Centerfield Media Builds Financial Efficiencies

• Eliminated 20 weeks of AP work per year
• Saved 12 days on their accounting monthly close process
• Seamlessly integrated with ERP, Intacct, to streamline all invoices

HQ Los Angeles, CA
Customer Since 2020
Marketing & Sales Technology

Centerfield Media turns “shoppers of your service into buyers of your brand” by automatically optimizing performance-based sales. With companies like AT&T enlisting Centerfield for their marketing services, this innovative business sets new standards in the marketing services universe.

Centerfield Media has grown exponentially through acquisitions, and they’ve managed this growth with only one AP specialist. She now manages the company’s AP operations across the entire company—including payees in staggering 28 countries.

“We haven’t had to hire a new AP person as we’ve onboarded [newly acquired] companies. One person can process our AP for the entire company,” Alex Horton, Centerfield Media’s finance controller, explained.

Centerfield previously used software that processed invoices, but the solution didn’t run payments. After trying out two vastly different AP systems, their small and nimble department needed a partner that could handle all of the AP processing, tackle payments and integrate with their ERP, Intacct.

“When we acquired Savings.com in 2020, we onboarded their UK operations. [At that point], we’re making payments across Jamaica, US, the UK, and the EU. That’s when we started looking for a partner that can handle all of the AP processing and all the payments, and then also integrate directly into Intacct.”

Since implementing, the finance team has streamlined their monthly payment processes.

“With Tipalti, we don’t have to break out, ‘These are our check payments. These are ACHs, these are PayPal, these are wired.’ Tipalti takes care of it all, so we can process it as one batch.”

Tipalti’s self-serve portal also allows vendors to onboard quickly and efficiently. Centerfield Media utilizes the white-labeling feature to enhance user experiences and aid with change management as they acquire new companies.

“Vendors can get a little flustered when they’re like, ‘Who is Centerfield, and why are they sending me emails,’ if it’s one of our sister companies or one of our subsidiaries. We’re able to actually brand our emails that are going out; so instead of coming from AP at Centerfield, it’s coming from AP at Savings. There’s really no change management that you have to do as far as explaining what’s happening during the acquisition.”

As vendors are onboarded, they provide both their banking and tax information, keeping Centerfield tax-compliant and protecting the company from fraudulent activities. At the end of the year Horton’s team easily generates 1099 / 1042-S tax preparation reports and calculates any necessary withholdings automatically across all their vendor, partner and contractor payments, simplifying what normally is a painstaking process for all its entities.

“I’m so excited, because it’s one report that I can export out and run our 1099s off of that. As far as the vendors see it, it’s been a great change.”

Overall, efficiencies in partnering with Tipalti became obvious for Horton and his team at the end of each month.

“When we started looking at providers, we had about a 20-day close. Now, we’re down to an eight-day business close.”

And Centerfield Media’s verdict on accounts payable automation?

“Find a partner that’s able to manage your [AP] process through a SaaS product; it’s something that you should implement before you think you should. The efficiencies free up your staff to do something else that’s more cost value to the company and adds value to your department instead of just processing bills.”