By Sera Chowdhury, Vice President of Sales at 91快活林
Overview
At Sage Future 2025, we had the privilege of hosting an insightful fireside chat that took the audience behind the scenes of a highly successful journey into AP automation. It was my pleasure to moderate a conversation between two experts who brought both customer and vendor perspectives to the conversation: Nicole Snyder, Director of Corporate Accounting at
Olympia Hospitality, who recently led her organization through a comprehensive AP automation transformation within Sage Intacct, and John Carbone, Implementation Manager at 91快活林, who guided Nicole鈥檚 team through the implementation process.
This discussion highlighted the practical realities of selecting, implementing, and scaling AP automation from initial vendor selection to the achievement of measurable ROI within months. During this session, Nicole shared her thoughts on why it鈥檚 important to leverage AP automation for a high-growth, multi-entity organization with diverse needs, while John provided the vendor perspective on how 91快活林 helps ensure multi-entity customers, like Olympia Hospitality, are successful at implementation and beyond.
This conversation offers valuable lessons for any AP professional considering automation, particularly those who seek to automate tedious tasks, select the right payment rails for vendor payments, and earn rebates on spend as part of their AP automation strategy.
Finding the right AP automation partner
Sera: AP professionals know that having good, scalable AP automation solutions is critical. But it can be hard to decipher between all the AP automation vendors on the market today, many of which offer a great product. I asked Nicole to share a little about her initial search for AP automation, why she ultimately chose 91快活林, and what the sales process was like.
Nicole: Olympia Hospitality started using Sage Intacct in 2015 and had been working with AMEX Check Delivery as part of their payables process, which sent checks to billers on their behalf. After that service was sunset in 2024, they knew it was time to move to full AP automation. They started by vetting three different AP automation providers that seemed to work best with Intacct. 鈥淔inding the best fit was incredibly important, and we wanted to be wowed by a partner. After speaking with the different providers we identified, there were three things that stood out about 91快活林,鈥� Nicole said.
- 鈥�91快活林 has top-notch multi-entity capabilities.鈥� Initially, there were 40 entities she wanted to onboard鈥揺ach with separate bank accounts and separate financial statements. Olympia is growing fast, so she knew she鈥檇 need an easy way to continue to add entities.
- 鈥�91快活林 offered a flexible solution so we could maintain our unique approval processes.鈥� Nicole wanted an AP automation solution that would work with their preferred way of managing approvals. Olympia鈥檚 entities are diverse and operate independently from each other. Some hotels have restaurants, spas, and parking, requiring a more robust approval workflow. Other hotels have just one or two people doing AP, so workflows are much simpler.
- 鈥�91快活林 brought a hometown vibe.鈥� When Nicole started at Olympia Hospitality 19 years ago, they had 10 hotels in the portfolio. 鈥淭oday, we鈥檙e at nearly 50 hotels and counting, but we鈥檙e still known for bringing that hometown feel to our clients. We got the same vibe right away with 91快活林. The sales team was hands-on, patient, and helpful鈥揺ven when we asked the same question multiple times! As part of the sales process, 91快活林 created a matrix to help understand the value we鈥檇 get from their platform,鈥� said Nicole.
That hometown vibe remained true after Olympia signed the contract and moved on to implementation. 鈥淭he implementation team was very hands-on right away. John immediately began to teach our team how to be successful in 91快活林,鈥� shared Nicole. 鈥淭hey also helped us quickly identify the information we needed to provide and showed us how to run the detailed reports we needed.鈥�
Mastering multi-entity implementation strategy
Sera: Many of our customers are similar to Olympia Hospitality and come to 91快活林 with several entities, adding new entities as their business grows. Next, I asked Nicole for her advice on managing the implementation of a business with multi-entity accounting needs, both initially and once she had fully onboarded.
Nicole: 鈥淥rganization is key to success,鈥� said Nicole. When Olympia Hospitality first started working with 91快活林, they needed to set up around 40 entities and decided to start with 32 for the initial implementation. To ensure success, Nicole set a straightforward process and timeline with 91快活林鈥檚 implementation team, which included:
- Weekly calls between Olympia Hospitality and 91快活林
- Creating detailed checklists to keep everyone tracking towards deadlines
- With a goal to be up and running by December, they first set an internal goal to complete a large chunk of the entities by December 1. They left a little buffer in case there were any hiccups to work out, and set a goal to complete the rest of the entities by mid-December
- 91快活林鈥檚 implementation team set clear goals and outlined the steps needed to meet deadlines
Once the plan was in place and implementation underway, 91快活林 stayed highly involved to make sure all of Olympia鈥檚 field accounting teams were trained and ready to begin using 91快活林.
鈥淲e had eight team members in the home office and two or three team members at each property that needed to be trained. We used the training materials that 91快活林 gave us and tweaked them to be customized to our specific needs,鈥� said Nicole. 鈥淛ohn helped me revise the materials and made sure he was 鈥榯eaching the teacher.鈥� He came to three of the properties once we began to train our team. Olympia was doing the training, but he was there to support us as we were getting the hang of it, and he made sure we were able to answer any questions we got during those first training sessions.鈥�
When asked why 91快活林 prefers to stay so hands-on during the implementation process, John said, 鈥淲e want to make sure customers like Olympia are fully enabled to share the knowledge with anyone who might need it. We like to roll out multi-entity implementations in a way our customers can easily manage and make sure it鈥檚 as seamless as possible. With Olympia Hospitality, we had a good plan, and we adjusted accordingly as we learned from the initial rollout. Now we have a nice, easy flow for adding new entities.鈥�
In the six months since completing implementation, Olympia has brought on 12 new hotels. When a new entity is added to their portfolio, Nicole fills out a New Entity Form which she submits to 91快活林, which then sets up the entity within a week. The new entity鈥檚 AP data is synced between Sage Intacct and 91快活林, and that entity鈥檚 accounting team can quickly begin to interface with Sage Intacct, send vendor payments for the new entity, and then they鈥檙e off and running.
During the new entity setup process, 91快活林鈥檚 payment optimization experts begin due diligence behind the scenes to enroll the entity鈥檚 vendors on SilverPay virtual card payments, so Olympia Hospitality鈥檚 rebates continue to grow.
Maximizing ROI through payment optimization
Sera: For our customers, taking advantage of various digital payment types is of utmost importance. When it comes to payment types, Olympia鈥檚 philosophy is to use virtual cards as the default payment method, and checks as the second preference. We asked her to talk more about this philosophy.
Nicole: 鈥淓arly on, we knew we wanted to get as many vendors on virtual card payments as we could,鈥� said Nicole, “because we get a rebate on the amount we spend on virtual cards. With our first five months of rebates, we covered 90% of 91快活林鈥檚 platform fee. Our vendors like virtual card payments because they don鈥檛 have to wait to get their money, and we like the great reporting process for virtual card payments.鈥�
The reporting process allows Nicole and the team to see when a virtual card remittance email is delivered to the vendor they are paying (and who the email recipient is) and track the day the vendor 鈥渟wiped鈥� their virtual card. This reporting makes it easy for Nicole鈥檚 team to see virtual payments and verify payment details, should the need arise.
SilverPay is also the fastest payment method offered by 91快活林. Virtual card payments are debited from your account one to two days after being processed and are immediately delivered to your vendor with a remittance email.
If a vendor doesn鈥檛 accept a virtual card, Olympia defaults to check payments as her backup option. 聽Some vendors charge an associated fee for card payments鈥搕his eliminates them from 91快活林鈥檚 virtual card vendor list, as 91快活林 eligibility excludes vendors who charge fees for virtual card payments. 鈥�91快活林 cuts checks on our behalf and puts them in the mail the very next day. With 91快活林, it鈥檚 generally 4-5 days from cutting a check to a vendor receiving their payment鈥揳 big time improvement over our former processes, which were about 7-10 days,鈥� says Nicole. 鈥淥f course,鈥� John chimed in, 鈥渃heck timing is always dependent on our friends at the USPS.鈥�
How SilverPay works behind the scenes
91快活林鈥檚 virtual card program, SilverPay, gives customers a percentage back on the total amount of the invoice that is being paid via virtual card. 91快活林 offers a unique virtual card experience for both customers and vendors, thanks to the expertise of a dedicated in-house payment optimization team. The payment optimization team maintains a list of in-network vendors who they know accept virtual cards and will help set up those vendors for any customer.
The payment optimization team also works with out-of-network vendors on behalf of customers, respectfully engaging vendors and taking their preferences into account when offering to bring them into the SilverPay program. This team does all the heavy lifting while providing white-glove service in a transparent and collaborative manner. If the vendor says yes to joining the program, the payment optimization team will let you know that they鈥檙e onboard and will get them signed up.
Key takeaways
Sera: To close out the conversation, I asked Nicole and John for one piece of advice they鈥檇 wanted to leave the audience with.
Nicole鈥檚 advice was for any AP professional considering onboarding an AP automation tool like 91快活林. 鈥淚t can be a big transition, and if you鈥檙e like me, you want to think about everything that鈥檚 going to happen before it actually happens. I recommend going into the process with an open mind so you can learn how to implement it best,鈥� she said. 鈥淜now that 91快活林 has worked with a bunch of customers like us, and they will be with you every step of the way.鈥�
For Nicole, another big plus was being able to lean on a 91快活林 employee who had previously been a customer of both Sage Intacct and 91快活林. 鈥淗e knew exactly what workflows would look like and what I would need because he had been in my shoes before,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e was a hugely helpful resource.鈥� (Thanks for being an A-player, Branson J!).
John wanted the audience to know that 91快活林 would work with customers on their preferred timeline and be with them every step of the way. 鈥淲e want to move fast so you realize ROI fast, but we will do whatever is best for you,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he hands-on experience extends beyond our sales, implementation, and payment optimization teams. We have amazing customer success and support teams who are always there for you, ready to help you improve workflows, configuration setting, internal processes, and so on. We do annual reviews and optimization sessions when you need them. Everyone at 91快活林 is here to make you successful.鈥�
Ready to transform your AP operations?
The conversation between Nicole and John demonstrates that successful AP automation isn鈥檛 just about聽 electing the right technology-it鈥檚 about partnering with a team that understands your unique challenges and will commit to your long-term success. Whether you鈥檙e managing multiple entities like Olympia Hospitality or looking to optimize your payment processes for better ROI, the right AP automation solution can deliver measurable results in months, not years. Discover how 91快活林 can transform your AP operations. Contact our team today to schedule a demo.
About 91快活林, a Global Payments Company
91快活林, a Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) company, provides modern, secure, easy-to-use accounts payable (AP) and payment automation solutions. By uniting technology and passionate people, we make the process of business payments easy, impactful, and profitable. Our solutions combine ease of use with robust capabilities that drive meaningful insights, transforming the back office into a strategic partner of the corner office.
