Pleo Hero of the Month: Nina Rösler, Candis
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Nina Rösler is Pleo Hero with a love for start-up life. She saw that expenses were a problem, not only for her company CANDIS but for a lot of the German businesses they work with.
Then she found Pleo – thanks to a colleague spreading the good word.
Tell us about Candis.
Candis takes the friction out of bookkeeping and accounting. The software automates painful manual tasks such as the collection of invoices or data entry. You basically just connect data sources and Candis does the work for you, like connecting all the invoices in one place, extracting all the data from those invoices and creating payment lists.
What’s the journey that brought you to Candis?
During my bachelor’s degree, I had to do an internship. I always wanted to work at a start-up, so I Googled “best start-ups in Berlin” and found Candis. So now I’ve finished my studies and I’ll stay here, because I love the atmosphere of working at a start-up.
How did you discover Pleo?
Internally we had problems with expenses – it took me so much effort and so much time to get the invoices I needed. One of our employees had worked at another company that used Pleo and told me he liked the product. So I booked a demo, tried it – and loved it!
How did you pitch Pleo to your team?
I spoke to my COO and asked: Do you want to have clear bookkeeping data? Then we need Pleo. That simple! I saw a problem and this was the perfect solution.
What are some unique challenges your company faces when it comes to spending?
We’re a start-up, so we’re growing fast. One issue we’re facing right now is that we want to have an open expense culture, but also keep within budgets of course. We want to give our employees the feeling that they can spend – and are supposed to spend – if it’s necessary. So what I do is set up a monthly budget for each person in Pleo and tell them if they’re about to reach that level, to contact me.
Has Pleo changed the way your company works?
It has helped us create a more trusting environment. There’s no more asking for money, or for permission. Especially for new employees too, we had someone start today and I just gave him a Pleo card to buy what he needed. That’s not just a good start for him and the company, it’s a great start.
Can you remember a Pleo a-ha moment that an employee had?
Well, sitting opposite me is the head of HR in our Berlin office and she normally had to go to our COO to get his credit card to buy anything. And at one point after we started using Pleo, she stood up in the office and told everyone: “I just ordered a laptop without asking anyone for payment details. Wow!”
That was a good moment!
What has Pleo meant for how you do your job?
It’s reduced tremendously how much time I spend looking for invoices. Also, we can do a lot of budget controls through Pleo and if an invoice is missing, I know exactly who I need to talk to about it.
What’s next for Candis?
Right now there are about 90 employees here, with two offices in Germany. But next year we’ll have a new design and a new platform for Candis. So expect lots of growth then!
On the spot…
Any expenses horror stories?
Before we had Pleo, our second office was relying on petty cash . Which for German bookkeeping is a real horror story – you need to track it really closely and there has to be a person seeing what’s spent. But since they got their Pleo cards, everything’s been fine!
What’s been the coolest use of Pleo at Candis?
We bought a pull-up bar for the office! The COO and one of the founders thought it’d be a great idea for the office, so I got it on my Pleo card. But don’t worry, they use it – we even have weekly pull-up challenges.
What excites you most about the future of work?
I think what I like – and one of the reasons I like working at a start-up – is bringing your life to work. Bringing your personality to your job. So if you want a pull-up bar, you can get a pull-up bar! Or if you want to set up a book club at the office, you can do that.
Work isn’t just work any more.
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