Expense Management Guided Procurement AP Automation Corporate Cards

Honeycomb and Airbase by Paylocity

Honeycomb provides full-stack observability software enabling engineers to deeply understand and debug production software together.

Case Study

September 07, 2022

Key Takeaways

With Airbase by Paylocity, a two-member team can hit a five-day close.
Use of the full platform makes for an efficient process that employees love and finance relies on.
Corporate card cash back has exceeded the cost of the system.

Success Stories with Airbase by Paylocity

At Honeycomb, efficiency is a core value. Their Accounting Manager, Brittany Murphy, explains that that is why Airbase by Paylocity is the “perfect solution” for them. As a fast-growing company, their AP and expense management requirements have grown rapidly in volume and complexity. However, Brittany handles it all with just one other accounting team member thanks to Airbase by Paylocity and its extensive functionality. She is pleased to see that Airbase by Paylocity will continue to support their growth, as Airbase by Paylocity meets the purchasing and payables needs of the new subsidiary they are currently setting up.

In addition, Honeycomb’s Head of Finance relies on the consolidated non-payroll spend data that Airbase by Paylocity provides.

Brittany reflects on the fact that at other companies, credit card reconciliations alone could take a whole team up to three days to complete. She added that credit card reconciliation is a “huge thing for close” and eliminating this task is a great value-add. With Airbase by Paylocity, Brittany explains that all the receipt gathering and detail chasing is replaced by automation.

Brittany also credits the fluid integrations Airbase by Paylocity offers with NetSuite and QuickBooks as a catalyst to her efficient close. Even as she migrated from QuickBooks to NetSuite at Honeycomb, Brittany never skipped a beat.

Being able to create approval workflows that are specific to the needs of different departments means Brittany is confident that spending is compliant and maverick spend is eliminated. With Airbase by Paylocity she can see what is being spent by each employee as it happens for an easy, real-time review. She says “that transparency is just so nice, the rules are built into the system so they’re automatically followed.”

“I credit Airbase for being able to close the books by myself in five days.”

Brittany Murphy, Accounting Manager at Honeycomb

Airbase by Paylocity Pays for Itself

Brittany shares with us that she uses Airbase by Paylocity to handle all of her AP processes and payments, from checks to ACH. She adds that she encourages employees to use virtual and corporate cards due to the cashback benefits. So far, this approach has paid off.

Brittany has better control over cash flow with Airbase by Paylocity and finds scheduling payments with advanced calendar capabilities a breeze. Brittany tells us, “We really don’t ever have vendors questioning us for payment because everything’s already scheduled. It’s already going out. It’s already paid.”

“In the past couple of months, the additional income we’ve earned has more than covered our platform cost.”

Brittany Murphy, Accounting Manager, Honeycomb

As their software subscriptions increased alongside growth, the company wanted to find a way for the IT security team to review software purchases. Brittany was able to adjust the settings in Airbase by Paylocity to automatically route requests for software to IT for their approval.

For added oversight, Brittany praises the alias and observer settings Airbase by Paylocity offers. The company’s Head of Finance can “see what’s going on without actually having to be in the workflow.” Brittany says these settings ensure the right spend is happening as appropriate to the right departments.

Airbase by Paylocity Collaborates With Your Tech Stack

Airbase by Paylocity integrates with HRIS systems to make the provisioning and deprovisioning of new employees seamles. The company also appreciates Airbase by Paylocity’s deep integration with NetSuite. This is especially helpful to use NetSuite amortization schedules in Airbase by Paylocity. Brittany is “excited” to begin using the multi-subsidiary and multi-currency features once Honeycomb establishes its new entity.

Employees Love Airbase by Paylocity

“Employees generally find that the system is very intuitive,” which has helped save the small accounting team time. Employee feedback is that virtual cards, purchase orders, and seeking approvals is “easy to figure out.” To make sure everything runs smoothly, Brittany relies on the simulation features Airbase by Paylocity offers, where she can run through workflows to ensure they’re doing what they should be.

Brittany reports that both management and employees are happier when using Airbase by Paylocity to manage reimbursements and there is greater control. “There are more eyes on reimbursement processes with Airbase.” She also noted that compared to other reimbursement solutions, which tend to group transactions together for approval, Airbase by Paylocity allows managers to quickly view itemized and detailed reimbursement requests while still maintaining the option to view or approve group reports.

Alongside that increased visibility, Honeycomb employees have been enjoying easy upload of receipts and increased efficiency around reimbursement approvals, as well as the new option of quickly requesting a virtual card to avoid personal expense.

Airbase by Paylocity Grows With You While Maintaining Efficiency

Brittany describes Airbase by Paylocity as “the perfect solution for our company” with its commitment to efficiency, adding that “that’s why our Head of Finance chose Airbase — because he saw that it is all about efficiency.” Within her role, Brittany can continue to love what she does while enjoying smoother processes and workflows with Airbase by Paylocity.

“I really enjoy accounting, but I also enjoy tools that make my life easier. That’s the reason why I’m such a champion for Airbase.”

Brittany Murphy, Accounting Manager, Honeycomb

Seamless and Adaptable Expense Management

Manual expense reporting wastes time and frustrates employees and finance teams. Airbase by Paylocity automates the entire process with AI-powered, touchless workflows. Simply snap a receipt and get reimbursed fast — no spreadsheets, no delays. Finance gets real-time visibility, accurate coding, and a faster month-end close.

Streamline Business Expenses