Conduktor helps simplify the complicated realm of data streaming for companies around the world. Their platform allows users get the most out of any Apache Kafka infrastructure with an intuitive UI, monitoring tools, and testing capabilities.
Mark Yates recently joined Conduktor as VP of Finance and is tasked with the broad remit of Finance, Legal, HR, and on top of that, the administrative work associated with Conduktor’s software subscriptions.
As a ‘one-man-show’, Mark turned to Cledara to help streamline and automate most of the software-related work incurred by finance heads.
“The software landscape at our company was like the wild-west – everyone chose their own tools, paid for them separately, and created data silos along the way. We urgently needed a way to consolidate subscriptions and streamline the whole process of requests, payments, and onboarding.”
There simply was no defined process for managing software at Conduktor, and while this wasn’t ideal, it didn’t hamper the company until that point. With plans to scale, Mark knew this way of working was nonaligned with the vision of Conduktor as a larger, more professional organization.
“Any administrative work related to software was all done manually - and that wasn’t going to cut it.”
For finance or operations leaders, one of the most overlooked timesinks when it comes to software subscriptions is chasing after invoices. Without invoices, of course, you’re not able to properly close the books at the end of the month.
And it’s not just about the collection of invoices – you still need to organize overall spend and get it all synced with your accounting software.
According to Mark:
“When I joined Conduktor, I encountered a virtual box full of receipts that needed to be sorted, matched, and uploaded to our accounting system”
How Cledara helped
Mark had a mission to streamline processes at Conduktor, which meant manual processes were no longer an option.
Cledara’s invoice capture feature enabled him to achieve a quick win as invoices are automatically pulled for software subscriptions and uploaded automatically to Cledara. From here, integration into accounting tools such as Xero and Quickbooks to sync invoices with your books becomes a snap, saving significant time and energy.
“As the sole person in Finance I’m typically stretched and so Cledara takes care of the busy work that used to take up much of my time. The Gmail integration automatically captures many invoices for our software subscriptions and enables me to focus on more pressing, strategic matters”
Consolidated information doesn’t just make life easier for the Finance department, it also creates a single source of truth that helps decision-makers across the company understand the value of software investments. And since teams have access to the same information, it makes the process of convincing relevant stakeholders much easier.
“I wanted a way to gather finance knowledge, keep it within the business, and automatically organize it so that it’s easy to understand for everyone”
With the current economic climate, It’s crucial to find those investments that have the highest multiplier effect on efficiency and productivity. Onboarding a software management tool is one of those prudent investments – especially when companies start to scale.
“Cledara isn’t an additional cost to our business - actually it saves me 10+ hours a week (in a part-time bookkeeper) and pays for itself with cashback rewards. That’s a win in my book!”
