Airbase by Paylocity and Bushel: Exceeding Expectations
Better approval workflows and a great user experience attracted Bushel to Airbase by Paylocity in 2021. Since then, new features like Assisted Reconciliation have exceeded their initial expectations and saved more time than ever imagined.
“When I think of AP at Bushel now, I don’t think of it as a task because it’s basically all automated,” says Angie Twite, Bushel’s Controller.
Key Takeaways
- Increased visibility.
- Faster close.
- Reconciliation done in minutes, not hours.
When the finance team at Bushel received a cold call from Airbase by Paylocity, they were looking for a better AP process that would provide better approval workflows.
At the time, Finance was responsible for entering bills, paying them, and approving them in NetSuite.
Several other processes were in place to manage spending, including Divvy’s corporate cards and Google Forms for expense reimbursements, which ran through payroll. But the team was ready for a more streamlined approach.
“We were looking for a nice clean UI, and more of an all-in-one platform,” says Rick.
“Department heads weren’t seeing their bills. With Airbase, we were trying to solve this lack of visibility.”
Rick Kremer, Senior Accountant|
The problem |
The solution |
The results |
|
Department heads had little visibility into their team’s expenses.
|
Configurable approval workflows.
|
All spend requests are vetted by the correct stakeholder for up-to-date visibility into spending. |
| Inefficient AP process that included finance having to approve bills. | Automated AP workflows with approvals routed to appropriate budget owners. | Less time spent on AP and better control over spend. |
| Time-consuming reconciliation. | Airbase by Paylocity's Assisted Reconciliation highlights and explains reconciling items. | Reconciliation takes about 5 or 10 minutes. |
| Reimbursement requests processed through payroll. | Airbase by Paylocity's touchless expense reporting. | Finance no longer has to spend time chasing and uploading receipts, and employees are reimbursed much faster. |
Automated AP leads to a faster close
Airbase by Paylocity's accounting automation has solved those issues and more.
A big benefit of that automation is an incredibly fast close.
“We’re usually done with the AP portion of the close by business day 2,” says Angie. “The main reason is that entering AP bills is down to the click of a button.” Airbase by Paylocity's AI-powered OCR takes care of the rest, which is something Angie appreciates.
Bushel even has some bills that must be paid by check. Paying them is a simple click of a button, and since the funds are immediately pulled from their bank account, it’s more like an ACH payment in terms of managing the cash flow. If the check isn’t cashed, Airbase by Paylocity follows up.
“AI technology has been around for a while, but thanks to Airbase, this is the first time I’ve used it where it actually works as expected.”
Angie Twite, ControllerAirbase by Paylocity pays for itself
Whenever possible, the AP team uses Airbase by Paylocity's virtual cards to pay bills — the Airbase by Paylocity dashboard lets them know when a company accepts virtual card payments and offers the option to do so with ease.
At renewal time, Angie ran the numbers to calculate how much additional revenue the team was generating with the cash back. She presented her findings to the company’s CFO to demonstrate the ROI on Airbase by Paylocity.
“Airbase is basically free since our renewal price was equal to the cash back we earn.”
Angie Twite, ControllerReconciliation in mere minutes and other time savers
Airbase by Paylocity's new automated reconciliation feature has saved the team hours of work. Rick says reconciliation that could take hours and even days now takes him “5 or 10 minutes.” Angie adds that even their auditors were impressed during a recent audit. The full audit trail automatically created in Airbase by Paylocitywith every transaction also made the audit process easier.
Airbase by Paylocity also saves the team time when processing its 1099s. Thanks to Airbase by Paylocity, they’re able to produce a report showing who’s submitted W-9s, along with other important tax info, making 1099 season “a non-event.”
Better user experiences for all
The team is more than happy with Airbase by Paylocity's customer support and is even more appreciative of not having to contact them very often. Rick adds that they can often find answers right away in the Help Center.
“Whoever maintains the Help Center does a really good job of it,” he says.
Employees and the finance team have both benefited from the improved reimbursement process. Previously, the company used a Google Form for expenses, which were handled through payroll.
Now, Angie appreciates the greater clarity around expense management. “Keeping expense management and payroll separate — because they are separate — is a really good thing,” she says.
Employees are also reimbursed faster. “In Airbase, they can request a reimbursement and literally have money two days later.”
“We don’t submit a lot of tickets, we don’t have a lot of issues, but whenever we do, we always get fast responses that make sense. You know it’s a person answering your questions, not a robot.”
Angie Twite, ControllerSometimes silence speaks volumes
When asked how their employees feel about using Airbase by Paylocity for their expenses, the two looked at each other and laughed. “We haven’t heard much, but in our company, silence is golden. It means it’s meeting their needs.”
Streamline Expenses for Peace of Mind
Are piles of receipts and reimbursement requests taking up too much of your time? Get your day back by using our expense management solution. Process expenses without the paperwork and rest easy knowing they're accurate. With faster pay-out times, simplified approvals, and fewer errors, your employees will love it, too!
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