PivotPrime Success | Management Consulting
Automation improves cash flow, internal workflow, and client experience.Does your company bill back expenses to clients?
This one does.
A global management consulting firm specializing in helping companies achieve breakthrough business results by transforming the way they
negotiate with, and manage relationships with, key business partners.
Their clients – some of the world’s leading global companies in many industries, including consumer products, energy, financial services, healthcare,
media and entertainment, pharmaceuticals, professional services, and technology – and all these clients pay for expenses related to their projects.
Like most consulting companies, this one incurs expenses on behalf of clients in advance of – and then throughout the project.
The profitability clock is ticking from the moment the purchase is made. Think airfare.
This cumulative out-of-pocket can easily be in the thousands of dollars so accurately tracking billable expenses is key to the company’s bottom line.
The Challenge
Getting client expenses organized quickly and accurately is critical to cash flow and the company
was doing everything they possibly could to work efficiently within the constraints of their
manual processes.
First, spenders had to compromise.
The company required separate expense reports for each client and project — a common practice
in manual workflows to make tracking billable expenses to the proper client easier. Spenders
weren’t happy because it forced them to manually organize receipts and open and re-open
multiple expense reports.
Second, accounting spent more time to save time.
Accounting needed copies of expenses reports and receipts – a task done most efficiently all at one time. However, in an effort to get as much work done as possible ahead of the billing cycle, accounting changed their process. Instead, they monitored expense reports throughout the month and made copies in batches as reports were approved and paid. Overall this added more time to the process but at billing time they had fewer expense reports to copy prior to creating the client billing statements.
Third, duplicate data entry made sense.
The final step for the accounting team – manually enter the transactions from the expense reports onto spreadsheets on a client-by-client basis and bundle that with the appropriate receipt copies. Despite the time, data duplication, and potential for error, the company found this was the best way to create accurate, consistent billing statements.
Fourth, new payment terms took cash flow from bad to worse.
The manual process alone added weeks to the company’s ‘Days Expenses Outstanding’ but there was another cash flow challenge brewing. Clients negotiating longer payment terms meant adding 75 and sometimes 90 days before payment. Condensing the time-frame from spend to reimbursement became an even higher priority.
The Plan
The company, a long time Concur client, needed to fully leverage their Concur Expense data to provide the backup documentation their clients required to reimburse expenses associated with projects.
Concur Expense coupled with PivotPrime delivered.
Concur Expense, with sophisticated cost tracking, supports client and project designations at granular levels, with great flexibility in the reporting process. Expenses may be billed to one project; or across many projects; and billable, non-billable, and personal items may be included in a single expense report.
PivotPrime uses all the Concur data including receipt images and discrete project details creating statements for each client and project. Simply log in, enter the parameters for the billing period, and the statements generate in real time.
PivotPrime and Concur Expense together — the company’s solution of choice to manage billable expense reporting properly as well as all other company spending.
The Results
Happier Spenders
Today the power of Concur Expense is fully leveraged. Expenses reports may contain all expenses for the month including billable and non-billable. PivotPrime finds everything.
Happier Accounts Receivable Group
Today accounting logs into PivotPrime, chooses the month or other date range for project expenses, and creates all client statements. One click. No copies. No spreadsheets.
Happier Clients
In the old days, clients received multiple files so it was their turn to sort through spreadsheets and receipt copies. Today clients receive a single PDF. One file has all the information they need to authorize and pay.
Happier Marketing Folks
Who? Wait, this makes sense. Marketing is all about managing the company brand and the idea of clients receiving a package of various files — some without the logo — didn’t go over well. Today the consolidated PDF carries the company brand. A very professional look and much improved experience for the client.
In a nutshell, the company has transitioned from 100% manual to 100% automated benefiting every person point in the workflow including the client.
It was the ‘tail wagging the dog’.
The entire workflow had to adapt to support the billing side and everyone
had to make compromises.
Finally a solution after 20 years!
Now it takes minutes, not weeks.
No extra steps needed by anyone.
PivotPrime is fantastic!
The Numbers Don’t Lie
ZERO MISSED EXPENSES
PivotPrime locates all expenses – including receipt images – producing an accurate, detailed billing statement.
IMMEDIATE ROI
Billing statements are created on demand as needed; done by one person; ready to send to clients in minutes.
FIVE MINUTE ACTIVATION
PivotPrime was up and running within a few minutes – conducted over a phone call.
WANT TO CALCULATE YOUR NUMBERS?
Check out our Bottom Line Improvement Calculator.
There’s more.
PivotPrime integrates with Concur Invoice too.
In addition, Concur customers can include both expense and invoice items in their PivotPrime billing statements.
Perfect for projects where supplies and services are ordered directly from a vendor and billed back to the client.
Think about it. It’s your money.
There’s Gotta’ Be a Better Way
We believe there is – and we’d like to show you.
