A lot can happen in the blink of an eye. While that expression is usually just a metaphor, in the case of blinkcns, it’s literally the foundation of their business. Biotech company blinkcns is pioneering blink reflex technology that uses puffs of air to induce a blink that results in real-time objective data. With EyeStat, their FDA-cleared technology, their mission is to improve the detection and management of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and migraines as well as other conditions like concussions and ADHD. In a blink.
The potential impact of blinkcns’ technology is partially what inspired Crystal Jefferson to join the team nearly two years ago. Jefferson, whose official title is Accountant, wears many additional hats—from bookkeeper to Director of Finance to Head of HR. “It’s an exciting industry,” she says. “This device has the potential to really help communities—and provide this important help faster.”
To help them achieve their potential and efficiently run their operations, blinkcns set their sights on BILL.
When Jefferson came on board in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she recognized pretty quickly that in order to help the team of scientists, innovators, and creatives at blinkcns to succeed, the company needed to streamline their back-office finance operations.
Blinkcns manages over 100 bills per month, from office supplies to utility bills, software, and the wide range of parts, pieces, and equipment required to build their hardware devices. According to Jefferson, “We are constantly buying new supplies, almost daily.” With such a high payment volume, things can get complicated, pretty fast. “With so many bills coming in, I had to package them all together, send them off for approval, and chase down and track approvals. I then had to contact the bank to send out wires or checks,” she says. With such a multi-step process, Jefferson summarizes the experience by saying, “We knew some things needed to change.”
She focused her search online for a payment solution that would speed up the AP process, simplify approvals, and provide necessary back-up documentation for audit purposes. Her search led her to BILL.
“BILL was exactly what we needed in terms of expediting our AP process, streamlining our approval process, and providing an audit trail.” — Crystal Jefferson, Accountant, blinkcns
“BILL was exactly what we needed in terms of expediting our AP process, streamlining our approval process, and providing an audit trail,” Jefferson says. “Plus it offered ‘a little bit extra,’ things I didn’t even know I was looking for—like smart entry for a faster transition from invoice to bill.” And the mobile app was a bonus too. Jefferson adds: “I have the BILL app on my phone and it’s great. If I’m away from the desk, I can still pay the bills. It helps me keep things moving.”
Blinkcns started with a free trial of BILL and, according to Jefferson, “30 days was more than enough time to see that BILL was the AP solution for us.” The leadership team was quickly convinced to convert to a subscription. Jefferson explains, “The adoption process was easy. We had BILL set up quickly, everyone was registered, and we were all in love.”
Since becoming a customer in June 2021, the results have been dramatic. “I don’t have to do manual entries anymore. I used to spend up to two days a month making payment entries to balance accounts. With BILL, it takes me just two hours to get through all my payments to balance accounts,” Jefferson says.
“I used to spend up to two days a month making payment entries. With BILL, it takes me just two hours to get through all my payments to balance accounts.” — Crystal Jefferson, Accountant, blinkcns
And BILL makes for a shorter monthly close as well. “Closing out the books used to take me a week or even 10 days. Now with Bill.com it takes me just two days,” Jefferson confirms.
Senior management is a big fan of the benefits of BILL as well, particularly the simplified approval process. Ryan Fiorini, CTO and cofounder of blinkcns says, “BILL makes approvals very easy. I like the notifications I get to go review a bill. And it makes life very easy when others are out of the office; each person gets the request and just signs off. Most of our bills are approved by 2-3 people within 15 minutes of being posted.” In short, “BILL saves us a ton of time.”
The simplified approval workflows are Jefferson’s favorite feature of BILL as well. “Before BILL, approvals were so confusing. Now I can just take a look, easily see if a bill has been approved, and we’re good to go.”
Blinkcns also appreciates all those “extras” that BILL offers, such as its built-in artificial intelligence for invoice entry. “Once I upload an invoice, thanks to BILL’s AI, all the important invoice data just pops in,” Jefferson says. “There’s so much less manual entry. I just have to make sure everything is correct and going to the right accounts, and that’s it.”
“Once I upload an invoice, thanks to BILL’s AI, all the important invoice data just pops in. There’s so much less manual entry.” — Crystal Jefferson, Accountant, blinkcns
The seamless 2-way integration with QuickBooks is also a great perk. “The BILL sync with QuickBooks was easy to get going, and once we set it up everything just started dropping in. It’s been perfect.”
BILL’s option to Pay By Card is of interest to Jefferson as well. “Now that I see that I can pay by credit card with BILL, I’m going to go ahead and link that up. The fees are minimal—the same as they’d be with any credit card—and it will save us time and help us better manage cash flow. BILL Pay By Card is a great option for a startup like ours because it helps us extend our cash availability.”
“BILL Pay By Card is a great option for a startup like ours because it helps us extend our cash availability.” — Crystal Jefferson, Accountant, blinkcns
As with many biotech startups, blinkcns has plans to eventually go public or be acquired. From a back office perspective, they’re ready; Jefferson says, “Automating our accounts payable with BILL hasn’t just saved us time, but it’s given me confidence that our books are accurate.”
In the meantime they continue to find success as they refine their technology and business model. Continuously finetuning what the “fingerprint” of the blink reflex looks like in patients with neurological disease and conditions, blinkcns’ technology is a game changer.
And BILL has been a game changer for their AP processes.
“BILL provides a great service for a startup like ours. With the time it has freed up, I’ve been able to give more attention to other corporate priorities like establishing company policies and procedures,” Jefferson says. Admittedly, BILL doesn’t enable bill payment with just a blink of the eye, but it’s close. According to Jefferson, “I just click a button and bills are paid.”
