For Jennifer Bauman, Chief Financial Officer at AE3 Architecture + CM, confidence has always been part of her blueprint for success. From her roots as a percussionist for Vanguard Music and Performing Arts, home of the Santa Clara Vanguard and Vanguard Cadets, to her career as an accountant, then CFO, and finally to her service as President of the Board of Vanguard and co-host of the Vanguard Leadership Podcast, confidence has driven her to effect meaningful change in every phase of her life. When Bauman started at AE3, she knew that implementing automated accounts payable with BILL would give her—and the firm—the confidence to change their financial operations for the better.
AE3 is a 100% African American-owned architectural firm based in the Bay Area. As one of the largest minority owned architecture firms on the West Coast, this award-winning firm has supported over 110 clients since 2007, designing everything from high-end residences to commercial and civic projects, including churches and schools. Their portfolio of projects span through California, including terminal improvements in the Oakland and San Francisco airports, the new Merritt Community College Child Development Center, to the new LACCD West Los Angeles Plant Facilities & Shops Replacement project.
When Bauman took over as CFO, she realized that when it came to finances, AE3 was still using old practices. “When I came to the firm, I was shocked to find that the principals were still signing paper checks,” Bauman recalls. “Architecture and construction is still an industry that is slow to change.”
Bauman knew that the firm needed to make a change. “When you’re owners of a small firm, you have to wear a lot of hats,” she explains. “The last thing you need to do is come to the office on a day you don’t need to be there and sign a stack of checks. And the people who need to be paid shouldn’t have to wait for that process, either.”
Bauman used BILL at her previous company, so it was a no-brainer to make the switch at AE3. “There was no way I was keeping us with the paper check run process,” Bauman says. Automation would be transformative not just for the Finance department, but for the whole firm.
“The movement of money and the speed at which it moves is so vital to the success of all of us,” says Bauman. “It was revolutionary to send quick ACH payments to vendors overnight with BILL.” Within a week after starting as CFO, Bauman converted the firm to BILL. “It went over smoothly and the learning curve is pretty much flat. It’s very easy to use and there’s nothing intimidating about it,” explains Bauman. “Switching to BILL was one of the first, most impactful moves I made after I came on board as CFO. It was great to be able to add value so quickly.”
Once BILL had been implemented, Bauman immediately had more control over their accounts payable (AP) process, especially when it came to paying vendors and subcontractors.
Before BILL, if a vendor misplaced or forgot to deposit a check, Bauman would have to spend an hour researching to figure out where it was in the cashing process. Now, she can find out in two clicks whether the check has been deposited.
“The movement of money and the speed at which it moves is so vital to the success of all of us. It was revolutionary to send quick ACH payments to vendors overnight with BILL.” — Jennifer Bauman, CFO, AE3 Architecture + CM
“You have complete control over everything with BILL, including knowing exactly when a payment is going to be deposited. That kind of certainty is incredibly powerful, especially for a small business,” says Bauman.
AE3 works with many vendors, which makes managing their AP process quite complex. “Sometimes we'll have one vendor that works on multiple projects for us, with multiple clients,” Bauman says. “So when it's time to reconcile and check who has been paid, traditionally that could take a whole day.” This speed is also critical as the firm can be managing anywhere from 10 to 20 projects at a time.
With BILL, Bauman can see the exact history of who has been paid for which project. The vendor can also see when the payment has been sent because they get an email notification. This cuts down on Bauman’s email time, because when a vendor is notified that the payment is on its way, they don’t need to email her again.
The time savings with BILL quickly started paying dividends for Bauman.
“It’s very easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of AP tasks, and the next thing you know, 30 days have gone by and you haven’t checked your progress against your long-term goals,” says Bauman.
“BILL frees up my mental capacity to look toward future horizons. With the time savings, I get to focus on a lot of strategic planning, and long-term vision.”
“You have complete control over everything with BILL, including knowing exactly when a payment is going to be deposited. That kind of certainty is incredibly powerful, especially for a small business.” — Jennifer Bauman, CFO, AE3 Architecture + CM
BILL has increased accuracy, which makes it much faster and easier to resolve disputes with vendors. “The BILL search is fantastic and super accurate,” says Bauman. “I just search and find the vendor, open up their history. In three seconds, I can resolve any questions from vendors and my team.”
The accuracy of BILL also helps Bauman and AE3 build trust with vendors. “When I tell a vendor that I’m processing their payment at the end of the month, I’m certain that I can follow through on that promise,” says Bauman. “Being able to keep my word is important to me, and BILL makes it possible because it is so on time.”
The thoughtful design of BILL’s software really shines through for Bauman. For example, the integration with QuickBooks Online was seamless. “Integrating products from two SaaS companies can be a terrifying prospect,” Bauman admits. “Out of all the software integrations I have ever completed, BILL was the easiest. The two-way sync between QuickBooks and BILL is fantastic. If I need to pay a vendor, I can quickly input it and then sync to QuickBooks. It takes less than a minute.”
The artificial intelligence (AI) behind BILL also makes the automation even more powerful.
“I love the BILL AI and that it gets better every year. When I first started using BILL seven years ago, the AI was already pretty good, but I’ve noticed it sort of silently getting more accurate and faster every year,” Bauman adds. “I love the predictive technology of BILL. The anticipation of my keystrokes is a huge help.”
Looking at the bigger picture, BILL completely changed AE3’s financial operations, including allowing them to become a fully remote workplace.
“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, we went fully remote, which was scary for an architectural firm, which traditionally relies on their office space as a showcase and a marketing tool,” recalls Bauman. “But in just 18 hours, we moved the entire finance function fully remote with no loss of productivity, thanks to BILL.”
The owners of the firm went from nervous to excited when they experienced the value of digital AP with BILL. “Our principals live in the East Bay, and are so glad they don’t have to cross the bridge into San Francisco to sign a stack of checks.”
“In just 18 hours, we moved the entire finance function fully remote with no loss of productivity, thanks to BILL.” — Jennifer Bauman, CFO, AE3 Architecture + CM
Over the years, Bauman’s confidence has enabled her to take big leaps. “I always thought board members and CFOs looked a certain way and sounded a certain way. But now I’ve been on the board of Vanguard for seven years and CFO at AE3 for over three years. I’m proud to represent girls that look like me, and show people: you can be a mom, you can have a partner, you can have a full-time career, and you can serve your community. And, you can do all these things and still be you. You don’t have to change anything about yourself to fit into a traditional idea of what you should be.”
Bauman’s advice for other small businesses who are considering finance automation is to not spend too much time considering it, but to simply do it. With BILL, a small leap makes for a big improvement: “The daunting thing about automating your AP process is the challenge of learning a new process,” says Bauman. “But with BILL, automating your finances seriously takes no time at all.”
