The finance department of any business is often bogged down by paper-heavy, inflexible, and approval-bound processes. As Saudi-based Gulaid Holding Finance expanded rapidly, it became clear that the old ways couldn’t keep up. Operations demanded speed. Projects needed clarity. Executives required live data, rather than weekly reports. The team responded not with minor fixes, but with a complete transformation, one that turned finance into Gulaid Holding’s major driving force.
The first breakthrough came with the launch of the Gulaid Holding Payment Gateway, a fully digital, web-based payment platform integrated with the company’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. Equally accessible via smartphones, the solution eliminated delays, replaced paperwork, and brought visibility to every transaction. This led to over 7,000 paperless transactions and an 80% acceleration in P2P (peer-to-peer) processing. The Payment Gateway became more than just an innovation; it now automates repetitive and mundane financial tasks. A prime example is the automation of manual invoice matching, which previously consumed hours cross-checking documents like purchase orders, goods received, and invoice details.
“A further step was enabling our AI Bot to post transactions into our ERP systems. This has saved countless man-hours for the Finance department, which could then be redirected toward innovation and improvement. The time saved? Reinvested into more innovations that pushed the company forward,” said Chandan Dabeedeen, Gulaid Holding’s Group CFO, in an interview with Global Business Outlook.
Data On Demand For Leadership Decisions
To empower executives to lead in real time, Gulaid Holding’s finance team developed the “GH Executive Dashboard” in collaboration with the company’s systems team. This game-changing tool eliminated the need to wait for periodic finance reports. Executives can now view live KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), project updates, and financing metrics at a glance. The dashboard has transformed how the company reacts, plans, and grows operationally.
“The team never set out to serve only their own department. They collaborated with HR and Systems teams to build “GH HrConnect,” a smart, web-based hiring management platform that automatically captures every applicant, tracks status, and provides instant feedback to candidates. Hiring became faster, clearer, and more organised. 
Another result of this cross-functional collaboration was GH Vision Connect, a digital hub for all employees. It houses workflows, procedures, and internal updates, backed by FORTE, a custom-trained AI chatbot ready to answer company-related questions 24/7,” Chandan Dabeedeen added.
Gulaid Holding’s groundbreaking initiatives have earned well-deserved recognition. Recently, Global Business Outlook (GBO) honoured the company with the prestigious title of “Most Innovative Corporate Finance Framework – Facilities Management – Saudi Arabia 2025.”
“The award bestowed upon us for the Most Innovative Corporate Finance Framework is a testament to the critical role our Finance department plays. They built tools that work, solved problems across departments, and powered business decisions with real-time information,” Dabeedeen noted.
When asked what motivated Gulaid Holding’s digital-first transformation, Dabeedeen explained, “We had a fast-moving company but outdated systems. Instead of fixing one issue at a time, we chose to rebuild the entire structure, not just to keep up, but to lead. From the beginning, we knew we wouldn’t stay confined to a finance-only box. We partnered with every department, identified bottlenecks, built solutions, and followed through.”
On the role Gulaid Holding’s digital reboot will play in fulfilling the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 diversification agenda, Dabeedeen remarked, “Vision 2030 calls for a smarter, digital-first private sector. This transformation is our contribution to that vision. It helps innovate, scale processes, simplify decisions, and make results visible.”
The GBO recognition proves what’s possible when finance leads with purpose instead of paperwork. From digital payments to company-wide platforms, from automation to AI, Gulaid Holding’s finance team now stands as a model for what the industry can become. The company shows no signs of slowing down, with more technological advancements already underway.