Every good story starts with a turning point. For Stephen Beater, Finance Manager at Polarsteps, that moment came with a growing need to modernise how business spend was managed. The tools they had in place had served their purpose, but as the company expanded, it became clear that something more flexible and efficient was needed.
Polarsteps, a Dutch tech company helping travellers plan, track, and relive their journeys all under one roof, was scaling quickly. And like many fast-growing companies, they found that parts of their finance processes needed to evolve with them.
"We used credit cards from a traditional Dutch bank, and the process tends to be a bit more manual, requiring forms and phone calls rather than offering fully online options, which is what we were after."
Thankfully, Pleo brought in a fresh, flexible approach to company spending and an onboarding experience that made the transition surprisingly smooth.
A clear goal: get it done, and fast
Stephen’s mission was practical: to set up Pleo quickly and understand it well enough to roll it out internally as soon as possible.
“I wanted to roll it out as soon as I could and make sure someone without a finance background could understand it.”
This focus on usability helped shape the onboarding approach with Pleo’s onboarding manager, Ana Peleteiro Fernandez.
“The onboarding made me feel like it was going to be easy to roll out, and it was. There was a bit of back and forth, but now everyone knows what they need to do.”
Easy to understand, even easier to use
From the start, the process felt intuitive.
“It wasn't too much. I could ask questions and I felt confident everything would work fine.”
That confidence carried into the way the team adopted the tool and how little troubleshooting was needed after launch.
One small suggestion, one big insight
There was one improvement Stephen noted, and that was showing what the platform looks like from a non-admin’s view.
“It would have been helpful to see what someone with just reimbursement access sees, so I know what might need extra explanation.”
It’s feedback Ana welcomed, and something Pleo now considers integrating into more onboarding flows.
The admin problems they left behind
When Pleo was introduced, the finance team quickly noticed the difference. Manual work was reduced, approvals became smoother, and the time spent on everyday finance tasks dropped significantly.
“Pleo is very modifiable. Our marketing spend has gone up, I don’t know what we’d have done without it.”
The benefits went far beyond spend management. Reimbursements moved faster, finance operations became more agile, and the team could shift focus to more strategic work.
“A lot of this admin stuff that no one wants to worry about, it’s in the rear view.”
Final word: Would Polarsteps recommend Pleo?
Absolutely. In his own words: “Thanks for making my job easier.”
“Doing it live, sharing your screen, step by step, there’s no better way to learn. We split it into two sections and that was perfect for me.”
No two teams onboard the same, and that’s exactly the point. For Polarsteps, success came from a setup that moved fast, stayed simple, and flexed to fit the way they already worked.
Pleo is now a permanent part of the stack, and for Stephen, that means one less thing to worry about.
