A Fast Growing Beauty Brand with a Big Vision
Meet Alluora: A Beauty Brand Built to Redefine Beauty
Frustrated by harsh treatments that damaged her skin, Genecia set out to create a line of products that were both gentle and transformative. Today, Alluora has grown into a trusted name in beauty, known for its science-backed formulations and empowering message: “My glow, my rules.”
But with rapid growth came growing pains. Alluora now manages six-figure monthly transactions — from digital ads to overseas suppliers. Behind the scenes, its finance operations were starting to crack under pressure.
The Challenges: Operational Bottlenecks in a Fast-Growing Business
As Alluora expanded, its financial workflows struggled to keep up. Day-to-day operations were bogged down by friction:
Manual Processes Wasted Time
Every payment — whether for Facebook ads, influencer collaborations, or overseas inventory, required approval. Team members constantly reached out for OTPs or payment confirmations, creating delays and frustration. Each month, accountants also spend hours sorting through screenshots of receipts and invoices for GST claims. The manual work and lack of a centralised system made reconciliation tedious and error-prone.
High Card Transaction Costs
Frequent international payments to retailers in Korea and the US came with steep banking fees and unfavorable exchange rates that eroded Alluora’s profit margins. With substantial digital ad spending across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Shopee, traditional corporate cards only made things worse with their high transaction fees and lack of rebate
“Before YouBiz, I was drowning in payment requests.
It felt like I was working for the bank, not the business.”
Co-founder, Alluora
The Solution: Smarter Spend Management with YouBiz
YouBiz provided the tools Alluora needed to streamline payments while maintaining control:
Corporate Cards for Delegated Spending
Virtual cards can be issued instantly with custom spending limits e.g, $500/month for a social media manager running ads. This empowers the team with the freedom to make instant purchases without waiting for approval or physical card delivery, while retaining financial oversight for the founders.
Hassle-free Expense Tracking
Team members could upload receipts directly to YouBiz, eliminating the need for manual tracking. All transactions are supported with the necessary documentation and are visible in the dashboard for easy reference when needed.
Maximising Savings on Card Transactions
With real 0% FX fees and wholesale exchange rates on all foreign card spend, Alluora now pays international retailers without losing money to hidden fees or poor rates. Unlike traditional business accounts, YouBiz also rewards Alluora with unlimited 1% cashback. For a business with six-figure monthly card expenses, the FX savings and cashback adds up to significant cost reductions.
The Impact: Faster, Smarter Operations
- 10–15% Time Savings for Leadership: Founders have reclaimed hours previously spent approving payments — time that is now invested in strategic growth.
- Faster Financial Processes: Accountants reduced receipt reconciliation from hours to minutes, cutting monthly admin work up to 3 hours.
- Empowered Teams: Teams are authorised to make payments instantly, making operations more efficient.
- Cost Efficiency: With 1% cashback and competitive FX rates, Alluora saved up to S$6,000 annually — funds reinvested into product development and customer acquisition.
“I used to spend a lot of time approving expenses because everything came to me in bits. But after delegating YouBiz cards to each team member, there’s no more chasing for receipts, and our accountant can now export the data with just a click. ”
Co-founder, Alluora
Key Takeaways: Advice for Scaling Businesses
- Leverage Tech to Free Up Resources: Manual processes create unnecessary bottlenecks across operations. Adopting automation tools and AI can eliminate repetitive tasks, allowing teams to focus on strategic priorities.
- Accelerate Growth Through Mentorship: Experienced mentors provide practical frameworks to navigate scaling challenges. Having James as both a co-founder and mentor helped accelerate Alluora’s growth trajectory significantly.
- Choose Partners That Grow With You: Scalable businesses need solutions that grow with them. YouBiz provided Alluora the flexibility to efficiently manage growing international payments and multi-platform ad spending – all while supporting a growing team.
“YouBiz didn’t just solve a problem — it transformed how we operate. Today, we’re not just scaling our business; we’re scaling our efficiency.”
Co-founder, Alluora