From paper forms to real-time visibility: How Pronto Software automated expense management with ProSpend

Summary

Pronto Software is a ProSpend integration partner, and it’s also a ProSpend customer. This is how it uses ProSpend in its own business. 

Pronto Software develops Pronto Xi, the ERP many Australian businesses run on, yet its own expense process relied on Excel forms, printed approvals and email. Claims stalled whenever someone was away, and every claim had to be unpacked and processed by hand. With ProSpend Expense Management connected to Pronto Xi, staff now capture receipts on their phones, approvers sign off from anywhere, and finance gets live data flowing straight into the ERP.

About Pronto Software

Pronto Software is an Australian software company and the developer of the Pronto Xi ERP. Its people attend events and travel overseas, so many expenses come from staff on the move. Pronto Software is also a ProSpend partner.

The challenge

Before implementing ProSpend, Pronto Software had no expense management system. Claims moved through a chain of Excel forms, emails, printouts and handwritten signatures, resulting in:

• Manual data entry by staff on every claim
• Paper forms and PDF files stamped by hand
• Approvals that were emailed, printed, signed and emailed back
• Claims stalling whenever an approver or processor was away
• Expenses sitting on the books while paperwork caught up
• Limited visibility for teams and finance

Pronto Software saw a clear opportunity to improve how expenses were done and went to market for a solution.

"The classic Excel-based form gets sent out to everybody, and we fill it in, and then we email it off to someone, and then someone prints it out, and then it ends up on my desk, and I sign it, and then I email it back. And actually, it was a nightmare."   

Chad Gates
Managing Director, Pronto Software  

The solution

Pronto Software chose ProSpend Expense Management, connected directly to Pronto through the ProSpend Pronto integration.

ProSpend stood out for its ability to:

• Integrate directly with Pronto Xi, so approved claims flow straight into the ERP
• Capture receipts on mobile, at the office, at events or overseas
• Enable approvals from anywhere, with delegation when a manager is on leave
• Handle foreign currency claims without manual calculation
• Give admin staff a desktop view and reporting for processing and reconciliation

"Just the integration with Pronto Xi. It just goes straight through. All of our teams get visibility of everything they need to, and then it's just processed as it needs to be and appears in the ERP."

Jacqui Drew

General Manager, Pronto IQ

"We have some wacky things that we do internally. We have things that we've customised in our own general ledger and our own processes. So, it was really very smooth, zero complaints from anybody."

Chad Gates

Managing Director, Pronto Software

The impact

Since implementing ProSpend alongside Pronto Xi, Pronto Software has achieved:

• Faster processing, with claims submitted, processed and off the books quickly
• Approvals from anywhere, so claims no longer stall when someone is away
• Live, up-to-date data in Pronto in place of spreadsheets
• Easier reconciliations and clearer visibility across teams
• Smooth adoption, with managers and staff taking to the new process straight away

"Would I rather do things manually on a spreadsheet or take a photo? Look, I'd give it a 10."

Mark Smith

Solution Partner Manager, Pronto Software

Conclusion

With ProSpend connected to Pronto Xi, Pronto Software has replaced a paper and email process that stalled whenever someone was away with a mobile, automated workflow. Staff, approvers and finance now work from the same live data, and the team plans to adopt more ProSpend features as they are released.

Running Pronto Xi and still chasing expense forms? Book a demo to see the workflow Pronto Software uses.