G'day. It’s a beautiful morning here in Sydney, the kind where you just want to grab a coffee and maybe a surf before the day gets away from you. But while we’re out enjoying the sunshine, the big players in finance are finally waking up to something us freelancers have known for ages: admin work is a total killer. I was reading about how BMO is making moves to use AI for their business clients, and honestly, it’s about time the big guys caught on.
The Big Banks Are Playing Catch-Up
BMO is currently exploring a new use case for artificial intelligence, specifically to help their salespeople have better conversations with mid-market business clients. They are rolling out a pilot in Canada soon, with plans for a full rollout by the end of 2026. It’s a smart move. They want to be that "trusted advisor" we all hear about, but they need the data to back it up.
Rose Grande, the head of North American corporate card product and programs at BMO, put it perfectly when she spoke to American Banker. She said, "We like to be that customer's trusted advisor, and this allows us to play that role in a more consistent way." It makes sense. You can’t give good advice if you’re flying blind.
The Data Mess
Here’s the thing, though. Getting that data is a nightmare. It’s scattered everywhere. Bradley Leimer, founder of Leimer One Advisors, noted that much of the valuable data sits fragmented across enterprise resource planning systems, accounting platforms, PDFs, and spreadsheets. He told the publication, "The data is a mess to contend with, but the rewards are significant."
It’s like trying to find a specific grain of sand on Bondi Beach. Banks are realising they can’t just rely on gut feeling or manual spreadsheets anymore; they need hard facts to serve their clients better. BMO is even using tech from Codat to pull information about accounts payable and supplier payments just to get a clear picture.
What About the Little Guys?
This is all well and good for massive corporations with dedicated teams, but what about you and me? We don’t have a squad of analysts sorting through our receipts every arvo. We’re the CEO, the marketing department, and the accounts team all rolled into one. If the banks are using AI to sort out their chaos, we should be using it to clear ours so we can get back to what matters.
Joey Rault from Codat mentioned that getting customers to share data is an "innate pain point" in banking. But for freelancers, the pain point isn't sharing data—it's creating it and managing it without losing your mind.
Let AI Handle the Money
You don’t need a massive bank budget to get your finances sorted. You just need the right tools. That’s where I reckon Invoice Gini is absolutely smashing it. It’s an AI finance assistant designed specifically for freelancers. You literally just say what you need, and the invoice is ready. It auto-generates professional PDFs and tracks payments intelligently.
It’s the same principle BMO is using—using tech to understand the money so you can focus on the work. Instead of drowning in spreadsheets, you let Gini handle the heavy lifting. You focus on your clients, let Gini handle the money. It’s about work-life balance, mate. You shouldn't be stuck inside doing data entry when the waves are pumping.
The Future is Smart
BMO’s pilot is a sign of things to come. Banks want to understand client behaviour and unmet needs. But you don’t have to wait for your bank to figure it out to start working smarter. Whether you’re a mid-market giant or a solo freelancer in the suburbs, the goal is the same: stop wrestling with the data and start using it to grow.
Source: How BMO uses AI to get more of business clients' business