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Key results with Spendesk
Eliminated the risks associated with shared cards: no more cards “being passed around”, which previously created major month-end reconciliation issues.
Real-time budget visibility: budget owners can now monitor spend throughout the month instead of waiting for monthly reports.
Automated subscription control: “ghost subscriptions” were eliminated when employees left the business with active tool accounts still running.
Streamlined month-end close: expenses now arrive pre-categorised and reconciled, reducing manual work.
Multi-currency efficiency: reduced foreign exchange fees on advertising spend and software purchases.
About Hallam
Hallam is a marketing agency with a distributed team across the UK and Europe. With significant investment in software tools and complex travel requirements for client meetings and company events, the business needed an advanced spend management platform that could support growth while maintaining strict budget control.
The challenges
Before Spendesk, Hallam faced the classic agency spend management problem: shared cards creating chaos and a complete lack of real-time visibility over company spend.
The main challenges:
Shared card chaos: cards were passed between different team members, creating ongoing reconciliation issues.
No real-time budget visibility: manual monthly reporting instead of live spend tracking.
Ghost subscriptions: employees left the company with active software accounts that nobody cancelled.
Manual month-end processes: required extensive work before expenses could be pushed into Xero.
Foreign exchange losses: especially on international software purchases.
Limited individual accountability for spend across the distributed team.
Managing credit cards at the end of the month was an absolute nightmare because they were passed around between different people for different uses, and they were also added to various Google accounts.
Julie RodriguesBefore Spendesk
Shared cards used across the team
Month-end reconciliation nightmare
Manual budget reporting
Foreign exchange conversion fees
Ghost subscription issues
After Spendesk
Individual virtual and physical cards with clear ownership and approval tracking
Clear, reconciled expenses
Real-time budget visibility
Full subscription control
The solution
Hallam implemented Spendesk to give every team member controlled access to company spend while maintaining complete financial oversight through full integration with Xero.
The complete solution includes:
Individual cards for all team members across the UK and Europe
Real-time budget tracking with department-level visibility
Automated receipt tracking, reducing administrative workload
Multi-currency payments for international software and external contractors
Purchase order workflows for freelancer management
Full Xero integration for a frictionless month-end close
From chaos to control
The transformation was immediate. Instead of trying to work out who used the shared card for each purchase, every transaction now has a clear owner, receipt, and approval trail. Budget owners can see spend in real time rather than waiting for monthly finance reports.
Most importantly, the “ghost subscription” problem disappeared completely. When an employee leaves the business, the finance team can immediately take control of any recurring payment and decide whether to keep or cancel it.
Since using Spendesk, it’s much easier to stay in control because we can take ownership of any spend. We can transfer that card to one of us and cancel the recurring payment.
Julie RodriguesThe results
Hallam has transformed its spend management since implementing Spendesk:
Reduced fraud risk through complete visibility over spend across the distributed team
Real-time budget control, allowing budget owners to monitor spend throughout the month
Streamlined month-end close with expenses arriving pre-categorised and ready in Xero
Subscription control, eliminating ghost subscriptions from former employees
Foreign exchange savings through multi-currency wallets
Reduced administrative workload thanks to automated receipt tracking and approval workflows
Full team adoption, with 100% usage across all company spend
We’re benefiting from frictionless expense reimbursements, procurement and purchase orders, budget tracking, and the ability to pay in multiple currencies. We’ve reduced our administrative workload, allowing our team to focus on higher-value work.
Julie RodriguesReady to eliminate spend management chaos?
Discover how Spendesk can help your marketing agency gain full control over company spend while empowering your distributed team. Speak to one of our experts today.
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