Fintech company The Glue, and VGD, an accounting firm, create TOCO, a unique software platform where SMEs and freelancers can store, process, and monitor their financial administration and share it with their accountant and their bank.
SMEs get a virtual filing cabinet, with keys for them, their accountant and their bank
A central location for financial administration and communication
The SMEs can open their digital archive to other parties, such as their accountant and bank, with a tailored access (ad hoc access, limited rights, limited supervision and so forth). “But TOCO is far more than a virtual shoebox where documents can be stored and consulted,” says Charlotte Pille, Accountancy Partner at VGD. Incoming invoices and expenses can be paid from TOCO (through seamless integration with BilltoBox from UnifiedPost), and sales invoices can be sent from the platform.
Facebook timeline
“But our first and foremost aim is to set up a user-friendly means of communication between the different users,” Charlotte continues. “via an information feed – you can compare it to a Facebook timeline – entrepreneurs and accountants get to see their most recent actions and to do’s of the day, and alerts can pop up.”
Financial situation at a glance
Philippe Kimpe, CIO of VGD, adds that the integration of service providers such as Silverfin and Bright Analytics moreover makes it possible to consult the financial situation of the company in real time. “Less time spent on accounting and administration will mean that there will be more room for advice and financial planning,” Philippe says.
PSD2 raised to a higher level
Thanks to PSD2, it will be possible to make payments directly from TOCO. “But we are taking it further than that,” says Stefan Dierckx, CEO of The Glue. Entrepreneurs will be able to share other documents with their bank as well. “That avoids an enormous amount of fuss. An application for a loan is a good example. Both the company and the bank have to send a whole set of documents back and forth. With TOCO, that is now a thing of the past.” With the appropriate approval, the bank can consult the documents on the platform, and comment as and where necessary. Subject to prior consent, banks will also gain insight into the financial situation of their customers, so as to be able to give advice to measure. “The additional features are an innovative application of PSD2 in a B2B context,” Stefan Dierckx adds.
The platform avoids workloads at peak periods
Because documents can be uploaded in TOCO as soon as they come in, both the entrepreneur and the accountant avoid the traditional rush around for example VAT and tax returns. In time it will moreover be possible for an SME to exchange information via TOCO with other parties such as the government, or social secretariats (payroll administration, contract overviews, etc.).
Available in the spring of 2019
An early, limited version of TOCO is currently running for the customers of VDG. In the coming months, the commercial version will be built on the high-performing technology of The Glue. The new platform will be widely available in the spring of 2019.
About The Glue
The Glue proposes a unique combination of fintech business expertise and a transformative software platform. The company was conceived to answer the need of financial institutions to provide innovate services on complex legacy infrastructures, fast and reliably. The Glue enables harmonization of applications, easy data aggregation and superior customer engagement in open API ecosystems. Founded in 2015 by fintech pioneers Jurgen Ingels and Stefan Dierckx the company is headquartered in Brussels with an office in Singapore. The Glue employs 45 staff.
Visit www.theglue.com and https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-glue-solutions/
Media contact: Steve Lacourt, Marketing & PR,
steve.lacourt@theglue.com,
+32 (0) 476 53 13 80
About VGD
VGD is the preferred partner of the family entrepreneur. With 8 offices, 270 employees and than 35 years of expertise, the company has built up a strong credibility in business advice to large and small SMEs both in Belgium and abroad.
VGD’s organisation is based on a “Let’s talk” mentality where advisors work closely with their customers. The entrepreneur has a sparring partner who banks upon a broad network of experts for a tailor-made advice. This way, the entrepreneur is relieved of worries about tax, audit and accountancy or specialised services such as asset and pension planning, corporate finance, CFO services, subsidy applications, ICT advice and other services.
VGD has been focusing on digitisation for many years. The company was honoured by Microsoft, among others, and won several awards including the Exact Cloud Award. TOCO was developed as the finale of the digitalisation within VGD.
Media contact: Véronique Cheyns, Marketing,
veronique.cheyns@vgd.eu,
+32 (0)9 398 77 62