Customer Case - Biochem
How Biochem reduced their manual admin by 20 hours a week with Pleo
The challenge
Living by their motto of “Feed Safety for Food Safety”, Biochem believes that the well-being of all animals benefits everyone. Founded in 1986, Biochem sells their innovative and efficient animal feed in over 80 countries. But with 15 subsidiaries across the globe and over 360 employees working from 40 different countries, tracking and accurately reporting all their expenses is no easy feat.
We talked with Eugen Glesmann, Head of Finance and Management Accounting and Authorised Representative, and HR administrator Johannes Gooßen, about the challenges they were hoping to solve:
Less than ideal invoice management
Between 50-60% of Biochem’s invoices were entered or submitted too late due to skewed information from their outdated system. Credit card statements were often not submitted on time, or only on specific days of the month, meaning they were always behind schedule with paying invoices. With digitalisation being a focal point for Biochem for the next five years, they saw an opportunity to automate this part of their financial process and cut out some of the manual input.
Unnecessary double entry
Before Pleo, travel and expense reports were recorded in Excel and then manually transferred to their team of four accountants. And even more countless hours went into entering the data into their ERP system after that. Anywhere between 20 and 25 hours a week were spent on unnecessary paperwork, which could have been used much more efficiently elsewhere.
Trouble with reporting
Increasing levels of bureaucracy and statistical reporting took away time and resources from Biochem’s finance team. Due to the company's size, they’re required to report regularly to stakeholders or the General Manager to remain compliant, which means they rely on highly accurate financial data. With a widespread team and paper-based system, they needed a simple solution to avoid reporting errors that could potentially lead to even bigger repercussions for the business.
The solution
A digital, centralised platform that brings all expense reporting onto one system to help avoid late invoice payments and ensure accurate data management.
‘Pleo can direct the focus to the right area due to its usability. Errors are avoided by having a simple, uncomplicated way to input data.’ -Eugen Glesmann, Head of Finance and Management Accounting and Authorised Representative.
The result
Pleo allows Biochem to have full visibility over all company expenses. And automating the tedious tasks that once took away valuable time and resources from their finance team, giving them better control over company resources.
Time saved by digitising processes
Biochem's biggest advantage with Pleo is moving away from paper records and manual data entry. They’re saving 20 hours a week of manual admin and have a much better overview of their business expenses since everything is reported in real-time.
Better management of travel expenses
With the help of Pleo, Biochem has significantly reduced the time and effort involved in managing travel expenses. Getting rid of time-consuming paperwork gives frequently travelling employees more time to focus on their actual work. Biochem can ensure full compliance with statistical reporting and more accurate data without relying on paper-based reports.
No more late invoice payments
Having all expenses on one system has allowed Biochem to wave goodbye to delayed invoices, where over half were previously submitted past the deadline. With colleagues all over the world, keeping everything on one platform means fewer delays and better supplier relationships.
What Pleo can help with
Quick set up
Get onboarded in minutes with your company bank account.
Company cards for everyone
Give all employees a virtual or physical card.
Spend controls
Change spending limits per employee in real-time.
Real-time expense overview
Keep track of all expenses as they happen.
Automatic receipt capture
Let us do the heavy lifting - we’ll grab and upload your online receipts for you.
Easy exporting
Easily connect Pleo with your accounting software for seamless exporting.
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