Today, Clear Books and Capitalise announced an initiative to help small businesses and their advisers access financing. The partnership includes an integration between Clear Books and Capitalise, the first of the kind for each, which allows small businesses to eliminate the panic and stress often involved in obtaining finance.
Half a million UK SMEs have cash reserves of only four weeks or less, and nearly half are at high risk, the companies said. Add to it that the average SME has £30,000 in outstanding delayed payments, which increases the importance of access to finance. As the economy recovers it could allow them to take advantage of new opportunities to fuel growth as well as to help protect themselves against further unforeseen shocks.
Most small businesses who need financing often realize it later on and they still delay acting. This partnership provides businesses with ongoing insight into their financial performance and their possible need for capital while providing a process to find and apply for a business loan.
From within the Clear Books accounting software, the business owner can share their business and financial information directly with Capitalise’s finance search platform, reducing the time it takes to gather the information and documents needed for a loan application. Capitalise’s team supports the small business to find the right financing for them, and get their financing approved.
Capitalise works with more than 100 lenders, covering many financing options including popular working capital loans, and loans via the attractive government-backed COVID-19 Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).
“The Clear Books partnership with Capitalise is the latest addition to our suite of embedded finance applications,” Clear Books CEO Ruth Fouracre said. “Building on bank feeds, invoice payments, and bill payments, the addition of loans and financing through the integration with Capitalise anchors Clear Books as the central finance hub for small businesses making it easier for small business owners to manage their business finances.”
“Clear Books’ suite of embedded finance applications is a great step forward in helping their users navigate the financial landscape,” Capitalise CEO Paul Surtees added. “The rich financial data that Clear Books has really advanced the speed and efficiency of Capitalise’s funding service. This partnership will improve the quality of matching and reduce the time and stress of accessing finance for small businesses. We are excited to embed the Capitalise service into the Clear Books platform and help small business owners through this economic recovery.”