Improving agility with expense management at Kolsquare

Life before Payhawk

Before Payhawk, Kolsquare was using a couple of different solutions. However, the finance team quickly felt they needed to simplify spend management, particularly for expense reports and card payments.

Kolsquare's previous solution and processes meant the finance team had to issue a corporate card for every expense. It was a long, cumbersome process, which made life more challenging for both finance and non-finance colleagues.

The finance team knew there must be a better way and looked for a new solution that would help streamline their overall spend management by grouping expense management and company cards on a single platform.

Kolsquare's CFO Alexis Klahr was initially attracted to Payhawk thanks to the commercial possibility of cashback but ultimately chose us based on the ease of implementation, project support, and functionality.

Alexis says:

Payhawk accompanied the finance team through every stage of implementation. In particular, the integration of our various expense categories. What really made the difference was the ease of switching solutions and the personalised support we received from Payhawk. The integration of the various categories was facilitated by regular follow-up with the Customer Success team."

Kolsquare’s top five favourite efficiency-boosting benefits

Since moving to us, Kolsquare employees have saved much time as expense life cycles (submission, receipt capture, etc) have become significantly faster.

Expense management has become quicker and easier, too, thanks to corporate cards, custom approval workflows, automated employee reimbursements, and more.

Alexis Klahr lists his and his team's five favourite features as:

1. Real-time expense reports: With Payhawk, expense reports are straightforward for the whole of Kolsquare. Employees can now scan their receipts using our AI camera, all the data is pulled out, and everything is automatically sent to the finance team.

2. Employee reimbursements: Before using Payhawk, employees had to advance expenses themselves and then wait for reimbursement via their salary. That meant everyone had to wait until month-end to be reimbursed. Now, the company gives some of the team corporate cards, and those non-cardholders expenses are reimbursed directly on the Payhawk platform with just a few clicks.

3. Approval workflows: Approval workflows are particularly effective for exceptional expenses when they happen. Each employee can easily request an increase via the platform, and the person(s) responsible can approve the request in just a few clicks, making the funds available quickly and in policy.

4. Better exchange rates: Kolsquare makes regular payments to foreign suppliers and needs a good rate to really support ROI. Alexis says:

Payhawk has much better exchange rates for international payments than the majority of its competitors which we really appreciate for working with foreign suppliers

5. Seamless exports: Working with Payhawk for over a year means we have a lot of data to analyse and a sufficiently long track record to explore performance, spending, etc. This data helps the team plan and prepare budgets with real-time numbers at their fingertips.

Transitioning to Payhawk wasn't just about changing tools for Kolsquare; it was a game-changer! The Finance team now operates with improved efficiency and agility, making expense management a piece of cake.

Supporting the changing role of the CFO

At Payhawk, our solution is perfect for growing companies, integrating into the finance tech stack at businesses like Kolsquare quickly and easily and supporting the next level of digital transformation (one solution instead of multiple tools for expenses, cards, subscriptions, and more).

For Kolsquare CFO Alexis Klahr, the professional challenges go beyond number crunching, and he’s involved in cybersecurity, AI, ESG, and more.

Alexis explains:

The role of the CFO is changing considerably, particularly with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and the increasing automation of financial tasks. Integrating AI into financial processes enables Finance teams to free themselves from routine tasks and focus more on higher value-added activities. This transition significantly impacts operational efficiency, letting us [CFOs] play a greater strategic role within the company.

However, this evolution has its challenges, particularly regarding cybersecurity. The financial sector faces increasingly complex challenges in protecting data and securing financial transactions. As custodian of crucial financial data, the CFO must now integrate cybersecurity as an essential component of his or her role.

Finally, meeting ESG criteria has also become a major concern for finance teams, and Kolsquare has taken the lead here in an effort to be ready and optimised for sustainable success.

Alexis describes:

Completing the CSRD directive isn't yet mandatory for us (given the size of our company), but Kolsquare is a company with a mission. We've already set up an internal and external committee to monitor KPIs on CSR issues. So, once the directive applies to companies of our size, we'll already have all the foundations to be compliant.

Conclusion

At Payhawk, our mission is to empower CFOs and finance teams to save time with intelligent automation so they can focus on things that matter, like forecasting, strategy, and growth.

Customers like Kolsquare have everything they need to manage spend at their fingertips, like company cards, expense reports, supplier invoices, and more — all in one place.

Ready to save time and take control of spend? Schedule a demo today.