BMO, FreshBooks Bring Cloud-Based Accounting Software to Small Businesses

BMO Bank of Montreal and FreshBooks today announced a partnership designed to make the management of everyday business simple and fast for BMO’s small business customers.

The collaboration will enable BMO small business customers to access FreshBooks’ cloud-based accounting software to conduct their day-to-day operations including sending invoices, tracking timesheets, managing expenses and receiving and sending online payments.

“Managing the financial operations of a small business in today’s marketplace is becoming more complicated and time consuming – requiring our customers to dedicate significant time and resources,” said Ernie Johannson, Head, Canadian Personal Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We’re confident that this partnership offers a holistic approach to making our customers’ lives easier by enabling them to improve their business processes and access the tools needed both to launch and grow their businesses successfully.”

A recent BMO poll on Canadian small business owners, conducted by Pollara, found that one third of business owners find running day-to-day business operations complicated and about one fifth find banking for their business complicated. When small business owners were asked to select from a list of challenges faced in running their own business, 18 per cent identified the number one challenge as managing income and finances, while 17 per cent found their biggest challenge to be running daily operations

“Small businesses are the engine of our economy, but their accounting needs are commonly overlooked and underserved,” said Mike McDerment, co-founder and CEO, FreshBooks. “Small business owners need a simple way to manage their finances so they can focus on running their business, and this partnership enables them to do just that.”

The poll also revealed that almost three quarters of Canadian small business owners completely rely on a mobile device – including a smart phone or tablet – to run their business, while one third rely on it heavily.