Driving project spend visibility and control at PinPoint Media

Life before Payhawk

Before the team at PinPoint Media started using Payhawk, they managed their expenses via a mix of various tools and methods. Like many other fast-scaling businesses, they relied on Pleo and Expensify alongside traditional spreadsheets but quickly outgrew these.

Juggling disconnected tools and systems led to frequent issues, such as lost receipts and missed VAT reclaim opportunities. The team also wanted more cash flow flexibility and was keen to onboard a more cohesive corporate credit facility to help support and track team budgets.

Finally, the team knew their accounting processes needed to be more efficient as they grew and needed more intelligent integration with software like Xero. Reconciliation was lengthy and challenging, so they wanted to introduce something faster and more efficient to help them scale more seamlessly.

Streamlining expense management and budget controls

With a growing business and increased finance requirements, the PinPoint Media team revolutionised how they managed spending by switching to Payhawk.

At Payhawk, we help businesses like PinPoint Media consolidate all their spend management needs into one intuitive platform. With a centralised expense tool and an easy way to capture receipts on the go, the PinPoint team now tracks all their expenses digitally, eliminates the risk of lost receipts, and captures data for VAT records more accurately.

Oliver Bruce, CEO and Founder at PinPoint Media, says:

Payhawk offers a solution that ties together multiple departments, gives staff fundamental autonomy, and allows us to understand where we're going as a business!

The automated expense approval workflows have drastically reduced the administrative burden, too, ensuring that all expenses are reviewed and approved efficiently without back and forth.

Corporate cards are also big winners and have dramatically improved how the PinPoint team manages team budgets. As a multi-media content agency, PinPoint has many concurrent projects, each with its own budget and planned costs. Using Payhawk, the team can improve how it tracks project spend to make sure everything stays on track and in the black.

Annabel Lawton Smith, Production and Operations Manager at PinPoint Media, says:

We all use team cards, which is a great way of managing team budgets, where we've assigned a team a specific pot of money - and each individual has their card to spend within that.

The finance and operations team can allocate each team or project a specific budget and then issue individual team members with cards to spend within that limit. This approach not only helps in monitoring spending but also empowers teams with financial autonomy. Meanwhile, the real-time visibility into expenses allows PinPoint to quickly identify and address any discrepancies, ensuring that its resources are used effectively.

Enhancing cash flow management

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any growing business, and the team at PinPoint was keen to gain more flexibility in this area as they scaled.

Annabel says:

Having a credit facility is super helpful for us in terms of cash flow!

The PinPoint team cite our credit facility as a complete game-changer, allowing them to manage their finances more effectively. And ensuring that they have the necessary funds to cover operational expenses, even during cash crunches. This financial cushion has allowed Oliver and the team to invest in growth opportunities without worrying about cash flow gaps as they wait for other ongoing projects to wrap up.

Aside from cash flow, the PinPoint team loves the seamless accounting integration with Xero. The smart integration lets data flow as soon as something is approved in Payhawk, meaning the finance team can reconcile quickly.

Daniel Tang, Finance Manager at PinPoint Media says:

We've got the accounting integration with Xero, which allows for seamless integration as soon as something is approved straight through to Xero, and I can reconcile that off there!

Improving policy compliance with workflows and customisation

Ensuring compliance with company expense policies became a headache for PinPoint as they grew, especially with multiple tools and projects to juggle — until they switched to our solution.

Daniel says:

We have a company expenses policy... And [with Payhawk, we can ensure everyone] adheres to those rules and guidelines internally with the approval systems in place.

Now, with our robust spend control features, Daniel and Co. can effortlessly enforce the company’s expense rules and guidelines ensuring policy compliance and spend visibility. Our approval systems are designed to help teams adhere to internal policies and ensure that all expenses comply with predefined rules.

Using the in-built rules and approval workflows has helped boost overall compliance with the company’s financial policies. Plus, the ability to set up and customise approval workflows means the PinPoint team can tailor the process to fit the needs of different departments and projects.

Daniel continues:

The new workflow designer has improved the overall ease of use by being very intuitive. It has also improved the customisation functionality, as we can modify the workflows depending on the project department.

Increasing project spend clarity (and driving growth) with streamlined spend management

Since moving to our solution, the team at PinPoint has transformed its approach to understanding and managing project spend, helping pave the way for sustainable growth.

The team now enjoys consolidated expense management across accounts payable and cards, enhanced cash flow visibility, and improved policy compliance through customisable workflows. The transformation has massively helped reduce administrative burdens, improved financial accuracy, and empowered teams with real-time visibility into project expenses.

The result? A clear and comprehensive understanding of where money is going, enabling better decision-making, more effective project management, and driving overall business growth.

Ready to revolutionise spend management at your business like PinPoint Media? Book a personalised demo today.