DayOne Solutions offers a cutting-edge, integrated platform that unifies all the data of a building’s entire lifecycle, from development and construction through operations. Needless to say, this small business caters to some very large and discerning clients. 

That’s why CEO Rob Bess personally oversees the platform’s development and support.

“It’s a small business for right now, but we’re already global,” Bess says. “Even as a small business, technology is making it possible to enter global markets and outsource internationally. But it only works because the means and methods of paying vendors overseas are getting easier, especially using BILL. That's the key part for me.”

“Even as a small business, technology is making it possible to enter global markets and outsource internationally. But it only works because the means and methods of paying vendors overseas are getting easier, especially using BILL. That's the key part for me.”

The challenge: An outdated infrastructure for international payments

DayOne Solutions maintains a call center in the Philippines. A local office manager collects contractor invoices and sends the total to DayOne’s headquarters, DayOne sends a payment to cover them all, and the office manager distributes it.

But managing that process from the other side of the globe comes with plenty of challenges.

“The way we were doing it just took too long,” Bess says. “We pay our contractors in the Philippines in their local currency, the peso, and it would take an average of 5 to 7 days from the invoice date for them to receive their money.”

Currency translation was a headache too. “I've been doing this for 12 years now, and I always had to do the currency translation manually. What's the exchange rate? Then put that in, and then you have to mentally deduct out a little bit for their exchange fees too. Plus, our team members in the Philippines were paying a percentage of their paycheck every two weeks to the remittance network.”

And any problems they encountered were nightmares to handle. “Banking over there, it’s hard for us here to grasp what it’s like sometimes. My office manager has to go stand in the heat and wait three hours just to talk to somebody. So the more we can automate those payments, the better—for us and for them.”

“We pay our contractors in the Philippines in their local currency, the peso, and it would take an average of 5 to 7 days from the invoice date for them to receive their money.”

The solution: BILL Accounts Payable

In 2023, Bess hired a new CFO who introduced him to BILL. 

“We were thrilled to discover BILL’s international payment capability Local Transfer that has helped us speed up our payments to same-day delivery. BILL has effectively given me and my overseas team 3 to 5 days back. The process is now so straightforward and fast—I simply review and pay."

While the speed of international payments is one of DayOne Solution’s top priorities, Bess notes that BILL is saving the team a lot of money too.

“There are banks out there that charge a terrible exchange rate,” Bess says. “BILL’s exchange rate is pretty good, so that’s nice to have. But even more importantly, BILL doesn’t charge a per transaction fee, so we get that back too. There was a time when I was spending thousands of dollars every year in wire transfer fees. So yeah, I love the zero wire fees.”

And because BILL lets Bess enter bills from the Philippines in their native currency, he doesn’t have to do the mental gymnastics of currency translation anymore.

As for the contractors, they’ve been thrilled with BILL too, and not just because they’re getting paid faster. “With other methods we’ve tried, our international contractors were losing a full 5% of their payments to fees on their end. With BILL, they don’t pay any fees. They don’t lose anything. So it’s putting more money back in their pockets too.”

“We were thrilled to discover BILL’s international payment capability Local Transfer that has helped us speed up our payments to same-day delivery. BILL has effectively given me and my overseas team 3 to 5 days back. The process is now so straightforward and fast—I simply review and pay.”

The integration: QuickBooks Online

DayOne Solutions uses QuickBooks Online, so BILL syncs with their accounting software, keeping their books up to date automatically. 

To see if BILL integrates with your accounting software or ERP, check our integrations page.

Summary: Strong foundation for international payments 

From the first time they paid their team in the Philippines with Local Transfer, Bess noticed a tremendous difference. “As soon as I processed the payment through BILL,” Bess remembers, “they all got emails. One of them contacted me so quickly, and the money was already in her bank. That’s when I realized it had cleared the same day I paid them. In less than 24 hours. Technically, it arrived the next day, but only because of the time difference.”

Bess used to try to time the payments for his team, playing a guessing game of sending payments 5 to 7 business days ahead to try to pay them on time, or at least close. Not having to do that anymore has been a relief. “Now I just enter the payment in BILL on the 1st or the 15th. Every payment I've made to the Philippines using Local Transfer has been same-day delivery. It’s like clockwork.”

“Now I just enter the payment in BILL on the 1st or the 15th. Every payment I've made to the Philippines using Local Transfer has been same-day delivery. It’s like clockwork.”