The Review: How Thriday and Airwallex compare

What is Thriday? 

Thriday is a groundbreaking new financial management tool that automates banking, accounting and tax for Aussie small business owners. Once you sign up with Thriday, you can access an integrated business bank account* and Visa Debit card* that can automatically track all your incoming and outgoings. 

This means that as you earn money and pay for things, all your bookkeeping, accounting and tax are automatically calculated, so you don't need to do a thing. To achieve this, Thriday has developed an algorithm called Luca that has been trained on over 50,000 transactions. This service automatically reconciles your income and expenses to the correct chart of accounts. This means that you know exactly how your business is performing in real-time, and you never need to worry about financial admin or taxes again. In addition, Thriday provides a raft of other features that help you save time, including receipt scanning, bill payments, BAS lodgment, management reporting and tax forecasts. With Thriday, you will feel like you have the superpower to make better decisions about what to do with your business. 

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What is Airwallex? 

Airwallex is a platform that helps businesses scale globally. Airwallex provides software enabling you to create multi-currency accounts to accept payments in overseas markets. Airwallex is popular with companies that have offshore customers or suppliers and want to reduce the cost of moving money overseas. Airwallex can be an excellent compliment for people using Thriday, as you can store all your funds in an FCS-protected bank account. At the same time, you can still utilise a platform like Airwallex for moving funds overseas. Unlike Thriday, Airwallex provides no features to support bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing or tax. This means that you will still need the support of a bookkeeper or accountant to ensure you meet your tax obligations. Airwallex has grown rapidly through multiple rounds of external investment and is recognised as an excellent product for those businesses that want to expand overseas. Most of Airwallex's revenue is derived from foreign exchange margins and transaction fees related to moving money to different markets and accounts. 

What is the benefit of having money in a bank account? 

Thriday is a digital platform offering various features that make it a better choice than Airwallex for managing your finances as an Australian business. One of the main advantages of Thriday is that it's an all-in-one platform. You can do everything from tracking receipts to accounts payable to lodging your BAS to the ATO. Thriday has a user-friendly interface, making navigating and managing your accounts easy. All funds held with Thriday are stored directly in your business name, in a business bank account* held with an ADI. This means your money is protected under the FCS regime. Another significant benefit of Thriday is its security features. Thriday uses state-of-the-art encryption and two-factor authentication to protect your account information and transactions. This means your money is always safe and secure when using Thriday. 

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Is Airwallex a bank?  

In contrast, Airwallex is not a bank. It is a cross-border payment platform that allows businesses to make payments in different countries. When you deposit funds into an Airwallex business account, the entire amount is held in a trust account on your behalf. As a result, in the unlikely event of Airwallex ceasing business operations or going into insolvency, liquidation or bankruptcy, you will need to contact an independent trustee and make a valid claim to receive the money back. Due to this, there is a potential liquidity risk that it could take some time for the trustee to review your application and make those funds available. We recommend you seek advice on this as part of your decision to use Airwallex. 

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"Airwallex is not a bank. It is a cross-border payment platform that allows businesses to make payments in different countries"

What are the key features that make Thriday different to Airwallex? 

The critical thing to remember when comparing Thriday and Airwallex is that Thriday was designed to eliminate any time you waste on financial admin. Once you are signed up for Thriday, you just need to earn money and spend money, and the platform takes care of the rest. In terms of features, this means: 

• Create multiple transaction accounts to budget like a pro or implement Profit First 
• Automatically reconcile receipts to determine GST credits and keep a digital copy for tax time 
• Generate management reports, including income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement 
• View tax and cashflow actuals and end-of-financial-year predictions so you know where you stand 
• Send unlimited invoices and quotes to help you win more business and get paid on time 
• Automate accounts payable by uploading, scanning or forwarding bills that need to be paid 
• Lodge your BAS to the ATO and get tax agent support if required 
• Make domestic payments using a BSB or BPAY. 

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What do customers prefer – Thriday or Airwallex? 

Both platforms are popular with customers for different reasons. If you are a busy business owner who wants to forget about financial admin and tax-related tasks, then Thriday is a perfect fit. If you are a business that needs to handle money offshore, then Airwallex is a good fit. Regarding the app store ratings, which is always a good measure, Airwallex has an average rating of 3.7 on Android and 4.3 on Apple. Thriday, on the other hand, has an average of 5.0 stars on both. Concerning the app store comments, some Airwallex customers reported issues with the sign-up verification process, failed or delayed payments, as well as unexpected charges. Thriday feedback focuses on the platform's time-saving and all-in-one nature as a significant benefit to small business owners.  

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With Airwallex, do I still need a bookkeeper or accountant? 

Airwallex has done a remarkable job of launching its international account services. However, one of the challenges with using the platform is that you’ll still need to pay for a bookkeeper, accountant or both to ensure you stay tax compliant. Airwallex does not provide any features or services to streamline this, so you'll need to hire someone – who can range from $2,000 to $4,000 a year – to help you lodge your BAS or tax returns. On the other hand, if you use Thriday, the choice is yours. You can use Thriday, which does everything on your behalf automatically, or you can get support from a human accountant if you need it. 

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Switch from Airwallex to Thriday

If you want to switch to Thriday from Airwallex, it's really straightforward. Just fill out this form, and one of our friendly team will help you do it. To find out how much money you could save by using Thriday, complete our money saver quiz.

Thriday is a popular all-in-one platform for small businesses due to its user-friendly interface, affordability, and robust features. The platform's ability to automate repetitive tasks, such as invoicing and receipt scanning, enables business owners to focus on growing their business rather than spending time on administrative tasks. Thriday's cloud-based system also allows business owners to access their financial information from anywhere, making it convenient for those on the go. With its comprehensive reporting and analytics tools, Thriday offers valuable insights into business performance, helping small business owners make informed decisions. These features, combined with Thriday's exceptional customer service, make it an ideal accounting app for small businesses looking to streamline their financial management processes.