DBS, Xero launch banking initiative for SMEs

A NEW arrangement to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) better manage their finances has been launched on Tuesday, DBS and cloud accounting platform Xero announced jointly.

The collaboration allows small businesses to connect their DBS business banking accounts to Xero instantly for a secure and up-to-date view of their financial position. This enables business owners to make more informed business and investment decisions, without the "hassle and costly mistakes caused by outdated cash flow balances and human error", said the statement.

Existing bank feed arrangements require SMEs to apply for account integration via paper forms, and can take about 10 days to set up.

The new initiative eliminates the need for small businesses to carry out manual data entry or import bank transactions.

A recent Xero survey of 150 SMEs in Singapore found that Singapore's small-business owners spend an average of 15.5 hours a month manually importing and reconciling their bank statements.