Key results with Spendesk
End of shared card confusion: no more waiting for a card to be free or reviewing each expense after the fact.
Global spend control: full financial visibility across five international markets.
Robust authorisation controls: a three-level approval process ensures effective oversight.
Faster month-end close: reduced from several days to a single day.
Better employee experience: Apple Pay integration and a mobile-first experience.
95% receipt compliance: complete visibility of all transactions across all locations.
Zero payment failures: reliable operations during travel and client meetings.
About GWI
GWI is a global market intelligence company that helps organisations make smarter decisions using data sourced from real people. Its on-demand platform gathers survey data reflecting the opinions, behaviours and interests of 3 billion people across 50+ countries. GWI has become a trusted reference for sales teams, marketing professionals, advertisers, researchers and decision-makers at customer-focused businesses.
The challenge
Before implementing Spendesk, GWI faced significant challenges managing spend across its international operations. This created friction for both the finance team and employees.
Key challenges
There were very few corporate cards, shared only among senior management.
Receipt collection and reconciliation were done manually across multiple countries.
Employees had to use their personal cards and wait for reimbursement.
There were gaps in authorisation controls and approval processes.
Month-end closes were complex and took several days.
There was no real-time visibility over company spend.
More junior employees bore an unfair burden having to advance expenses from their own pockets.
There was a risk of payment failures during client meetings or entertainment.
Five years ago, only a very limited number of corporate cards were issued, specifically to the CEO, COO, and CFO. At the end of the month the statement would arrive and we'd have to chase everyone for their receipts. Constantly having to follow up to collect receipts and review payments made the process take far too long and created tension between Finance and the rest of the company.
James Franks
CFO, GWI
Before Spendesk
- Three shared corporate cards, for executives only
- Manual receipt collection and constant follow-up
- Employees using personal cards for business expenses
- Multi-day monthly closes
- No spend visibility or control
- Payment failures during client meetings
After Spendesk
- Individual cards for any employee who needs one
- Automated receipt capture and processing
- Real-time spend visibility and control
- Month-end close in a single day
- Global platform for all locations
- Seamless mobile and Apple Pay integration
The solution
GWI implemented Spendesk to modernise its spend processes without compromising strong financial control across its global operations.
Features implemented
Physical and virtual cards with granular authorisation controls.
Global platform to support operations across five countries.
Mobile-first experience with Apple Pay integration.
Automated receipt capture via smartphone photo.
Three-level approval matrix, from employee to manager and manager to Finance.
Subscription management for recurring software and tools.
Real-time spend visibility and reporting capabilities.
From disorder to control
The impact was immediate and widespread. Instead of competing for a handful of shared corporate cards or advancing money from their own pockets, teams now had flexible spending capacity with the right level of oversight.
The mobile-first approach eliminated traditional desktop expense management processes and enabled employees to capture receipts instantly and record expenses at any time. This proved especially valuable for a company with international operations and frequent travel like GWI.
Spendesk lets us distribute cards much more widely, which massively reduces the pressure, as long as the right authorisation flows are in place. Ultimately, it's about reducing friction. Nowadays you need vendors built for a digital environment, where people can simply open an app on their phone.
James Franks
CFO, GWI
The results
Since adopting Spendesk more than five years ago, GWI has significantly streamlined its financial operations:
95% receipt compliance across all transactions and locations.
Faster month-end close: reduced from several days to a single day.
300+ active users in global operations.
Complete approval controls across all spend categories.
Zero payment failures during travel and client meetings.
Seamless international operations across the UK, US, Greece, Czech Republic and Singapore.
Better employee experience thanks to Apple Pay and the mobile app.
Full spend visibility with real-time reporting.
Time is the most important thing we have. When it comes to expenses, everyone wants a fast, simple process. Being able to do it from your phone makes it so much easier for everyone. Nobody wants to log into a new system on their laptop and upload a photo of a receipt, because that takes too long.
James Franks
CFO, GWI
Want to strengthen spend control across your business?
Discover how Spendesk can help your international business gain full spend control while empowering distributed teams. Talk to an expert today.
