How Makeship Found Multi-currency Freedom with Float

THE CHALLENGE

• Small, two-person finance team was managing numerous spend transactions in both CAD and USD.
• Traditional Canadian banks required Makeship to pay for unnecessary additional cards, and offered prepaid charge cards that were cumbersome for day-to-day spending.
• Limited visibility into subscription and software spend, causing confusion around validity and overcharges.

THE SOLUTION

With options to spend in both USD and CAD, Float offers Makeship the ability to manage multiple currency accounts. The small finance team relies heavily on Float’s intuitive spend management platform in order to accurately project and track spend, meaning a faster month-end close and more visibility into spend, thanks to vendor-specific cards and easy tracking.

THE RESULTS

• 60% decrease in time to reconcile and close month-end.
• Instant reconciliation thanks to immediate receipt submission via Slack, text, and email.
• 80% of total company spend is seamlessly managed through Float in both CAD and USD.

THE DETAILS

As a company known for its ability to help creators quickly scale and monetize, Makeship needed a corporate card solution that was as innovative and flexible as they were. With both US and Canadian spending needs, the company’s current traditional cards from Canadian banks just weren’t working. The annual fees and foreign exchange rates were affecting the bottom line, but they were dreading making a complicated switch that likely meant two different accounts, each with extra fees for additional card users.

With sales growing 200% every year, Makeship needed a limber option that could accommodate both CAD and USD while keeping costs low and focusing more on cashback than travel miles. Most of all, the company was strongly against paying for extra cards, leaving them few options unless they wanted to sort through who-spent-what on shared cards.

Corporate Controller Madelaine Fielding knew there was a solution out there.

“My director of finance and I both had done extensive research on corporate card options and spend management solutions—we were ready for the challenge of finding the right fit,” Madelaine shared.

It was a personal connection that initially led Makeship to Float. Madelaine went to school with Float co-founder Griffin Keglevich, and helped set up a meeting with Makeship co-founder Rakan Al-Shawaf. It was the perfect opportunity to swap entrepreneurial stories. Later, when it came time to evaluate spend management platforms, the team recalled Float’s value proposition and saw it could solve their issues.

“We immediately saw that Float really understood the struggles of what Canadian businesses need to succeed,” mentioned Madelaine. “As an early stage company focused on growth, we don’t have the time to spend reviewing every expense and matching it to GL codes, or following up with employees on misplaced receipts. We need a spend management system that works the way we do—quickly, efficiently, and with purpose.”

As a crowd-funded company, Makeship’s upfront cash flow makes pre-funded Float cards an easy decision. The team can pre-load cards and designate them for different subscriptions or recurring spend, with extra funds expiring after a certain date so that any additional spend is denied and flagged. Meanwhile, the immediate prompt for team members to submit receipts after a transaction meant that Madelaine, as an experienced senior financial expert, didn’t have to spend valuable time figuring out who spent what or chasing receipts.

Initially, Float cards were limited to senior executives and the Finance team, but before long, more of the team was given access.

“The visibility and spend control that we get with Float made us confident that we could safely expand to more employees, which meant more autonomy and trust for our team without extra work or worry,” shared Madelaine. 

As Makeship continued to see the benefits of Float’s transparent and straightforward spend management system, more team members were provided with cards. So far, 80% of Makeship’s total spend has been transitioned to Float. 75% of that spend is monthly recurring, which means Madelaine and her team don’t have to lift a finger to manage it.

Float support has also been better for Makeship compared to other partners. Their payroll system responds to inquiries in 7 days, and traditional banks take 5 days. “Float is there whenever we need them. And if an issue comes up with a card, we can immediately pause it and issue a new one, without interruption to our business.”

“Float cards are the right fit for Makeship, no question about it,” says Madelaine. “Setting up our systems was painless, and everyone from our more junior employees to our senior executives understands how to use it—so they do. And that’s a big win.” 

Wahi

Wahi’s finance team spends up to 76% less time on receipt collection, reconciliation, and month-end close.

Coastal Reign

Float cards are issued to a quarter of their team, providing immediate access to spend capital in order to do their jobs more efficiently.

Practice Better

“Where it took 12 days before, I can now close expenses in one or two days. It just reconciles so easily.”