How Ambrosia QSR Scaled Expenses Beyond Spreadsheets

Restaurants 1000–5000 Employees Vancouver, Washington

Reuben Rentas

VP of Finance and Accounting

Essential Insights

90%

Reduction in manual tasks

2 Weeks → 5 Days

Average time to reimburse via ACH

84%

Of expenses now submitted via the mobile app

Ambrosia QSR operates 150+ Burger King and Popeyes locations across the U.S., delivering exceptional quick-service dining experiences. With rapid growth plans to reach 500+ stores, operational efficiency became essential to scale.

But as the business expanded, their manual expense management process couldn't keep up. Reuben Rentas, VP of Accounting, realized that relying on spreadsheets, emails, and paper checks was no longer sustainable. He needed a system that could eliminate manual tasks and scale with their growth.

The Challenges

A Manual, Spreadsheet-Based Process

Employees downloaded Excel templates, entered expenses line by line, attached receipts, and emailed the reports to managers. After manual approvals, the data had to be re-entered into Microsoft Dynamics GP for processing.

"Our expense process was completely manual… It worked, but it was slow, tedious, and not scalable."

— Reuben Rentas, VP of Finance and Accounting

Slow Reimbursements

Reimbursements were issued through paper checks that had to be manually processed and mailed. Depending on when reports were submitted, employees often waited up to 2 weeks for reimbursement—with no real visibility unless they followed up.

Delayed Approvals & Policy Checks

Expense reports sat buried in inboxes. Approvals were delayed, and policy checks were manual, making the process slow and error-prone for the finance team.

A System That Couldn't Scale

With new locations and employees being added rapidly, the volume of reports and approvals became unmanageable. Reuben's team faced mounting pressure to eliminate these bottlenecks before the company scaled to 500+ stores.

How Fyle Transformed Ambrosia's Expense Management

Ambrosia QSR needed a solution that could eliminate email threads, automate approvals, and support their expansion. After exploring several platforms, Fyle emerged as the ideal partner—offering automation, real-time visibility, and seamless integration.

"We needed a system that could eliminate email-based approvals, automate the process, and ensure employees weren't waiting weeks for reimbursements. The ability to reimburse directly via ACH was a big plus."

— Reuben Rentas, VP of Finance and Accounting

From Spreadsheets to Smart Submissions

With Fyle, employees now submit expenses via the mobile app, web, or Outlook plugin—no templates, no emails.

84% of expenses are submitted through the mobile app
Expenses take less than 10 minutes to submit
Fyle automatically flags duplicates and policy violations before submission

Reimbursements in Days, Not Weeks

ACH payments replaced paper checks, reducing reimbursement times from one month to as fast as 5 business days

Over $45,000 processed via ACH each month
Real-time tracking improves employee visibility and satisfaction

Streamlined Approvals and Compliance

Approvals are auto-routed to the right managers with built-in reminders, resulting in faster turnaround.

70% of reports approved within 12 hours
Real-time policy checks ensure compliance without manual effort

Built to Scale

As Ambrosia grows, Fyle provides centralized visibility into spending across all locations.

400+ expenses tracked monthly in real time
Custom exports simplify reconciliation with Dynamics GP
Budget alerts prevent overspending

"Our overall reimbursement process went from slow and clunky to quick and efficient. Our team members' favorite feature? Snapping a receipt and having the expense pre-coded automatically."

— Reuben Rentas, VP of Finance and Accounting