how much our world has developed. We thrive from doing things manually to having things done automatically. We thrive from waiting hours at a place to finishing the transaction just within 1 click. The world has been changing at a flashing pace. Following the world trend in technology, a lot of SaaS and Fintech enterprises have been born and even increased astoundingly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of SaaS and Fintech companies is also expected to rise even after the pandemic. 

Since both types of business are leading trends in the market, in this writing, we would like to introduce to you the relationship between SaaS (Software as a Service) and Fintech. 

1. SaaS services

Together with the development of technology, SaaS (Software as a Service) becomes a trend and gradually replaces the existence of traditional SaaP (Software as a Product) due to its convenience, flexibility, fast implementation, and cost-saving benefit. 

SaaS allows businesses to access a particular service remotely through a web browser, using the internet connection. With SaaS, after implementing the application, companies just need to pay a certain amount to “hire” the service from the provider. They do not have to invest in setting up a server and other maintenance tasks afterward. Each amount of fees paid indicates a certain number of functions that can be performed. By this form of service, business owners can adjust which service plans are best suited for them, hence they can cut unnecessary maintenance costs. 

With its certain benefits, SaaS is favored among big companies, as well as start-ups and entrepreneurs. By applying SaaS, companies can spend more time on how to increase their revenue, or how to improve their operating efficiency, instead of focusing on handling, upgrading, and maintaining the system.

Moreover, nowadays, SaaS services are specialized and can be applied to different departments in a company such as HR, Operations, Finance & Accounting, Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, and so on. 

Let’s take the following as an example. Shoeboxed is a SaaS company that specializes in managing receipts for not only individuals but also businesses (both small-size and big-size). All of the data on the receipts are scanned and stored in the system in both picture and data format. Users then can keep track of the payment history by exporting the file later. The receipt managing task can contribute a big help for the Accounting department in tax preparation, as well as the reimbursement procedure. Besides, since all the receipts data are well organized, it is easier for the Operations Team to consider which tasks need cutting off, or it is useful for the Sales and Marketing Team to sit back and examine which marketing strategies are worth investing in.

2. Fintech and its growing trend 

We believe that many of us have heard about the word ‘Fintech’ a lot of times. It even becomes a famous term and topic especially among people in the IT sector. However, according to Statista, 67% of the US population said that they had not heard about Fintech, while 21% have heard the word somewhere, and only 16% have heard and understood clearly the meaning of it. Despite those low numbers, the industry is still growing fast. So what is Fintech and why do people talk about it?

‘Fintech’ is a short form of Financial Technology. Fintech is a recently-created term that describes the new trend in the Financial and Banking area that “employs new technologies to improve or innovate financial service”, according to the World Bank. The word can be applied to all companies that use the internet, cell phones, cloud computing technology, and other open-source software to advance the efficiency of the Banking and Investment business.

Companies of Fintech can be divided into 2 groups:

  • The first group is companies that focus on the end-users. Their main businesses are to provide digital tools that help improve the customer experience in borrowing, money managing, and start-up funding.
  • The second group is companies that play the “back office” roles in supporting other financial institutions.

So, is the e-wallet function on the mobile application of a banking institution called fintech? Unfortunately, the answer is no. It is just called an application of IT in the banking area.

However, for example, if Shoeboxed develops and applies a new data security technology to the e-wallet application of a banking institution, to provide convenience and safety to the customers, yes it is fintech.

Fintech is now providing services in different areas such as banking technology, payment, financial management, cryptocurrency, … with diverse services including

  • Digital wallet (or e-wallet) – “a software-based system that securely stores users’ payment information and passwords for numerous payment methods and websites” (Example: PayPal).
  • Distributed ledger technology on a blockchain platform. A distributed ledger is a database that is distributed to more than one computer or node. Each node maintains a ledger and the ledger will be updated if there are any changes in data. A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger where every node has its copies of the ledger. When data changes happen, all the copies of the ledger will be updated. (Example: Bitcoin).
  • B2C e-commerce – online transactions between businesses and customers. 
  • mPOS – known as mPOS, a portable point of sale of a smartphone or tablet that acts as a register. The service is widely used for businesses such as food trucks, convenience stores, supermarkets, etc. that allows the customers to complete payment transactions just within a touch. 

Besides some examples of Fintech products listed above, there are still a lot of services that might be a bit less popular such as:

  • Peer-to-peer lending (abbreviated as P2P lending) – a website that allows users to borrow and lend money directly. The P2P lending website helps to connect the borrowers directly to investors. In exchange for that, they control the transaction by setting the fee, interest rate, and other terms of conditions. 
  • Crowdfunding – a platform that allows start-ups to sell some of their future products to potential investors. If start-ups can fund enough money, they can start their project right away and vice versa, if the amount of money funded is not enough, start-ups will return them to investors. 
  • Personal finance – a different branch of P2P lending that collaborates with banks to give end-users insights and advice about their bankings. 
  • Data management
  • Insurtech and so on

It is undeniable that Fintech has been encouraging a trend of entrepreneurship in the Financial and Banking, the industries that are famous for their requirement of huge capital when joining the game. Thanks to this trend, there is a wide range of services available in the market, yet going along with the difficulties in management. 

However, if wisely used, Fintech can bring several benefits such as:

  • Improving customer satisfaction since the customers save time when completing a transaction
  • Analyzing customer behavior easier than before with reliable recorded data
  • Saving operating costs for business owners
  • Setting limits on manual inaccuracies
  • …

Following the Industrial Evolution 4.0, and now is 5.0, a lot of traditional financial institutions are changing their ways of approaching more customers by collaborating with Fintech companies. According to PwC, 82% of traditional financial institutions plan to increase collaboration with Fintech in 3 – 5 years to avoid losing revenue.

3. Conclusion

With the explanation of SaaS and Fintech mentioned above, can we say Fintech is a type of SaaS? Or should Fintech be positioned as SaaS? Well, IT DEPENDS. We say “it depends” because both have a lot of similarities in the purposes, the ecosystems, the applications, and so on. Therefore, it depends on the ultimate goals of the companies and how they operate their business.

As you can see that Fintech companies provide a wide range of services but mainly in the Finance area, while SaaS services are broadly provided in different areas. Though, since there are so many services available nowadays, and surely will increase in the future, that may confuse the users of what to choose, SaaS, Fintech, and other traditional business platforms can consider collaborating to introduce better and compact services. Despite their similarities yet differences, they are offering great values not only to the world economy but also to the development of technology.

Digitized Receipt Management Is The Secret To Successful Start-up And Entrepreneur Business: Here’s Why And How

Are you start-up entrepreneurs who are struggling to manage your business expenses? Or are you business owners who have head-scratching problems keeping track of your receipts? 

Having receipts unorganized may slow down your business. Therefore let Shoeboxed become your reliable partner in tracking your expenses. You just need to focus on your business, we will clear the receipts for you.

In this article, we would like to share with you the benefits of receipt management and how it helps start-up entrepreneurs and business owners to improve their business performance.

Table of contents

  1. What is receipt management?
  2. Digitize your receipt management task
  3. Shoeboxed – who we are and what we offer
  4. Conclusion

A receipt is a piece of paper that contains the most important information of the transaction of 2 parties.

1. What is receipt management?

It means what it sounds. Yes, you are not reading it wrong! Receipt management just simply means managing the receipts through the practice of organizing, filling, and profiting by keeping track of the receipts accurately.

2. Digitize your receipt management task

For an old-style receipt management system, you need a pen, a set of paper, and a calculator to record and totalize your expenses. Nowadays, with the development of technology, you can store those receipts in your computer just by a scan, and even get insight into your expenses just by a few clicks.

It is easier when tracking your business performance

Normally, small business owners deal with two types of receipts on a daily basis. One is the record of what they have spent (for eg. payment of utilities such as electricity, water, etc.) and the other is the record of purchases their customers have made. After scanning your receipts and having the raw data, you can customize your monthly expense by sorting chronically, by the vendor, or even by type of product and so on. So by digitalizing the receipts, you can monitor the performance and profit for each month, what needs focusing, and what needs to be omitted.

It is a lot simpler when applying for a tax deduction process

Having your expenses digitized can also reduce your time preparing for the tax deduction process. For example, if one type of expense is considered tax reducible, other relevant expenses in the same category might also be tax-deductible. Even though there is not 100% that your tax payment can successfully get deducted, you still get a higher chance just by organizing your receipts.

It is faster when preparing for the auditing process

Receipts are evidence of your business performance when it comes to the auditing process. As mentioned above, when scanning your expense receipts, you also store a soft copy of them on your computer. Therefore, to prepare for the auditing process, you can easily retrieve the pictures of those receipts with just 1 click.

3. Shoeboxed – who we are and what we offer

We are Shoeboxed. We offer a service that helps not only individuals but also organizations with their receipt management tasks. 

We help you turn your receipts into digital data so you can keep track of them easily. Our team members will double-check if the information is correct or not so please rest assured that the digital data are verified. With the data in your hand, you can freely customize your data based on your preferences. You can also create the expense reports on your own for tax preparation or reimbursement as well as the auditing process. 

Also, with some more techniques, you can have a broader and deeper view of your business performance as well. 

How our service works

1. You can send us your receipts for free with our postage-paid Magic Envelop and we will scan them for you. You can also scan the receipts by yourself with our mobile applications (compatible with both Android and iOS).

2. We extract all the key data of your receipt so you can easily keep track of them. To view the full scanned image of your receipt, you just need to click into the expense.

3. For customizing the report, you can use our categorizations, or create your own which fit your needs. You can export and download them anytime, even the scanned ones.

We offer different plans for different purposes so please visit our website or contact us for more information about which plan is best for you. And don’t worry, we also offer a 1-month trial so you can test first if we are what you are looking for. 

4. Conclusion

With those benefits mentioned above, the importance and the necessity of receipt management are undeniable. Income statement, Business performance tracking, Tax deduction procedure, Auditing process become easier and faster just by a few simple steps. Last but not least, no one wants to collaborate with an unorganized partner. Therefore, having your accounting desk clear will help not only boost up your business performance but also strengthen your image in the market.

Shoeboxed Acquired by Earth Class Mail to Make the Paperless Office a Reality

Today we are excited to share that we have joined forces with Earth Class Mail! After 11 years of helping to organize the world, one receipt at a time, we could not be happier that we have now become part of a larger family – with the very same mission.

Some of you may have heard of Earth Class Mail in the past: they tackle the problem of paper mail and allow you to simply receive your mail digitally – all scanned in for you and ready to forward to the places where you actually need your mail – checks can be deposited straight into your bank account, bills can be routed into your accounting system, and now, we can tackle the problem of paper receipts together as well!

We could not be more happy, proud and excited for this next chapter in Shoeboxed’s history and the strong partner we found in Earth Class Mail. We truly share a vision of creating a paperless office and are committed to make this a reality as one company!

Getting over 250,000 documents mailed to our Durham, NC office every month, we see a strange thing or two every now and then. One thing we see often is sealed mail, addressed to our customer. Now, unfortunately, we always had to return that mail with a little sticker saying “We are not allowed to open mail not addressed to us.” Most of the time our customers turned around, opened that letter themselves and threw it in their next Magic Envelope. Now you will have a much better solution. I encourage every one of our users to check out our friends at EarthClassMail.com. Both products and services will continue to run as you have always used them, but with endless opportunities of what we can do as part of Earth Class Mail in the future!

I want to thank all of our customers deeply for your support, trust, loyalty and feedback over the years! As well as Shoeboxed’s investors who have all been great company builders and helped us every step of the way. And last but not least – the Shoeboxed team: no matter if you worked with us as an internship for a summer, scanned receipts at night, or the ones that spent their last 8 years with us – you have all built this success story and I’m incredibly thankful and proud of each and every one of you!

Thank you all so much for joining us on this amazing journey, and for continuing with us into our next chapter! Stay tuned for some great updates and news to come, and please – try out Earth Class Mail :-)

Stay Organized!

Tobi & The Shoeboxed Team

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    • Tobias Walter
    • An investment banker turned entrepreneur, Tobi studied at business schools in Germany, France, and the US, before working with Societe Generale and Morgan Stanley in Investment Banking. In 2005 Tobi joined “studiVZ” as employee #2 – one of the first social networks in Europe, that was later deemed “The German Facebook.” In 2008 Tobi moved to Durham, NC to help co-found Shoeboxed and currently serves as CEO.

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