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Analysing venue
performance with
spend categorisation
at State of Play
State of Play Hospitality is a pioneer in developing and
managing technology-enhanced experiential leisure
concepts. The innovative company operates fun and
interactive concepts across the UK and the US, including
Ace Bounce, Bounce, Hijingo, and Flight Club.
HO Industry
London & NY Hospitality
Employees Started using
Payhawk
100+ July 2022
Features they love
fields for mapping classes and tracking
categories
OCR for data capture
Vv Multi-entity management
Life before Payhawk
Before Payhawk, the State of Play team used multiple disconnected tools to
manage finance. With multiple entities (or venues) across both the USA and
the UK, they wanted to get a global view of spending and improve their
payment processes throughout expense management and into their chosen
ERP, NetSuite.
“Before Payhawk, we used quite a manual system in the UK and ran our
expenses entirely from NetSuite," explained David Watson, Group Financial
Controller at State of Play. "Card spend was via a traditional credit card from
our bank."
The team wanted a single global platform that could operate across both the
US and the UK, including cards, invoices, and reimbursable expenses.
“Pre switching to Payhawk, we used credit cards and bill.com for the
accounts payable (AP) fulfilment system. It didn't integrate with NetSuite or
combine cards and AP fulfilment, so there was some switching between
tools," continued David. “One of the biggest advantages of Payhawk is the
integrations between our accounting software and the ability to put payments
in the hands of the actual users and operators (venues)."
Payhawk stood out by miles because of its nature.
“Taking corporate credit card transactions away from the traditional banks to
a product that directly integrates with NetSuite was a game changer!" David
said. "Now we save time and make better decisions thanks to complete
visibility over our multi-entity spend."
"We rely on the customisable class settings within Payhawk to
distinguish between venues to analyse performance. Whether
it's categorising between venues or categorising it into the right
general ledger code, it's extremely helpful in terms of how we
allocate spend."
Andrew Jacobi, VP of US Finance.
Multi-entity management made simple
With multiple US and UK venues, the State of Play team considers
comprehensive multi-entity management a top priority.
“The international aspect of Payhawk is super important to us,” said David.
“Particularly the ability to flick through the different dashboards and the
different entities to just find out exactly when and where a transaction
happened.”
The multi-entity management dashboard is important to the finance team as
it lets them see an up-to-the-minute view over spend across each entity,
including when a card transaction occurs and why.
“That’s what really sold Payhawk to us. We pay per platform rather than
per transaction, which is vital to us as a hospitality business.”
“We're currently a group with six component entities, but as we expand, it will
only increase the need to pay per platform,” David explained. “That’s what
really sold Payhawk to us. We pay per platform rather than per transaction,
which is vital to us as a hospitality business.”
Discover the benefits of multi-
entity management
Customisable spend categorisation — and the
price of DJs
While multi-entity management features are essential for providing overall
spend oversight, the finance team also loves our solution's super helpful
customisation capabilities.
“We really rely on the customisable class settings within Payhawk to
distinguish between venues so we can analyse performance," Andrew
Jacobi, VP of US Finance, told us. "We create the custom fields that our
cardholders use in order to categorise their spend. So, whether it's
categorising between venues or categorising it into the right general ledger
code, it's extremely helpful in terms of how we allocate spend."
Keeping track of spend across operators can be complex for a multi-venue
hospitality organisation like State of Play. The finance team must stay on top
of spend, forecasting, and tracking against budgets. At Payhawk, our
customisable categories are designed with this in mind. State of Play's
finance team uses the solution to quickly identify variances and potential
overspending issues across different expense categories.
“At the end of the period, we look at two things. First, were we able to
forecast our spend properly? For this, we put Payhawk directly in the hands
of our venue managers so they can report on what they're spending money
on. This approach means they can track spend against their budget and
ensure they're meeting it across each general ledger category," Andrew
explained. "Then, at the end of the period, we look at variance to budget —
seeing whether a spend category exceeded or came in under budget.
Payhawk allows us to spot if there's overspending in specific places up and
down our P&L very quickly. For example, if we see that we're spending too
much or more than expected on Dus in a particular venue."
“Payhawk allows us to spot if there's overspend in specific places up
and down our P&L very quickly. For example, if we see that we're
spending too much or more than expected on Dus in a particular
venue."
“We can see what we spent on DJs over the period because of the invoices
our operators submitted, and we categorised those invoices to the proper
class and GL code, which is venue for us," Andrew continued. "By looking at
the spending, we can say, ‘We planned $5,000 for this period, but we spent
$7,000. So, what Were we overcharged? Did we increase the
frequency of DJs? And if so, should we adjust the budget for the next
period?"
Vendor and supplier management
Vendor relationships are crucial for hospitality businesses like State of Play
because they ensure reliable access to quality products and services,
ultimately enhancing guest experience and driving success.
With their old providers, the finance team typically becomes a bottleneck for
vendor or supplier management. The venue teams or central office functions
couldn’t make purchases fast enough and had to wait days to receive
corporate cards or get approvals.
“We have several vendors who require payment at the start of a relationship
in order to begin a campaign or such like,” Andrew said. “So, being able to
instantly issue a card for our teammate — with the exact limit they need — for
that particular vendor lets them stay nimble while we stay in control.”
Vendor invoices are easier to manage, too. And because of our smart OCR,
as soon as one of the team uploads an invoice, the information shoots into
eee Pee eh ec BM
Vendor invoices are easier to manage, too. And because of our
as soon as one of the team uploads an invoice, the information shoots into
State Of Play’s chosen ERP, NetSuite.
“We get complete global spend visibility, and we can see our receipts and
invoices directly in NetSuite because of Payhawk’s integration. That data flow
means we can understand our P&L very quickly after we produce it with no
headaches,” Andrew told us.
Winning big with smart spend management
Since moving to our solution, the State of Play team are happy to leave the
high stakes thrills at the venues, and keep the finances clear and easy to
manage.
Businesses like State of Play find that switching to Payhawk offers big
benefits, including time-saving through seamless ERP integrations and
improved decision-making through real-time spend visibility.
Find out how your business could benefit, today.
“We’re currently a group with six "We put Payhawk directly in the hands of "When I have to submit expenses, it's very
component entities, but as we expand, it Our venue managers so they can report easy to do as you can download an
will only increase the need to pay per on what they're spending money on. This invoice from email straight onto Payhawk,
platform. That’s what really sold Payhawk approach means they can track spend it literally takes a couple of seconds. | love
to us. We pay per platform rather than per against their budget and ensure they're using Payhawk because | find it very
transaction, which is vital to us as a meeting it across each general ledger efficient. It's very easy to use and very
hospitality business.” category." secure."
David Watson
a Group Financial Controller at State © Andrew Jacobi DP Charlotte Huynh
of Play VP of US Finance Head of People
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Moving global spend forward.
Whether you have tens, hundreds, usands of employees, we’re making your business
spend work for you, giving you control over spending at scale with a single solution. Say
goodbye to tedious finance tasks, schedule a demo with us today.
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