How Juniper Holiday + Home Reduced Expense Reconciliation from Days to Hours

Juniper Holiday + Home is a fast-growing vacation rental management company based in Michigan, with prime properties within close proximity to destinations like the beaches of Lake Michigan and nearby nature-filled getaways. Founded just three years ago, Juniper has rapidly expanded its portfolio from 15 properties to 60, with plans for continued growth across multiple states.

When Livia Horvath joined Juniper as their finance manager and accountant in April 2022, the company was managing about 15 properties and lacked any kind of structured accounting system. As the company grew, existing financial processes were increasingly complex.

The Challenge: Manual Processes Hindering Growth

Before partnering with Topkey, the company faced several challenges:

1. Lack of expense tracking: Employees were using shared debit cards and struggling to submit receipts consistently.
2. Time-consuming reconciliation: The team had to manually match expenses to properties, spending large amounts of time chasing down missing information.
3. Inefficient payment methods: The use of PayPal, Venmo, and other platforms made transaction tracking even more difficult.
4. Limited visibility: Without a centralized system, it was challenging to get a clear picture of company spending, much less control it.

Livia describes the situation: "It was pretty chaotic."

The company even hired a full-time assistant just to manage receipts and try to match expenses to properties. Livia explains, "We actually had a full-time assistant who was just trying to figure out receipts and what house they were for. But even that was too much to keep track of."

It was clear that as Juniper continued to grow, these manual processes would become unsustainable.

Introducing Topkey: A Comprehensive Financial Solution

Juniper's owner, Valerie Gangas, first learned about Topkey at an industry conference in the summer of 2023. Initially skeptical of adding another tool to their tech stack, Livia was eventually won over by Topkey's efficiency-focused features and clear dedication to customer support.

"For me, everything's about efficiency," Livia explains. "And it was clear that [Topkey] is going to make it easier for us to keep track of expenses." 

Key factors that convinced Juniper to adopt Topkey included:

1. Mobile-first expense tracking: "The whole idea of doing it on your phone was good. Most of the people are in the field, like housekeeping and maintenance."
2. The ability to control limits easily: "Now we have something like 15 users with cards and the ability to control things like increasing people's credit limit. In the old days, we would give people a smaller limit at the beginning, but then some people end up doing a lot of purchasing for the company. I don’t know what I would have done [before Topkey]."
3. Integration with existing systems: "Also because it integrates with QuickBooks and Track, we can enter an expense and you don't have to enter it again. Efficiency is the key."
4. Exceptional customer service: "Also meeting with the team, I could tell from the beginning that they are really dedicated to customer service. And that is not common."
5. Cashback rewards: "We're earning interest or points on purchases, so I realized that we can make up the fee with the points that we spend."

Juniper implemented Topkey in August 2023, starting with expense management and gradually expanding to use more features of the platform.

Streamlined Expense Management and Improved Visibility

One of the most immediate benefits Juniper experienced was the simplification of their expense management process. With Topkey, employees can now easily track and categorize expenses on the go.

"The ability for users to interact with expenses on their computers and on their phones and classify their own transactions instead of having to email me, 'Hey, I bought this for this house for this' reduces my workload."

“We expanded so much last summer, [without Topkey], it would have been a lot of work classifying expenses. It would have been a lot more of my time and a lot more of someone else’s time.” 

This automated approach to expenses not only saves time for the accounting team but also improves accuracy and timeliness of expense reporting. Livia estimates this saves her at least an hour or two each day.

Faster Bookkeeping and More Accurate Financial Reporting

Topkey's integrations with QuickBooks and Juniper's property management system, Track, have significantly streamlined the bookkeeping process. Livia can now process transactions much more quickly and accurately:

"It's easier to itemize things because there's a separate transaction for it and I can push it through to work orders. So most things, like the supplies for the homes, I just put it in one category in QuickBooks and the owners get billed for the total once a month." 

These integrations have dramatically reduced the time required for monthly financial tasks. Livia estimates that what used to take two full days now takes just half a day, freeing up significant time for more strategic financial management.

"With 60 homes it would probably take me days just to get charges on owner statements.“

Enhanced Control and Security with Cards and Banking

A benefit for Juniper's leadership team is Topkey’s improved control over company spending and enhanced security. This level of control is particularly valuable for managing a growing, distributed team:

"For the owners, for Valerie, that kind of security and control is important. If somebody leaves then we can immediately freeze the card." Livia explains," It simplifies things because banking is so complicated. [Before] you have to call somebody and then you've got the written permission for this and that. If someone leaves we can immediately remove the card. The banking with Topkey is just simpler."

Increased Profitability Through Rewards and High-Yield Accounts

Beyond operational efficiencies, Topkey has become a source of additional income for Juniper through its rewards program and high-yield bank accounts.

"We're actually making money because we spend so much on the credit cards”

Livia emphasizes that this aspect makes Topkey not just a cost, but a profit center for the business:

"We're planning to use more of the banking features as much as the credit card in the future and move more of our banking because we're making money and it's easy to use."

Why Topkey: A True Partnership for Growth

When asked about the main benefits of Topkey, Livia emphasizes several key points:

1. Improved financial control: "It is easier to view things and control things in terms of spending and who has access to cards." 
2. Time savings through integrations: Topkey saves time by integrating with QuickBooks and Track."
3. Commitment to product improvement: "The dedication of the team to keep growing with it and support the users. That desire for them to really make it work and offer a good product." 

"I think this is a great tool for, you know, anyone regardless of what size they are, you know, if they can do their spending with credit cards or debit cards or even the bill pay, just offers you a greater control and overview of your spending."

The Topkey Difference: Supporting Customers

For Livia and the Juniper team, what sets Topkey apart is not just its features, but the company's commitment to customer success and continuous improvement. Livia particularly values the ongoing collaboration.

“It's easy to use and the support is great. Support is not even a feature of most of the other things,” Livia states.

“I just can't emphasize the team and the customer service enough. We have a monthly meeting with Matthew where he gives me updates and asks feedback about the and what features are coming out and what I think and just that collaboration for me is really valuable because they're listening to an accountant, you know, using the software."

This level of engagement and responsiveness is unique in Livia's experience:

“They actually listen to their customers. That’s really unique. I’ve never had that experience before. We have a similar motto that people really matter in our company. And that’s why I identify with Topkey.”

Growing Towards the Future

As Juniper continues its impressive growth trajectory, Topkey remains a crucial partner in streamlining their financial operations, improving efficiency, and ultimately contributing to the bottom line. 

With plans to leverage even more of Topkey's features in the future, Juniper is well-positioned to maintain its rapid expansion while keeping financial operations smooth and under control.

Ready to see how Topkey can transform your vacation rental company's financial operations? Book a demo today and take the first step towards more efficient, profitable property management.

*Topkey is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank; Member FDIC.