Servistree seeks to ease small-business cash flow challenges

Now this is the very definition of entrepreneurship. Cloud payment processing and operations company Servistree.com was the brainchild of a small-business owner, who came up with the concept in order to help scale his own operations.

David Cohen, cofounder of Servistree and second-generation owner of Cyril's Bakery in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said the idea was born in the credit crunch of 2009, when many small businesses found it much more difficult to receive credit. He and his Servistree cofounder, Adam Weizer, originally thought of Servistree as a way to help improve cash flow. Since then, the company has become focused on providing several different sorts of services, including:

• Loyalty and gift card programs (ala the PayCloud Network)
• Social marketing or mobile marketing campaigns (two services that currently are in beta test mode, so not much to report here)
• Electronic payment or credit-card processing (vCheck)

Given the background of its cofounders, it shouldn't surprise you that the primary target for Servistree is food-service companies.

Here's an example of how one of the services, vCheck, could help speed payments to restaurants or food service concerns, as related by Cohen. Consider a scenario in which a location is waiting for some food supplies. Traditionally, operations such as these are required to pay cash on delivery. With vCheck, the operation could wait until the last minute to release the money. Conversely, it could help result in prompter payment for businesses such as bakeries that deliver regularly to restaurants or grocery stores. This isn't so much an electronic transfer service; it involves virtual checks (as the name suggests) that are transferred via email, fax or other methods.

Another service, Paycloud, allows for small-business customers to pay for products and services using a mobile phone. It starts at $59 per month.