Woodhaven Brownstown School District employs a wide range of teachers, from offsite special education to onsite educators and administrators. They were looking for a solution that would simplify their previously laborious reimbursement and reconciliation process, streamlining reimbursements for gas and out-of-pocket teacher purchases.
Challenge: Manual processes created budget overages, fraud risks, and reimbursement delays
Before adopting Center as their expense and card management solution, the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District faced complicated budgeting and reconciliation challenges. Their purchasing card caused frequent fraud issues, while reimbursement claims required multiple supervisor checks and manual entry, consuming 6 to 8 hours weekly. Teachers often waited 2 to 3 months for reimbursement.
The manual, paper-based process for mileage and out-of-pocket reimbursements created further administrative burden. Teachers tracked mileage manually, submitted printed routes, and stapled receipts, with varying reimbursement rules complicating reconciliation.
At the end of the fiscal year, Finance Director Joshua Smith would often be stuck entering $20,000 to $30,000 of claims into the system, with no clear visibility into when expenses were incurred. This caused budget overages and strained the district’s financial planning and reconciliation
Solution: Automated expense management simplifies reconciliation and reduces errors
Adopting Center as a card-powered expense management solution has streamlined budgeting, expense reporting, and reconciliation for the district. Instead of their old purchasing cards, which had to be shared between multiple administrators and often led to violations of school policy, the district has issued cards to nearly two dozen administrators with plans to distribute cards to hundreds of staff across the district, including the option for virtual cards on as-needed basis.
“My employees ask me for Center instead of me pushing it out because they’re seeing their colleagues and coworkers use it and realizing how simple it is.” –Joshua Smith, Director, Finance
For teachers, coaches, and aides, the reimbursement process is now as easy as taking a picture of their receipt, and many have found the system intuitive and straightforward to use right from the start. With dedicated support from their Center Deployment Manager and Account Manager, the district’s complex approval rules were streamlined into custom codes, allowing Joshua Smith to handle most tasks independently.
Center’s seamless integration with the district’s existing ERP software has further simplified reimbursements and ensured compatibility with current workflows.
“Center has allowed my Accounts Payable clerk a lot more time to focus on other other things in the business office, which is fantastic.” –Joshua Smith, Director, Finance
Impact: Faster reconciliation, lower costs, and streamlined staff reimbursements
Since adopting Center, the school district has significantly increased efficiency, cutting reimbursement entry time by 94%. What was once an 8-hour weekly task now takes just 30 minutes, freeing up the Accounts Payable clerk to focus on higher-priority responsibilities. Teachers also benefit, with a quick, reliable reimbursement submission freeing up time for students and daily responsibilities.
The district has improved reconciliation and budgeting accuracy with more timely and accurate expense reporting. Over 200 teachers and staff currently use Center, with plans to roll it out to all 600+ employees next quarter. Coaches benefit from virtual cards, eliminating shared credit card challenges, while integration with accounting software enhances operational efficiency.
The phased rollout ensured alignment with district needs and addressed teacher union feedback, receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. Teachers now receive reimbursements by the 10th of each month—an over 85% reduction in processing time—driving district-wide enthusiasm. Paper receipts have been replaced with electronic, IRS-compliant records, and real-time visibility and tracking have reduced out-of-budget purchases and overspending, contributing to greater satisfaction and productivity for both administrators and educators.
Since implementing Center, Woodhaven-Brownstown School District has achieved:
- Reconciliation time reduced from 6-8 hours a week to 30 minutes: Center’s system frees up time for the accounts payable clerk and district supervisor.
- Automated reconciliation to prevent delay and errors: Center’s system is digitized and easy to use, preventing noncompliance and duplicate reimbursement requests.
- Integrated card promotes policy compliance: Center’s purchasing card can be used by all staff members without violating district policy, and their virtual cards allow for ad hoc use.
- Customized workflows ease reimbursement process for all staff: Center’s customized system creates different reimbursement rules specific to different job categories, simplifying a complex reconciliation process.
“Center was the first company that made sense from an operational standpoint as well as a fiscal standpoint.” –Joshua Smith, Director, Finance