Banking measurement tool will save retail businesses thousands of pounds

Ben Martin, CEO of bmbal (BM Business Advisory Ltd), has launched the first ever bank relationship benchmarking service for UK business customers.

The tool is called Business Banking Measured (BBM), the free online tool identifies where Retail businesses are incurring unnecessary banking costs. It also outlines the steps they can take to eradicate those costs to make thousands of pounds of financial savings.

For those businesses operating in the retail sector, getting the right banking support to deliver their daily, weekly and monthly financing and liquidity requirements is crucial to the success of their business. The banking assessment tool scrutinises these and other banking services to identify their suitability and effectiveness. It also identifies where banking relationships can be made more effective, efficient and where savings could be found.

Speaking about the new banking measurement tool, Ben Martin, CEO of bmbal, which provides specialist banking and treasury advisory services to UK businesses, said: “Retail businesses need to be confident that they are getting the most suitable banking services and products to ensure their working capital costs are minimised, but without harming their operational needs. Sales margins are ultra-tight, so banking costs must be minimised. As the use of mobile payments continues to gather strength, retailers must be confident their banks are able to deliver a cutting edge service. Yet, by failing to review their banking relationships regularly, they are simply leaving money on the table when they could be benefitting from thousands of pounds of savings.

“So far, on average, businesses that have trialled the banking measurement tool are finding potential annual savings in excess of £56,000 each. That’s a huge extra expense these businesses are incurring because their banking relationships are simply not fit for purpose.”

The BBM tool enables business owners and financial directors to identify areas for improvement in their banking relationships through answering a series of questions. The assessment takes fewer than 10 minutes to complete, reviewing 27 questions via drop down answers. No confidential information is required.

After completing the questions, the user receives a tailored client report which identifies key areas for savings – this report is available for free.  For users interested in further, detailed, analysis then a more extensive report is available for a fee.

Both reports provide the business owners or directors with the information they need to start a year on year assessment of their banking relationships and to make improvements that will save them time and money. The reports also provide peer group comparisons that are not available elsewhere to business owners or directors.