TuneIn Turns Up Scalability of Financial Operations

• Consolidated domestic and international payments in one system
• Generated instant real-time reports and analysis that previously took three days
• Seamlessly integrated with ERP, NetSuite for instant payment reconciliation and faster monthly close

HQ San Francisco, CA
Customer Since 2019
Industry Video & Digital Media

In the world of audio streaming services, consumers are spoiled for choice. We collectively have instant access to millions of songs and podcasts to play at any time. When every option becomes overwhelming, it helps to have a degree of personalization that cuts through the noise to deliver what we really want. Enter TuneIn, a platform that combines the power of audio and technology to bring together sports, news, curated music, and 100,000 radio stations. The San Francisco-based company is on a mission to create community through the magic of radio.

For Julia Farquharson, Corporate Controller at TuneIn, the finance team plays a critical role in supporting the company’s mission.

“We’re tasked with providing the business with a sense of financial transparency. We need to present data in a clear way to decision-makers who drive strategy.”

For TuneIn, finance improves the business’s profitability and sustainability. It was up to Farquharson and her team to optimize their workflow to protect the bottom line.

“We’re the gatekeepers. We need to be able to forecast accurately. We need to be able to optimize our tools, processes, and people to make sure that we’re reacting quickly enough.”

Before automation, Farquharson encountered a tech debt with disparate systems and manual processes. TuneIn was using one system for domestic payments and another to send international wires to pay broadcasters overseas. After making high-value cash payments, everything had to be reconciled and re-reconciled through a certain degree of guesswork.

They were also processing a high volume of payments through traditional invoicing and a high volume of partners under their revenue-sharing agreement.

Plus, Farquharson knew they needed to bring on a system that could efficiently integrate with their ERP, NetSuite.

“We wanted to implement a solution that brought all of our payments under one umbrella, and we wanted technology that would improve compliance.”

With Tipalti, every operational process came together. Vendors could now self-register and have their tax information automatically reviewed for legitimacy. Also, they had the added ability to send their invoices electronically for review and automatic approval. With payments automation, Farquharson enjoys greater financial transparency and the aggregation of having all payments, international or domestic, in one place. They can instantly run real-time reporting that previously took three days.

“At the end of the month, I feel confident in our cash control, treasury, and accrual processes. Plus, we’ve greatly reduced the time spent collecting tax forms for our accounting analysts.”

For TuneIn, Tipalti has streamlined operations by creating a user-friendly workflow that doesn’t require extensive training. With automation, Farquharson and her team can catch critical errors and eliminate manual work—allowing them to re-focus their time and energy on what matters most.

“Now, we can focus on operations that are going to drive the business forward.”