Executive Search Firm Eliminates Missed Billable Expenses for Day-One ROI.

The first PivotPrime report uncovered enough missed billable expenses to pay for the solution for nearly two years—while reducing client billing from two weeks to two days. 

Company

A globally retained executive search firm specializing in C-level placements for intercollegiate athletics programs, sports organizations, leading colleges and universities, and Fortune 500 companies depends on accurate, timely reimbursement of client project expenses.

Every executive search generates travel, lodging, mileage, and other reimbursable expenses that must be documented in detail before clients can be invoiced. 

The Challenge

Although the firm's expense reporting and accounts payable systems worked well independently, they did not work together to produce complete client billing documentation.

As a result, finance staff manually assembled billing packages by:

• Downloading receipt images 
• Matching receipts to expense reports 
• Organizing expenses by client and search assignment 
• Calculating split allocations 
• Including mileage documentation 
• Reviewing every billing package before it could be invoiced 

The process consumed two weeks every month, delaying client invoicing and extending the time between project spending and reimbursement.

Expenses incurred during that two-week billing window often waited until the next billing cycle—creating reimbursement delays of up to 75 days. The finance team also suspected that legitimate billable expenses were being missed during the manual review process. 

The Solution

The firm implemented PivotPrime, Pivot Payables' automated billable expense reporting solution for SAP Concur.

PivotPrime automatically:

• Imports SAP Concur expense data and receipt images 
• Organizes expenses by client and project 
• Supports split expense allocations 
• Includes mileage documentation 
• Generates complete client-ready billing packages 
• Produces professional PDF statements in seconds 

Instead of manually assembling reports and receipts, users simply select the billing period and client to generate complete billing documentation on demand. 

Business Impact

Automating billable expense documentation transformed the firm's billing process.

Business Impact at a Glance

• ROI on the very first report 
• Enough additional billable expenses identified to pay for PivotPrime for nearly two years 
• Billing preparation reduced from two weeks to two days 
• Zero missed billable expenses 
• Client-ready billing packages generated in seconds 
• Accelerated customer reimbursement 
• Improved cash flow 

Perhaps the most remarkable result came immediately after implementation. The finance team compared the first billing package generated by PivotPrime with its manually prepared version and discovered additional billable expenses that had been overlooked. The value of those expenses alone was enough to pay for the PivotPrime investment for nearly two years. 

At the same time, reducing the billing process from two weeks to two days meant expenses submitted just before month-end could now be included in the current billing cycle. Faster billing accelerated customer reimbursement, improved cash flow, and gave the finance team confidence that every eligible billable expense was included before invoices were issued. 

"We suspected a percentage of billable expenses were lost each month. We were correct and, further, shocked at the amount of money."

— Director of Finance & Technology 

Looking Ahead

By automating the preparation of billable expense documentation, the firm transformed a labor-intensive monthly process into a streamlined workflow that generates complete client billing packages in seconds.

Rather than relying on manual reviews to identify reimbursable expenses, finance teams now have confidence that every eligible billable expense is captured, properly documented, and ready for client invoicing. The result is a faster, more accurate billing process that supports stronger cash flow and improved profitability. 

"The accuracy and detail of the PivotPrime reports, combined with the shorter turnaround between spending and invoicing, has improved cash flow and increased profitability."

— Director of Finance & Technology