How Berar Finance ensured 20% Cost Savings with OmniCard

At a Glance

• Up to 20% savings on monthly spends (10-20% on travel/tour and petty cash)
• 264 employees using OmniCard daily across 7 states
• 67% quicker bill submission by employees
• 57% faster reimbursements (30-40 days down to 15 days)
• Support rated 8/10; payment experience rated 8.5/10

About Berar Finance

Founded in 1990, Berar Finance Limited is one of the oldest and largest vehicle financing NBFCs in Central and West India. With a network of over 100 branches across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, and Karnataka, BFL specializes in providing two-wheeler loans, vehicle refinance, four-wheeler loans (used cars), personal loans, demand loans, and loans against property (LAP) on flexible repayment terms, focusing on quick turnaround and customer convenience. Headquartered in Nagpur, BFL has served over 5 lakh happy customers since its inception.

We have been able to save upto 20% out of our Monthly Spends with OmniCard mainly in Sales Tour & Travel Expenses along with Branch Petty Cash Management across 7 states.

— Nikhilesh Mandle, Account Officer

264

Employees using OmniCard Daily

67%

Quicker Bill Submission by Employees

57%

Faster Reimbursements by Berar Finance

Implementation

Onboarding

The onboarding experience with OmniCard was seamless, facilitated by the dedicated Key Account Management (KAM) team. There were no significant challenges faced during this phase, thanks to the proactive support from the OmniCard team. The KAM team ensured a smooth transition from the previous providers, Google Pay and PhonePe, to OmniCard.

Adoption

The platform was rolled out across seven states, with a total of 264 employees using OmniCard for their transactions. Employees quickly adapted to the new system as they were already familiar with other payment apps. The ease of understanding and using OmniCard further facilitated rapid adoption.

8/10

Support

Key Decision Makers

The decision to implement OmniCard was driven by the Account Head and Managing Director (MD) of Berar Finance, with significant support from the finance team for operational tasks and onboarding.

Challenges They Faced

Lack of Control and Visibility:

Funds were transferred directly to employees' salary accounts, making it difficult to monitor and control expenditures. If an employee left the company, there was no immediate way to reclaim any remaining funds, leading to potential financial losses.

Delayed Reimbursement Processes:

The travel reimbursement process was lengthy, often taking 30-40 days to complete. Employees would take up to 30 days to submit their travel bills, which then took additional time to process, resulting in prolonged reimbursement cycles.

Dependence on Manual Processes:

The reliance on manual processes for tracking expenses and managing petty cash led to inefficiencies and errors. This manual handling made it challenging to maintain accurate records and ensure timely payments.

Risk of Cash Loss and Pilferage:

Handling cash transactions for petty cash and travel expenses increased the risk of cash loss and pilferage. There was no secure method to ensure that funds were used appropriately and accounted for accurately.

Inefficient Fund Transfers:

Using platforms like Google Pay and PhonePe for transactions was not ideal for a large organization. The processes were not streamlined, leading to inefficiencies and delays in fund transfers.

Complex Full and Final Settlements:

The process of full and final settlements when an employee left the company was cumbersome. It involved waiting for invoices and bills to process payments and calculating the remaining balance with the employee, which was time-consuming and prone to discrepancies.

A Quick Comparison

Features	Without OmniCard	With OmniCard
Visibility on Travel Expenses	No	Yes
Short Employee Reimbursements Cycles	No	Yes
Quick Reconciliations	No	Yes
Withdraw Money from Team’s Account	No	Yes
Scalability to multiple branches	No	Yes
Reduced Cash Loss	No	Yes
Usability across branches	No	Yes

8.5/10

Payment Experience

How OmniCard Expense Management helped Berar Finance

Primary Use Case: T&E Expenses & Petty Cash

Enhanced Control and Visibility:

Previously, funds were transferred directly to employees' salary accounts, making it difficult to control and recover money if an employee left the job. OmniCard provided immediate control over balances, allowing the company to withdraw funds instantly when needed.

Cost Savings:

Berar Finance achieved 10-20% savings, particularly in on-ground employees' travel and tour expenses and corporate petty cash spending. The major savings stemmed from eliminating the reliance on full and final settlements, with instant visibility on employee balances.

Reduced Cash Loss and Pilferage:

The shift to OmniCard significantly reduced cash loss and pilferage, providing a more secure and accountable transaction process.

Faster Reimbursement Process:

The time taken for travel reimbursement was reduced from 30-40 days to just 15 days, with employees submitting bills within 10 days using OmniCard, compared to the previous 30 days.

Streamlined Expense Management:

The platform’s expense reporting feature, though needing minor refinements, offered a significant improvement in managing and tracking expenses.

The implementation of OmniCard at Berar Finance has brought about significant improvements in managing tour and travel expenses and petty cash for branches. The platform has provided better control, reduced costs, and streamlined processes, despite some challenges and areas needing improvement.

Areas for Improvement include recommending dedicated UPI PIN implementation for added security, enhancing expense report features to streamline processes, and addressing concerns over the 3% bank transfer charges highlighted by Berar Finance. With the recommended enhancements, OmniCard has the potential to further elevate its value proposition for Berar Finance and other similar organizations.

Customer Quotes

The adoption of OmniCard™ by our on-ground teams for travel & petty cash over the past year led to 20% cost savings month by month.

— Nikhilesh Mandle, Account Officer