M&S Industrial is a family-owned metal fabricating business. With a long list of vendors and a high volume of fuel purchases, Director of Accounting David Garrett was searching for a better way to handle expense tracking and reconciliation.
Before Center: Manual Processes Slowed Everything Down
Before adopting Center, M&S Industrial used a bank-based credit card and a manual expensing process. Employees would collect receipts, put them in an envelope, and drop them off at David’s desk. At the end of the month, David had to match each receipt to his credit card statement — a tedious task that took at least two hours per month.
David found the process frustrating and inefficient. There was no visibility into spending, making it difficult to track expenses accurately. Missing receipts required back-and-forth communication with employees, delaying approvals and complicating the reconciliation process. Paper fuel logs increased the likelihood of errors and delays.
Automated Expense Management Increases Efficiency and Control
By adopting Center, M&S Industrial has transformed their error-prone expense system into a user-friendly, card-powered experience that makes reconciliation a breeze. Center’s automated expense tracking solution links receipts to corresponding transactions, eliminating the tedious process of matching them manually. Instead of saving and delivering receipts by hand, employees can simply snap a photo and submit receipts immediately. Employees no longer have to worry about keeping receipts, and David no longer has to chase down IRS-required documentation.
“I don’t have to wait days. I have receipts in real time. And I like that.”
Center also integrates with M&S Industrial’s ERP, giving David real-time visibility and control over expenses. Smart Receipts create digital, IRS-compliant receipts so David can see employee spend in real time and categorize purchases with ease.
With Center, fuel expenses can also be tracked digitally, ensuring more accurate fuel tracking and improving compliance with state regulations. Their intuitive solution allows David to set up new cards, adjust spending limits, and even shut down cards when necessary, giving the company greater control over its expenses.
“Getting [Center] up and running is smooth.”
Center’s dedicated deployment manager was with him every step of the rollout, helping him transition to a new expense management system in just eight weeks.
Impact: Faster Reconciliation, Greater Visibility, and Improved Efficiency
With Center’s automated system in place, David now spends just 15 minutes each month on expense reconciliation—an 88% reduction in time. He can import large expense files into his ERP, glance over them, and then export the reports to the owners for easy review.
“I spend about 15 minutes on reconciliation now—88% less time than before. I just review the upload sheet for anything unusual, then upload it directly into my system. Automatic receipt processing made all the difference.”
Getting [Center] up and running is smooth.”Center’s real-time tracking empowers employees to manage their own expenses efficiently. With better visibility and control, managers no longer have to second-guess expenses or chase down receipts. Center’s flexible self-service configuration gives David immediate insight into gas purchases and allows him to make real-time edits to expenses, with customizable reports that track exactly what matters to his business. This allows M&S to stay compliant with different state regulations and gives M&S more confidence in its budget.
Finally, M&S Industrial benefits from a dedicated account manager who serves as their ongoing point of contact, continually optimizing their expense processes to match the company’s evolving needs and priorities.
By automating manual processes, increasing financial visibility, and providing a user-friendly platform, Center has transformed the way M&S Industrial manages expenses — allowing them to focus on delivering high-quality industrial services.
Since implementing Center, M&S Industrial has achieved:
“The old company would say ‘no, we can’t do that.’ I got more nos from them than I got yeses. Center pretty much gave me everything.”