BizPay: Leading the Revolution in Corporate Spending

Introducing Mikdad Merchant, a Chartered Accountant and Serial Entrepreneur, who is the face of the CEO Magazine’s Start-Up of the Year issue and the Founder and CEO of BizPay – an award-winning and India’s first corporate expense management system with a UPI-enabled digital wallet solution. It allows for managing employee expenses while on the move, at remote sites and projects, or for handling petty cash and daily expenses across multiple locations or branches.

The Inspiring Journey of Mikdad Merchant

Mikdad Merchant is a visionary leader who is a seasoned Chartered Accountant with over 13 years of experience. During his career, he noticed a recurring challenge of managing employee expenses incurred outside the office, such as those on remote projects or business trips. Due to a lack of visibility, these expenses were prone to errors, fraud, and significant financial losses.

Despite trying to find a satisfactory solution among existing tools and witnessing the pitfalls of failed ERP implementations, Mikdad decided to create a bespoke business management tool. He was fueled by his passion for technology and embarked on an ambitious journey.

Mikdad’s dedication was remarkable. He spent countless nights learning to code from scratch and progressed from an Excel-based VBA solution to a more robust MS Access application. This journey even led to the development of a commercially sold product – a Bill of Material tracker with an embedded cutting optimiser.

Combining his expertise as a chartered accountant with his newfound coding skills and driven by a desire to bridge the gap between finance and technology, Mikdad identified a significant market opportunity in expense management. In September 2021, his vision materialized with the launch of BizPay. This innovative company stands as a testament to Mikdad’s commitment to solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology.

The Solution for Financial Security and Transparency in Business Operations

BizPay is an admirable company that stands out due to several key characteristics. Firstly, the team prioritizes understanding the unique needs of each client, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution. This approach ensures that their solutions are tailored to address the specific challenges that different businesses face.

Secondly, innovation and continuous improvement are at the forefront of BizPay’s ethos. The team is constantly developing new features and functionalities to improve their software suite, ensuring that they stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving expense management landscape.

Thirdly, BizPay places a high priority on financial security. The company has implemented robust security measures to protect sensitive financial data and fosters a culture of transparency in all aspects of its operations.

Finally, BizPay is committed to empowering both employees and businesses. Its solutions streamline workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and provide valuable insights, allowing companies to optimize spending and make data-driven financial decisions.

Revolutionizing Corporate Expense Management

Mikdad was determined to tackle business expense management challenges, which led to BizPay’s comprehensive journey from concept to a SaaS-Fintech product. The first step involved establishing crucial partnerships with banks and creating a robust banking ecosystem platform. To ensure a secure foundation, rigorous KYC (Know Your Customer), procedural, and compliance processes were implemented.

During the design and prototyping phase, user needs were prioritized. Market testing and feedback were gathered from a diverse range of stakeholders, including CFOs, HR heads, employees, operations managers, and even on-site workers. This ensured that all users were considered throughout the design and development process.

The prototype was refined, and a skilled tech team was assembled to bring the product to life. Seamless integration with banks was a top priority, requiring constant collaboration for a smooth SaaS-Fintech experience. Development unfolded alongside continuous research and development, with adept problem-solving overcoming obstacles. The product was rigorously tested in a sandbox environment before a successful launch, keeping a focus on timelines. The pivotal moment arrived with onboarding the first paying customer, marking the beginning of a recurring revenue cycle.

Customers were provided with training and ongoing support, coupled with a commitment to gathering regular feedback while implementing continuous product improvement. BizPay’s innovative approach and success in revolutionizing corporate expense management have garnered the support of investors like Inflexion Point Ventures and Growth91. This investment fuels BizPay’s ongoing growth and development as a leader in the expense management landscape.

Shaping the Future of Business

Under Mikdad’s expert guidance, the leadership team at BizPay plays a crucial role in shaping the company’s admirable qualities. Their dedication to foresight is reflected in the development of cutting-edge solutions that anticipate the evolving needs of businesses. According to Mikdad, “Our commitment to empowerment is evident in our software’s user-friendly design and our focus on streamlining workflows for our users.”

By prioritizing these values, Mikdad not only inspires his team but also positively impacts the businesses they serve. Mikdad is an example of how visionary leadership can create a company that is not just successful but also improves how businesses operate.

Empowering Employees and Streamlining Processes

BizPay offers a suite of corporate prepaid cards, intuitive apps, and valuable services that are designed to go beyond simple expense tracking. The aim is to empower employees, streamline processes, and provide crucial insights for financial control. However, the impact of BizPay extends far beyond its technology.

Driven by Mikdad’s vision, BizPay is emerging as a transformative force in corporate expense management. The team offers businesses a one-stop solution to the age-old challenge of managing expenses. BizPay’s comprehensive suite goes beyond traditional software. Delivered as a cloud-based service (SaaS), their Expense Management System (EMS) provides a user-friendly platform for businesses of all sizes.

Providing Users with Integrated Tools

BizPay offers more than just expense tracking. They provide users with additional tools to simplify financial management, such as corporate prepaid cards and UPI-enabled digital wallets that eliminate the need for expense reimbursements with secure, reloadable cards and wallets.

Additionally, they offer a digital wallet that streamlines expense tracking and on-the-go payments with an integrated digital wallet. Moreover, BizPay’s travel booking and management functionalities allow for seamless travel arrangements for employees with integrated flight, hotel, and bus booking capabilities.

On a Mission to Facilitate Effortless Expense Management

BizPay aims to revolutionize the way businesses manage expenses. Their cloud-based software provides a comprehensive view of spending, allowing companies of all sizes to have better control over their finances.

The company’s mission is to develop top-quality SaaS fintech products that combine the user-friendliness of cloud-based software with state-of-the-art payment technology. This results in a fully integrated and comprehensive expense management solution.

Tackling the Ongoing Challenge

Managing business expenses has always been a challenge for companies. Though solutions like corporate cards and UPI enabled digital wallet have been around, they haven’t kept up with the rapid rise of digital payments. As of today, UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and QR codes have become far more popular than cards.

BizPay has recognized this shift and identified an opportunity to integrate digital wallets with corporate cards and UPI enabled digital wallet and create a comprehensive expense management solution. This innovative approach ensures that every expense, no matter how big or small, can be digitized and tracked, thus eliminating waste and saving businesses time, effort, and money.

Catering to the Unique Needs of Various Industries

Mikdad Merchant believes that applying a “one-size-fits-all” approach is not effective because each industry faces unique challenges when it comes to managing expenses. To address this, BizPay provides industry-specific solutions that are designed to tackle the specific needs of various sectors, such as:

Engineering, Procurement, and Commissioning (EPC) and Contracting.
Construction and Infrastructure.
Logistics.
Pharma and Pharma Distribution.
Multi-Outlet and Multi-Brand Retail.
Professional Services.

Field Support.
FMCG and Consumer Durables.
Distribution-led Businesses.
Non-Profits and NGOs.
Standardized Engineering, Customized Implementation.

BizPay does not start from scratch for each client to provide customized solutions. Instead, it uses a “Standardized Engineering and Customized Implementation” approach that ensures efficiency while catering to each business’s unique needs. This sets BizPay apart from its competitors and guarantees users a comprehensive solution tailored to their specific requirements.

Empowering Success Across Varied Industries

BizPay is dedicated to continuously improving its services. To achieve this, the company plans to partner with other businesses in order to offer a wider range of valuable products such as accounting software, HR management suites, and insurance solutions. This will create a growing ecosystem of integrated tools that will further empower businesses and simplify expense management.

In today’s competitive landscape, BizPay stands out as a leader in the field of expense management. The company’s commitment to innovation, customer focus, and employee empowerment sets it apart, making it a company worth watching. Its inspiring leadership also sets a strong example for businesses of all sizes.

The Impactful Growth Approach of BizPay

In today’s ever-changing economic climate, it is crucial to prioritize cash flow management and focus on sustainable unit economics to achieve success. BizPay, a startup, prioritizes ensuring profitability at the individual customer level. They also maintain strict control over overhead expenses to achieve a realistic and achievable break-even point.

Mikdad Merchant emphasizes the importance of growth that can be sustained in the long term. “Gone are the days when unsustainable business models relying on constant investor funding could survive. Now, businesses need a commitment to long-term profitability,” he says.

For startups like BizPay, this means carefully evaluating their business and revenue models to build a strong foundation based on sound unit economics. A key metric that they focus on is the LTV/CAC ratio, which compares a customer’s average lifetime value to the cost of acquiring them.

Controlling this ratio is crucial. Spending too much on customer acquisition can lead to disaster if it doesn’t translate to sufficient business value. While a benchmark of at least five is often recommended, the “ideal” ratio depends on the industry and market dynamics. BizPay maintains a benchmark of 20 based on their specific market conditions.

BizPay’s Pledge to Innovation

Mikdad Merchant provides a summary of BizPay’s journey and says that it’s not only about redefining expense management but also about revolutionising how businesses overcome challenges. Each step taken forward is a testament to BizPay’s commitment, resilience and belief that innovative solutions can transform industries.

BizPay is more than just a product; it’s a promise to empower businesses with the necessary tools to thrive in a dynamic world. To learn more about BizPay’s innovative expense management solutions and its inspiring leadership, please visit the website http://www.bizpay.co.in. 