Business owners deserve a break after struggling through the pandemic and supply chain disruptions. For many, now is the time to recover and get their businesses back on track.

However, costs have increased since pre-pandemic and is expected to rise sharply as new pricing is passed through in the coming financial year.

Bill payment automation specialist Gobbill compared costs from pre-covid to today and found that costs for small businesses have significantly increased. The average:

• electricity bill has increased by 22%,
• phone and internet have increased by 29%, and
• general insurance has spiked by over 113%.

The bills analysed are only starting to include the recent months of higher inflation. More is expected to come when increases are passed on throughout the year.

“We are expecting another jump on top of the covid period increases by possibly another 30% or more this coming financial year.” said Shendon Ewans, CEO of bill payments company Gobbill. “Add to that, businesses are struggling to hire staff from frontline to back-office administration. Business owners have had to step in to do more for their businesses.”

There are two things business owners can do to prepare for the new year.

1. Aim to increase productivity: Work smarter using automation instead of labour where possible. There are solutions which enables businesses to grow sustainably by leveraging innovation to drive productivity. For example, Gobbill is helping businesses to replace labor with automated processes in accounts payable saving businesses an average of $30,000 each year. Another tool is the use of e-signature software such as DocuSign to cut wasted time and postage costs. These are just a few great productivity initiatives that not everyone has adopted.

2. Cost reduction and control: Scan all bills to see what is really needed and whether you can get a better deal. You’d be surprised as to what you are paying for and that you can find better deals by comparing. Try to benchmark and compare what you should be paying.

After 5 years of bill payment processing, Gobbill has accumulated valuable benchmark data and know-how in lowering costs.

Gobbill is assisting business owners to undertake a cost reduction analysis across their bills. We are offering a FREE analysis to a limited number of business clients.

If you’re interested, reach out to us https://gobbill.com/contact/ or email [email protected]

Want to save hundreds of dollars each year on everyday bills?

If you haven’t compared how much you are paying for bills such as electricity or insurance for a few years, it is time to start saving some money.

Gobbill’s CEO, Shendon Ewans says that Covid has changed many factors which means you could be saving more money on certain deals. He recently went on an independent energy comparison website and saved $680 per annum on his energy bill.

Compare and switch providers by using independent comparison websites.

Example for energy:

Victoria https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au/ In Vic, there is an additional $250 bonus for Pensioner Concession Card holders and some Health Care Card holders (including JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Austudy and Abstudy recipients) – limited time.

Australia excluding VIC https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/

Start saving now.

You can use Gobbill to track and pay all your household bills. Sign up for FREE at https://gobbill.com

• Australian fintech AirPay and bill payment automation company Gobbill to launch a new app feature for 1+ million users.
• The “ToPay” feature is available via Chinese media app Today Australia, allowing Australian bills to be paid with WeChat Pay and Alipay.

Melbourne, Australia 24 March, 2020 – Fraud detection and payment automation company Gobbill and Chinese mobile payment company AirPay, have embedded Alipay and WeChat payments into a popular media platform to allow users to pay Australian bills with China’s favourite payment methods.

Over one million users will have the capability to pay Australian bills with WeChat Pay and Alipay, with a market-first feature called “ToPay” in popular Chinese media app, Today Australia.

The ‘ToPay’ feature will allow Today Australia users pay and categorise bills including phone, utilities, school fees, council rates and more, within a single app.

Users will also receive rewards scheme, such as discount meals via popular Asian food delivery platform Hungry Panda.

AirPay Head of FinTech Simon Tse said: “We are thrilled to announce our industry collaboration with Gobbill to provide Australian-Chinese a seamless and secure way to pay bills via smartphone. Our new payment platform “ToPay” helps us open new verticals, in addition to our wide QR payments coverage in high-end retail brands such as Gucci, Victoria’s Secret, Sneakerboy, Champion, Glue Store owned by Kering group, Valiram group, LRG group, Hanes Brands and Next Athleisure”.  

“Chinese sales across retail are down 30-50 per cent this month, and we predict it will be a difficult financial year for many companies. Our next goal is to drive one million Chinese consumers to merchants via the everyday usage of our app” said Tse.

Gobbill CEO and co-founder Shendon Ewans said: “The timing is right to bring the two technologies together to process Chinese payments in Australia. We expect the convenience of making payments through a media app and associated rewards as an advantage.”

The payments function will be enabled by Gobbill as part of the company’s growth into the broader payments sector, particularly in connecting global markets with seamless and secure payments. Using AI automation, Gobbill forensically extracts data from invoices, checks for fraud and executes the payments.

For more information, contact via email [email protected] or [email protected]

-ENDS-

About Gobbill

Gobbill is a fraud detection and payment automation service designed for small businesses and busy households to save time, maximise cash flow and protect against scams and fraud. The end-to-end AI platform gives users control over payments with minimal effort. Gobbill forensically extracts data from invoices, checks for fraud using its proprietary “Know Your Biller™” fraud detection technology and automatically executes payments.

Cybercrime and invoice fraud has increased 7 fold in the last 3 years. UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calls an “epidemic” of 3.8 million fraud cases reported in 2019. FBI is concerned with the issue growing to an estimated $5 trillion in losses by 2024.

Leveraging over 3 years of R&D, Gobbill can pay bills issued from over 40,000 Australian providers. The company is a Microsoft Startup sponsored company, a partner of the Australian Government’s cyber safety initiative, AI partner of Silverpond and member of Stone & Chalk. Gobbill is an Authorised Representative (1261196) of Australian Financial Services Licence Holder (448066). Gobbill’s UK office is based at the Royal Bank & NatWest FinTech Accelerator.

About AirPay Financial Technologies

AirPay is FinTech based in Melbourne with offices in Shanghai and Sydney providing one-stop mobile payment and marketing solution for merchants to accept and promote QR payments. AirPay is also integrated with Shopify to allow online retailers to accept Alipay and WeChat Pay seamlessly. The company is invested by SwiftPass Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of a China listed company and is a member of FinTech Australia.

About Today Australia

Media Today Group (also known as “Today Australia”) http://mediatodaygroup.com is Australia’s largest Chinese Internet “new media” platform delivered through an in-App experience, WeChat Official Account and WeChat Moment.

The group owns Internet media in five major cities: Sydney Today, Melbourne Today, Queensland Today, Adelaide Today, Perth Today, and two vertical Internet platforms: Australian Real Estate Today and Tourism Today.

Since its establishment on April 29, 2010, the group has been adhering to the business philosophy of “best-looking news and most practical information” and has gradually become the most influential and brand-value composite Chinese media group in the Australian Chinese community.

Getting healthier, giving up a bad habit, or spending more time doing the things you love are all great New Year’s resolutions.

But what about your finances? Here are a few of our top tips:

#1: Build an emergency fund
Try setting aside a small amount on a regular basis to help you manage any emergency expenses and reduce the risk of needing to borrow or access credit. An emergency fund can give you peace of mind, and is one of the best steps you can take towards financial wellness.

#2: Reduce interest charges
Credit cards and installment plans can offer great rewards and flexibility when used well, but if you’re not careful the repayments and interest can add up. If you are paying interest, consider rolling any small debts into one and consolidating them in a single account. Some credit providers offer interest free periods on balance transfers which can help you catch up. 

#3: Make a budget
Setting a budget (and sticking to it) is a great way to relieve financial stress. The first step to making a realistic budget is understanding your income and your expenses. When it comes to expenses, Gobbill can help.
Gobbill automatically summarises, categories and digitises your expenses, so you can keep track of what you are spending each month on household bills. You can also use Gobbill to digitise receipts for other expenses, just be careful not to exceed the document quota on your plan or additional fees may apply. 

#4: Make sure you’re on the best deal
Understanding your bills can also help you make sure that you’re still on a good deal. If your rates are no longer competitive, it can pay to spend a few hours shopping around, it may take a few hours but the saving you could make a real difference over the course of the year. Gobbill stores copies of all your previous bills in one place, so it’s easy to see what you’re paying

#5: Automate your payments
This is another great way Gobbill can help you maximise control over your finances, with minimal effort!
Gobbill can save you time paying bills by automating the payment process, and protecting you from fraud. When bills are paid through Gobbill we check every invoice to ensure it is not fraudulent, and you retain control over your payment methods. There’s no need to contact all your providers one by one if you get a new card or bank account, simply log in to Gobbill and update them all at once! Using Gobbill is a great way to save time and take the stress out of accounts payable, whilst knowing you are staying protected from fraud.

Contact us to find out how we can help.

Email [email protected]

[Competition is now closed. The winner was drawn 1pm 1 July 2019 AEST.]

To celebrate our ‘Pay any bill with any coin’ launch with Cointree we have a competition to Win cash back for paying your bills through Cointree (Coin) or Gobbill (Card/Bank)*

You can either use Gobbill’s Free, Premium and/or Business Plan to pay your everyday bills. Alternatively, you can also use Cointree.com ‘Pay bill’ service which is processed by Gobbill.

It’s an automatic entry each time you pay your bills. No need to put in details or write a story….Good luck!

Here are some photos of our Launch Party on 30 May 2019.

*Conditions.

Pay your bill using Gobbill or Cointree for a chance to win your bill amount back. Each bill payment is a single entry into the draw.

The winner will receive their bill amount in AUD (including GST if applicable) back in cash up to the value of $1,000 whichever is the lesser amount.

The bill must be paid from 27 May 2019 and before midnight 30 June 2019.

The winner will be drawn on Monday 1 July and contacted directly via email by either Cointree or Gobbill.

The prize amount will be an electronic transfer within 14 days. The prize will be invalid if unclaimed within 60 days.

Australians who own cryptocurrency can now pay household bills even if the biller doesn’t accept digital money.

Crypto exchange Cointree and bill payment Gobbill, both startups based in Melbourne, have started a landmark partnership to make this happen.

Gobbill is an artificial intelligence service that allows Australians to check if their bill is a scam or authentic, then have them paid securely.

Customers of Gobbill from this week can nominate to have bills paid using one of more than 100 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple and Litecoin.

Find out more about paying everyday bills with digital currencies. 

Read more at Yahoo Finance.