Qashier is a fintech startup that equips businesses with a platform for POS, payment, customer acquisition and loyalty solutions. Co-founders Christoper Choo and Franklin Zhao Liang, recognising the need for affordable and user-friendly digital solutions for SMEs, founded the company in 2019.
Since then, the business has experienced tremendous growth, processing over US$1 billion worth of transactions and supported over 10,000 businesses across Southeast Asia through its integrated hardware and cloud-based software solutions.
However, this success has naturally come with challenges of its own. Enter Lark, a productivity superapp, that operates as a central nervous system for organisations, that has helped Qashier tackle the pains of handling a growing company spread across regional centres.
SMEhorizon speaks with Travis Kok, SVP SEA, Qashier, on the company’s challenges, and how the new technology has helped them overcome them and spur further expansion. Mark Dembitz, General Manager of APAC, Lark, also discusses how this experience reflects current business trends, and how SMEs can leverage technology to improve business operations.
Managing a cross-border workforce
As a business that innovates to solve fragmentation and streamline the day-to-day operational needs of merchants, Qashier quickly recognised the need and importance of having a similar solution to unify their internal workflows and processes.
Kok recalls that “with 200 employees spread across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, we initially relied on different software tools for collaboration and work management.
“At one point, we were using four different tools, which led to inefficiencies, information silos and slower decision-making. Each tool served a purpose, but the fragmentation hindered our workflow.”
“One of our critical pain points was the manual approval process, which was time-consuming and inconsistent. Data security also became a concern as we managed sensitive information across multiple platforms. Moreover, managing employee onboarding and offboarding became increasingly complex due to the number of applications involved,” he continued.
Dembitz agrees, pointing out that achieving seamless information exchange for competitive advantage is a key factor reshaping how businesses operate and compete. “The ability to facilitate rapid information flow across an organization has become a decisive competitive advantage,” he explains.
“While larger corporations and VC-backed startups often rely on expensive resources to drive innovation, successful Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) demonstrate that enabling seamless communication for faster decision-making can be more effective than simply allocating additional resources.
According to a World Economic Forum report, 67% of SMEs and mid-sized companies face struggles when it comes to maintaining and growing their business, despite contributing up to 70% of employment and GDP globally, due to financial fragility exacerbated by economic shocks and turbulences.
“To enhance future readiness, these businesses should focus not on acquiring more resources, but on improving information flow that enables faster, more informed decision-making.”
Crafting effective channels for communication
According to Kok, what Qashier needed was a solution that could centralise operations and allow the company to scale efficiently. “By adopting Lark, we found a platform that simplified communication between our headquarters and regional branches, ensuring that our growth wasn’t held back by operational complexities,” he says.
Dembitz emphasises the importance of well-oiled communications and information flow. “For SMEs, maximizing productivity isn’t just about working harder – it is about working smarter through intelligent information flow. The distinction between successful and struggling organizations often lies not in the volume of data they possess, but how effortlessly that information reaches decision-makers,” he says.
“Instead of employees spending valuable time searching for data, information should proactively find them. This means creating, delivering, and sharing the right information with the right people at the right time, ensuring teams can collaborate efficiently and make decisions faster, no matter where employees are located.”
“Consider an SME planning to expand operations across borders. When information flows automatically to decision-makers, market intelligence reaches strategy teams without manual search, compliance requirements surface proactively to legal teams, and customer insights are automatically routed to product teams.”
“This enables them to gain an edge over their competitors with faster go-to-market strategies, quickly responding to emerging trends and customer needs while optimizing their resources for maximum impact.”
Overcoming the initial transition
Kok shares that ultimately, Qashier was able to execute more efficiently, enabling them to expand faster without needing to increase operational costs. “By simplifying workflows and centralising communication, Lark has been instrumental in supporting our rapid growth across borders.”
However, like all new technologies, there was a new set of obstacles to overcome. “The most significant was getting the entire team fully onboard with the new platform and ensuring everyone, especially those who are used to our previous fragmented systems, became familiar with it and felt comfortable using it,” recalls Kok.
This was overcome by the internal efforts of the HR team, that provided training and kept channels for feedback open, allowing them to immediately address questions and concerns. With this support, the company was able to make Lark an integral part of their day-to-day operations.
Moving forward as an SME
Kok’s advice for other SMEs looking to improve their business operations comes in four points:
- Identify your pain points. Take time to assess your operational challenges and what areas need improvement. The right solution should address these concerns and not add unnecessary complexity.
- Choose tools that will grow with your business. As an SME, you may be starting small, but as you expand, having a platform that can scale alongside your business without adding significant costs is vital.
- Streamline your processes. It can be easy to end up using multiple tools that don’t work well together. Focus on consolidating your processes in one system that can save you time, reduce costs and increase productivity.
- Train your team. Ensure that you invest in proper onboarding and training to maximise the benefits of any platform and work management tool your team uses.
Dembitz emphasises that for fast-growing SMEs, success lies not in having more resources, but in maximizing the impact of existing ones. “Imagine running a marathon while relying on multiple GPS devices, each showing a different route,” he explains.
“That is exactly what businesses are doing today with their overwhelming array of software tools. Although these tools provide specialized functionalities, departments often acquire them independently, leading to redundancy from overlapping functionalities. Such fragmentation not only burdens IT teams with high maintenance costs but also heightens security and compliance risks.”
“By unifying disparate tools into a seamless system, organizations can enhance data visibility, streamline workflows, and ultimately foster more effective communication and collaboration. Think of it as transforming a cluttered toolbox into a well-organized workshop, where every tool is easily accessible and ready for use.
“In this way, teams can reduce the time spent searching for resources and sharing information, allowing them to focus on what truly matters – driving innovation and unlocking growth opportunities.
“In an increasingly competitive market, a holistic approach to technology can be the key to navigating the complexities of the modern business environment, positioning organizations for sustained success,” he concludes.
