How The School of Life Achieved 70% Efficiency Gains with Tipalti Accounts Payable

The Challenge

Manual Paper Invoices Stalled Scalability

As The School of Life expanded its global reach in pursuit of its mission to help the world learn, heal, and grow, its operational complexity increased significantly. The company onboarded more freelancers and suppliers across multiple countries to support its diverse offerings, ranging from YouTube animation to retail products.

However, the three-person finance team faced a critical bottleneck. The accounts payable process was heavily manual and paper-based. And approximately 90% of invoices arrived by post, creating a flood of physical paperwork while stifling efficiency.

The team rekeyed invoice data from paper and email, introducing errors and slowing payments. Inefficient approval workflows stalled when key personnel were away, leaving the finance team with little room for strategic financial management. This administrative burden limited the company’s ability to scale and risked relationships with global freelancers due to potential payment delays.

The Solution

Implementing End-to-End AP Automation

To overcome these barriers and support a growing international supplier base, The School of Life implemented Tipalti’s end-to-end accounts payable automation to centralize intake, streamline approvals, and integrate seamlessly with NetSuite. 

The organization now captures all invoices through a single email address, replacing the chaotic influx of postal mail with an automated system. Tipalti’s Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology extracts key details, such as supplier names, invoice references, and amounts, to drastically reduce manual data entry.

By automating time-consuming data entry and validation, the finance team shifted its focus from administrative work to optimizing payment timing and analyzing spend. 

Digital workflows also replaced slow email chains, enabling staff to process approvals from any location. The system also validates supplier details in real time to improve accuracy and ensure compliance before processing payments. Anthony Pham noted the immediate impact of these changes:

The Result

70% Efficiency Gains and Strategic Growth

The School of Life achieved 70% efficiency gains and scaled its team without adding headcount by implementing Tipalti’s end-to-end accounts payable automation. This evolution eliminated data entry bottlenecks and significantly reduced error rates by capturing and validating information upfront, from invoice capture to global payout. The impact was significant:

While other departments doubled or tripled in size to support global growth, the finance team maintained its lean, three-person headcount. This scalability proves the new process can handle increased volume without adding staff.

Freelancers and suppliers, who form the backbone of the company’s operations, now receive faster payments and gain greater visibility into their payment status. These improvements strengthen global trust and relationships, ensuring the creative talent driving The School of Life’s mission feels valued and supported.

By removing routine manual work, the finance team reduced stress and shifted its focus to strategic priorities such as spend analysis and planning.