Klaytn Foundation Case Study

Company

Name: Kaia

Website: https://klaytn.foundation

Klaytn is an open-source public blockchain that gives users the opportunity to create their own projects using the built-in development environment and user-friendly interface.

Klaytn aims to bring blockchain technology to all types of users, from micro-startups to corporate units. Users can develop their own dApplications on top of the Klaytn platform. 

KLAY is a native token used for making transactions in Klaytn blockchain. From February 15, 2024 and on, it was decided that the Klaytn and Fischia blockchain platforms be merged in 2024 to establish the #1 blockchain and Web 3 ecosystems in Asia. 

Use case description

Klaytn collaborates with many partners and vendors and their accounting workflows needed optimization. They use Xero for accounting management, but this accounting system alone did not completely cover the AP automation needs. A well-functioning approval process was required to enhance accounts payable management and make it more transparent since handling it in email was cumbersome and unreliable.  

The goal was to simplify submitting bills to Xero without compromising the approval flow. 

Since Klaytn uses lots of different tax rates and account categories for their payments, it was important to make sure users submit their bills with the right accounting categories and taxes matched.

The simplest way to do it would be to limit the visibility of some of the categories and tax rates for end-users. However, in Xero itself, it’s not an option. 

This system allows finance teams to reduce manual operations and to better understand the nature of the transactions. And on top of that, make sure the required documents are attached for processing. 

Some payments are made in Klaytn’s own cryptocurrency (KLAY) and it was required for it to be available in the currency list to be able to handle all bills in one place. 

The process before Approveit

Bill processing wasn’t automated. To request payments,  multiple messages were sent back and forth to get each invoice approved.

The finance team had to do a lot of manual work registering new vendors and entering bill information into Xero.

Data wasn’t aggregated in a convenient way which complicated reporting and following a decision-making trail during audits. 

Client’s request

Klaytn Foundation team was looking to automate and bring transparency to their accounts payable without stressful switch from the systems they already use: Xero and Slack. 

Vendor approval and bank details registration process needed to be formalized and simplified, ideally minimizing the number of manual operations the process required.

Entering bills into the system manually was also a tedious task that Klaynt team wished to make easier. 

We also discussed applying approval automation to other aspects of Klaytn’s internal operations and landed on exploring time-off management within the same system as well. 

So, the requirements for the new platform looked like this: 

• Strong integration capabilities of the platform with Xero and Slack
• Customization of the cryptocurrencies list
• OCR for bills 
• Flexible visibility of tax rates and accounting categories to end-users
• Choice of the status in Xero for all automatically transferred bills
• Customizable multi-step approval flow
• Solid audit log for all approvals
• Not a must but a nice-to-have: the ability to integrate with Google Calendar for time off management

What we automated

1. Bill approval workflows integrated with Xero

Vendors can now be created and pre-approved in Aproveit before they are automatically synced with Xero. Bills can only be taken into work when they are from a reliable, approved vendor. 

The company creates a bill in Approveit by simply dragging & dropping it in PDF into the approval form. Upon approval, bills are automatically reflected in Xero in the status “Draft”. 

2. The Klaytn cryptocurrency (KLAY) is added to the currency list of financial details of vendors, making it possible to handle both crypto and FIAT currency bills in one place
3. Limited visibility of certain tax rates and categories for end-users helps avoid confusion and makes it easy for requestors to submit bills correctly.
4. There’s a solid audit trail always available for downloading in CSV or XLXS
5. Time off tracking is available together with Google Calendar integration 

As a result

• Simple and efficient communication in Slack 
• Fully automated approval process for all payment documents 
• Flexible Xero integration with custom requirements fulfilled
• Visibility and transparency  of all transactions
• Manual data entry and the risk of human errors significantly reduced

All goals accomplished! 

Kalytn landed on our Pro plan. A bonus that comes with Approveit’s Pro plan is a personal onboarding manager who efficiently deals with the company’s requests and bottlenecks every day.

Our collaboration with Klaytn has become a fruitful and pleasant process.  Klaytn is our ideal customer who brings valuable ideas and constructive feedback to us, allowing Approveit to evolve and grow.