Ramp (now valued at $13 Billion last we checked) has been transforming corporate finance by offering an easy but powerful platform that blends intelligent corporate cards, automated expense management, and AI-driven insights designed to manage costs. It's become an extremely useful go-to for startups and growing businesses (now over 30,000 companies) - and something finance professionals should be aware of and possible consider we think.
The case for Ramp is a very compelling: 1.5% unlimited cashback for your company on all card spend, automated expense management, robust corporate cards (issued for free), ACH Payments (so think all of your Accounts Payable), and its AI-driven platform delivers significant cost savings by identifying inefficiencies in software subscriptions and other areas of spend.
Ideal For:
- Startups and growing businesses (a go-to for many high-growth startups)
- Companies seeking to optimize financial operations and reduce waste.
- Companies looking for software spend insights.
Core Benefits:
- Intelligent Corporate Cards:
- Real-time spend controls and automated policy enforcement.
- Detailed transaction data for enhanced spend analysis and insights
- 1.5% Cashback: on all card spending - pretty great
- Automated Expense Management:
- Automated receipt matching and coding.
- Streamlined month-end close
- AI-Driven Spend Analysis:
- Comprehensive dashboards and reports for clear financial visibility. These are really slick and insightful for monitoring spend type/cash flow.
- AI-Powered Cost Comparisons: Ramp identifies areas of overspending, especially in recurring software subscriptions, and provides direct comparisons to market averages. This enables users to see where they are overspending, and helps find cost savings.
- Bill Payments and Vendor Management:
- Streamlined accounts payable and automated approvals. Sounds simple, but those in the business know this can be a huge pain point.
- Not just a credit card - you can also make ACH transfers to have your AP in one place.
- Comprehensive Financial Integration: Ramp provides robust software spend management by identifying unused subscriptions, simplifies travel expense tracking, and offers seamless integration with leading accounting software, ensuring a unified financial ecosystem (NetSuite, Xero, Quickbooks)
Key Features:
- User-friendly interface and rapid onboarding, responsive customer support.
- Cost: Core platform (cards and expense management) is FREE; their revenue from interchange fees so no out of pockets unlike Concur
- *Minimums: A minimum of $25,000 in a linked business bank account is typically required. There are some expections, but this platform probably isn't for you if your company isn't there yet.
- Card Issuance:
- Employees are issued Visa corporate cards through Ramp's platform.
- Administrators can quickly provision both physical and virtual cards.
- Virtual cards can be generated instantly, providing immediate access for online purchases or subscriptions.
- Physical card delivery times vary, but are typically very quick.
- Ramp allows for very granular control over each card, allowing for limits, and specific vendor controls.
Impact:
Ramp empowers businesses to make data-driven financial decisions, freeing up resources for growth. The AI cost comparisons are a huge benefit, and the 1.5% cashback adds significant value.
