Customer introduction
Since its inception in Queensland over 15 years ago by physiotherapist Alwyn Blayse, Blue Ribbon Allied Health has focussed on going the extra mile when delivering quality care and service to their customers. Often this extra mile has been in a literal sense, with the organisation focusing strongly on providing health services to the often neglected rural and regional areas of Queensland.
Alwyn has always been passionate about ‘spotting the gaps’ in service delivery, and this approach has enabled their business to expand across Australia and its provided services. Today, they operate in both community private practices and residential aged care, servicing an extensive list of areas across Queensland and beyond, providing essential healthcare to the communities who need it most.
The situation
Managing the logistics, payroll and invoices for their continually growing workforce of healthcare professionals, support staff, and growing client base is no easy task. Going to communities that their competitors avoid due to logistics difficulties has provided Alwyn and his team with a competitive advantage, but only if they can adequately recruit, retain and fund the right team to do so. Another challenge with servicing these disparate communities was the juggling act of cash flow management. Paying staff on time coincides directly with the need for their rural clients to pay invoices on time – a difficult challenge in the healthcare industry. Alwyn explained,
“We needed a financial partner to help with our payroll and be trusted to become an integral part of our business. We also needed cash flow support to help us grow and to cover things like relocating therapists to different areas.”
Enter APositive
While they had an internal accountant helping manage the financial side, the growing business needed additional external support to meet payroll commitments and to remove the financial stress. Alwyn knew finding the right partner with the right product and people was crucial for long-term success.
After meeting with APositive, he found their model above and beyond the alternative options. But what stood out most of all was the team APositive possessed and the advice and consistent support they provided. They fit in immediately with his team and were always available to provide their advice and services.
He quickly found that the APositive team were highly skilled at liability risk management. Their credit checks and payroll funding enabled him to provide consistent payments to his team and expand his headcount and geographic reach for their services regardless of delays in invoice payments from clients.
The outcomes
With the financial expertise and services provided by APositive, Blue Ribbon Allied Health had the confidence and support needed to grow. With 12 staff at the time of APositive coming on board, Alwyn now has a team of 28, with a similar number of subcontractors also on the roster, and he sees this surpassing the 100 headcount figure in the not-too-distant future.
Alwyn credits the ‘much better system’ now in place for their cash flow management and payroll funding and the APositive team advice as a significant factor in their increased profitability and growth of their organisation beyond Queensland borders and across the country.
The Blue Ribbon team now frequently rely on APositive’s experienced support and are comfortable calling them for any concerns or advice regarding managing their business and finances. They take great comfort in the APositive team’s routine follow-ups and calls checking in. They simply regard them as part of the team.