What is Melio?

Melio is an app that integrates with QuickBooks Online that provides a free accounts payable solution for small businesses. We asked them 8 questions as a part of our “What Is” article series,  to learn more about their app and their company.

What is Melio, what do you do, & when did you get published on Intuit’s Apps.com?

• Name: Melio
• When: Mid May (14th)
• What: Melio is an Accounts Payable solution designed for small businesses. Melio helps small business owners maximize cash flow and minimize busy work through smarter business payments.

What was the main problem you were trying to solve when you first developed Melio?

Most Accounts Payable solutions today are great for enterprise companies or “big small businesses” but they are often too complicated, too expensive and not too valuable for a small business owner that is not a professional bookkeeper/accountant.

Melio recognized an opportunity to create the first Accounts Payable solution that is 100% tailor-made for small businesses. An experience that is as simple as any p2p payment app, but does address critical business needs like an AP solution. A service that not only saves time paying bills for but also significantly improves the business’s cash flow.

What companies (or users) are the best fit for your app?

We work a lot with retailers, hospitality, businesses that have a physical location and businesses that sell perishable goods; these businesses have a large amount of bills to handle, which takes them an unproportional amount of time. Some of our users have reached out to say that using Melio to handle these bills allows them to go back and focus on their actual business, as opposed to back-office work.

We also work with a lot of professional services, wholesale, marketing agencies, and sole proprietors as well as young tech companies that do not have a full time in house accountant.

In general, I would say any business with 1-20 employees is in the right place to maximize Melio’s added values.

Tell us about your users’ top 3 favorite features or benefits.

1. Extend float – Small businesses can pay using their existing credit card even if their vendors only accept a check or bank transfer.
2. Save manual entry – Every bill, payment, and vendor on Melio is synced with QuickBooks online and vice versa.
3. Free – Scheduling/Making payments with a bank transfer or debit card is completely free. Melio even mails checks for vendors on the business’s behalf for free.

Tell us about your company’s culture and leadership.

Melio’s mission is to “keep small business in business”. Melio fulfills this mission by enabling smarter business payments that maximize cash flow and minimize busywork.

When we started Melio, we wanted to build more than an efficient Accounts Payable tool. We wanted to build a service that helps small businesses keep up with business. A B2B payments experience that not only saves time but also significantly improves cash flow. A payment workflow so simple it helps businesses focus on their customers, not their back office.

How is Melio different from your competitors?

• Melio is significantly simpler than any other AP solution. Our experience offers small business owners everything they need, nothing they don’t.
• Melio is significantly cheaper than any other AP solution. No monthly fees, no fees when paying with a debit card, bank transfer or paper check mailing.
• Melio is the only AP solution that not only saves time with automation but also improves cash flow but allowing businesses to pay with their credit card even if vendors don’t accept cards.

What is the pricing?

• Using Melio is free. Melio does not charge any monthly fees.
• You can always pay with a debit card or bank transfer for free, and choose to send funds to a vendor’s bank account or we can mail a physical check on your behalf.
• When paying with a credit card, there is a 2.5% fee, that allows that payer to enjoy credit card rewards and cashback benefits on any payment.
• You can pay with any of these methods to any vendor, regardless of what payment method the vendor accepts.
• Getting paid with Melio is always free, no matter the payment method.

Does your App have any programs for Quickbooks ProAdvisors?

Not at the moment, but we will soon release Melio for Bookkeepers, multi-account access that will allow Bookkeepers to manage several businesses’ payments from one login and thus to significantly increase their customer volume.

A bookkeeper will be able to schedule all of their customers’ payments and the business owner will be able to log in and approve them in advance.

To learn more about Melio visit their page on Apps.com or check out their website (affiliate link).