Fyle customer Heart of the Rockies Initiative hero image
Fyle customer Heart of the Rockies Initiative hero image

How Heart of the Rockies Streamlined Reconciliation and Mileage Tracking With Fyle

Non-profit / Conservation 11-50 Employees Missoula, MT
Emily Harkness

Emily Harkness

Community Engagement Manager

Essential Insights

70%

Receipts submitted within 3 hours of spend

8x

Increase in expense report submissions

73%

Reports approved within 12 hours

Heart of the Rockies Initiative is a nonprofit focused on large-scale land and water conservation across the Rocky Mountain region. By partnering with land trusts, agencies, and conservation groups, they help preserve wildlife habitats, protect working lands, and build climate resilience across the U.S. and Canadian Rockies.

With team members working remotely and across locations, managing daily expenses—like travel, supplies, and mileage reimbursements—became increasingly challenging. For Community Engagement Manager Emily Harkness, the goal was clear: simplify expense tracking so the team could focus on conservation, not receipts.

The Challenges

Manual Expense Tracking

Before Fyle, each employee had their own corporate Visa card. But tracking receipts and expenses was manual and time-consuming. Receipts were often misplaced or submitted late, making reconciliation a monthly hassle. It used to take about 4 hours every month to chase down receipts and match them to card transactions.

"We didn’t have an easy system to track expenses. Receipts got lost, and reconciling everything took too much time."

— JoAnn Grant, Managing Director

Occasional Mileage Reimbursements

Most purchases were card-based, but mileage reimbursements were still common. Without a mileage tracking tool, submissions were inconsistent and difficult to manage.

"For us, manually creating and combining staff mileage reports used to take several hours each month, and now I can have it completed in less than 5 minutes with Fyle."

— Emily Harkness, Community Engagement Manager

No Formal Approval Workflow

The organization had a policy in place for card usage, but no structured approval process. Each user was responsible for staying within their monthly limit, but the finance team still had to follow up on receipts and reports.

Complex Expense Coding

With around 30 GL codes and 5 classes mapped to QuickBooks Desktop, coding expenses accurately was another layer of admin work. Preparing reports for grants or board meetings required manually matching expenses to categories—a time-consuming process.

The Transformation with Fyle

For Emily and her team, the goal wasn’t just adopting new software—it was making expense management easier for everyone, without adding complexity.

Real-Time Card Feeds and Instant Receipt Capture

Now, every Visa transaction flows into Fyle in real time. As soon as a card is swiped, the user receives a text prompt to upload a receipt. This simple step eliminated much of the manual follow-up.

Today, 70% of receipts are submitted within 3 hours of the spend, drastically reducing lost receipts and speeding up reconciliation.

Mileage Tracking Made Simple

Fyle’s mileage tracking allows employees to log trips via the mobile app using Google Maps. Round trips, multiple stops, and IRS rate calculations are built in—ensuring fast, accurate submissions.

"Fyle has streamlined our expense management system, saved us time, and alleviated the headaches associated with losing physical receipts. The Fyle app and ability to text a receipt photo are our staff's favorite features."

— Emily Harkness, Community Engagement Manager

No Approval Bottlenecks, But Full Visibility

Emily didn’t want to enforce complex approval layers. Instead, she gained real-time visibility into pending receipts and unsubmitted expenses. With automated reminders, follow-ups are no longer a burden.

Seamless Accounting Exports

Fyle exports expenses in Excel or CSV formats, pre-coded with the right categories and classes. This simplified the QuickBooks Desktop workflow, saving time and improving reporting accuracy.

"As an admin, I really appreciate the excellent customer service and access to Fyle staff who can help me set up Fyle to best fit our organizational needs."

— Emily Harkness, Community Engagement Manager

The Outcome

Heart of the Rockies Initiative has turned expense management from a monthly hassle into a streamlined, reliable process:

  • Expense report submissions increased 8x between January and June.
  • 73% of reports are now approved within 12 hours, compared to multi-day delays before.
  • Real-time Visa feeds eliminate receipt chasing and manual statement matching.
  • Mileage reimbursements are now submitted and processed in minutes.
  • Admin time has dropped significantly, giving the team more time to focus on conservation.

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