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ICYMI: The top Melio features and upgrades of 2023

It’s been a busy year for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) tackling a challenging financial environment while keeping the American economy going. After all, the country’s more than 33 million SMBs account for 99.9% of all U.S. companies and are responsible for employing almost half of private sector workers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

At Melio, we’ve also been hard at work and sticking to our mission to keep small business in business. In case you missed it, here are some of the top features we launched in 2023 to help make business payments smoother and more accessible to SMBs. 

Instant payments

Online payments are almost always faster than traditional payment methods but sometimes you can’t afford to wait even a few hours and you need your payment to go through instantly. Whether you’re trying to collect on an early bird discount, avoid late payment fees on a missed invoice, or just establish a good relationship with a new vendor, Melio has you covered. 

For a 1.5% fee, you can choose an instant transfer as your payment delivery method so your payment is processed and delivered within minutes. Your vendor will likely already have the money in their bank account by the time you call or text to tell them you’ve sent it. 

For a step-by-step walkthrough of instant payments, check out this help center article.

If you’re a vendor and received a payment through Melio via ACH bank transferACH bank transferACH is a type of electronic bank-to-bank transfer that goes through the Automated Clearing House network (hence its name). or check, you can also opt to receive an instant payment instead, directly to your bank account or debit card.

Pay over time

Whether you’re in a temporary cash flow crunch or planning a big investment that can grow your business, gathering the financial resources you need in time can be the key to your business’s success. 

Melio’s new financing solution lets you pay with net 30 terms or divide large amounts into up to 12 more manageable monthly installments. Your vendor gets paid in full and on time, regardless of the financing plan you choose. 

When paying a bill with Melio, choose pay over time as your payment method.1 You’ll then see exactly how much you’ll be charged and when, according to the number of installments you choose.

Mobile app

Every entrepreneur knows that a smartphone is more than a TikTok-watching (or generating) machine. It’s also a valuable work tool, especially if you’re not sitting at your desk all day.

Melio’s accounts payable (AP) mobile app lets you send business-to-business (B2B) payments on the go, edit your payment methods, and add new vendors or invoices, with just a few swipes. It can also remind you about due bills and lets you track the status of each of your payments.  

The app is currently available for iOS users. An Android version is coming soon. 

AP sync with Xero

If you use accounting software Xero to manage your books, you probably already know you can sync your accounts receivable (AR)Accounts receivable (AR)Accounts receivable is an accounting term that refers to all the money customers owe your business for products or services rendered and invoiced, but not yet paid for. with Melio. This year we added support for accounts payableAccounts payable (AP)Accounts payable is an accounting term that refers to the outstanding bills or invoices for goods and services already provided to your business but that you haven’t yet paid for. as well so you can see, track, and manage all your payments on both platforms.

So, if a customer pays you via Melio, the relevant invoice is automatically marked as paid on Xero as well. The same goes for when you pay your vendors. The status of each payment is visible on both platforms. 

The many benefits of syncing Melio and Xero include saving time on dual entry, minimizing human error, easier reconciliation, and better cash flow management.

Pay without adding a bill

Sometimes you need to pay a vendor for something but you don’t have the bill at hand. Whether you misplaced it, didn’t receive it yet, or just left it at home, that’s no longer an issue.

Now, you can simply choose your vendor on Melio (or add a new one) and initiate a payment without uploading a bill or an invoice. It’s that simple.

International payments with Mastercard

If you have a business Mastercard you can use it for international payments on Melio.2 This way you can maintain your workflows, hold on to cash for longer until your next billing cycle, and earn card rewards, regardless of where your vendor is in the world.

Improved cut-off times

Over the past year, Melio extended cut-off times to ensure your payments go through as soon as possible. 

You can now send a standard ACH-to-ACH bank transfer and it will still be processed on the same day and arrive within three business days.

Domestic payments made with a credit card3 are now delivered to your vendor’s bank account on the same day, if sent before 2 p.m. (ET). This means your vendor gets paid faster, even if you waited until the last minute to pay, while you get to keep your cash until your card’s next billing cycle.

Upload multiple bills at once

If you have more than one bill to add to Melio there’s no need to go through the whole process for each of them. When creating a bill, you can now choose as many files as you need to upload at once. You can then review and confirm all the details in a single screen.

This feature is currently being rolled out and will be available to all users soon.

Multiple line items

You can now add line items to your invoices in Melio and sync them with your accounting software. This is useful if you’re paying for several items in a single invoice and want to keep track of exactly what you paid for. 

You can add category lines as well as lines for individual items which also include quantity and price per unit boxes.

This feature is currently being rolled out and will be available to all users soon.

Start 2024 on the right foot

As we step towards the new year, Melio continues to innovate and improve its offering to give small business owners the tools they need to pay and get paid quickly and efficiently. 

Don’t have an account yet? Sign up for Melio today.

*This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended as financial advice.
**Melio does not provide legal, tax or accounting advice, and you should consult with a professional advisor before making any financial decisions.