Oxygen Advisors cuts time spent recharging Xero and ApprovalMax by ~73%

Before Rechargly, Oxygen Advisors was managing software disbursements for Xero and ApprovalMax through a manual process involving spreadsheets, CSV exports, and reconciliations. With 100+ clients and growing demand for advisory services, the admin burden was increasing. Tracking pricing changes and ensuring accurate billing required constant attention, and mistakes often led to missed revenue or awkward client conversations.

Since implementing Rechargly, software billing has been automated and unbundled from service packages. The firm has reduced admin time by 73%, recovered previously missed charges, and introduced a more transparent billing structure for clients. 

At-a-glance stats

• Firm size: 100+ clients
• Location: Auckland, New Zealand (servicing AU & NZ)
• Client type: High-growth startups and scaleups
• Core systems: Xero, ApprovalMax
• Key outcome: Automated and unbundled software billing with improved accuracy
• Efficiency gain: 73% reduction in admin time (3–4 hours to ~15 minutes per month)

Before: What life looked like pre-change

Context

Founded in 2014 in Auckland, Oxygen Advisors provides accounting and virtual CFO services to high-growth startups across New Zealand and Australia.

As the firm scaled, so did the number of software subscriptions tied to client work, particularly Xero and ApprovalMax. These subscriptions needed to be tracked, allocated, and billed accurately each month.

However, the systems used to manage this had not evolved with the firm’s growth.

Old workflow

Software disbursements were handled manually each month. The process typically looked like this:

• Vendor invoices were downloaded
• Data was extracted via CSV files
• Charges were tracked and updated in spreadsheets
• Transactions were manually reconciled
• Fees were bundled into client invoices

On a good month, this process took two to three hours. If there were pricing updates, plan changes, or discrepancies, it took even longer.

Where the process broke down

Bundled pricing created visibility issues

Software costs were bundled into fixed client fees, making it difficult to:

• Track individual subscription changes
• Adjust pricing when vendors updated plans
• Clearly show clients what they were paying for

This reduced transparency and made ongoing management harder.

Manual tracking increased workload

Every change required manual intervention. The team had to:

• Monitor pricing updates across platforms
• Update spreadsheets manually
• Reconcile differences between invoices and records

As the client base grew, this became increasingly time-consuming.

Revenue leakage and client friction

Errors were common. If pricing changes were missed:

• Clients were undercharged, resulting in lost revenue
• Or the team had to go back and request additional payments

"It always felt clunky and incomplete. If we did not pick up on changes in time, we either lost money or had to ask clients to pay extra later, which was not a great look." — Chris Morgan, Co-CEO, Oxygen Advisors

The trigger

The team was not reacting to a single breaking point. Instead, the growing admin burden and recurring billing issues made it clear the process was not sustainable.

They needed a way to standardise software billing, reduce manual work, and improve accuracy as the firm continued to scale.

During: How the firm made the change

Implementation

Rechargly allowed Oxygen Advisors to automate software disbursements and separate them from fixed service pricing.

This meant:

• Subscription data could be tracked centrally
• Charges could be automatically assigned to the correct clients
• Billing could run without manual intervention

"We have completely removed the need to track this manually." — Chris Morgan, Co-CEO, Oxygen Advisors

Unbundling software fees

A key change was separating software costs from service packages.

Instead of bundling fees into invoices, software charges were:

• Tracked independently
• Billed transparently
• Updated automatically when plans changed

This improved both internal clarity and client visibility.

ApprovalMax integration

ApprovalMax was already part of the firm’s workflow for managing invoice approvals.

Before Rechargly:

• ApprovalMax disbursements were tracked manually
• Added another layer of admin

With Rechargly:

• The team receives a reminder
• Uploads the CSV
• Charges are automatically assigned to clients

"Now, we just get a reminder from Rechargly, upload the CSV, and everything is assigned automatically. It saves a whole lot of time." — Chris Morgan, Co-CEO, Oxygen Advisors

The new playbook

The updated workflow is significantly simpler:

• Software subscriptions are tracked centrally
• Rechargly assigns charges to clients automatically
• Billing runs without manual reconciliation
• Clients are billed transparently for actual usage

The process no longer depends on spreadsheets or manual checks.

After: Results + proof

What changed (Before to After)

‍

Day-to-day impact

The finance team now spends a fraction of the time managing software disbursements.

Instead of downloading invoices, updating spreadsheets, and reconciling data, the process is largely automated. The biggest difference is consistency. Pricing changes are captured automatically, and billing runs without needing constant oversight.

Business impact

The shift has delivered immediate operational and financial benefits:

• ~73% reduction in admin time
• ~$2.4K NZD recovered annually from missed charges
• Improved billing accuracy across 100+ clients
• More transparent pricing for clients

The team can now focus more on advisory work instead of admin-heavy billing tasks.

Bottom line

Oxygen Advisors replaced a manual, error-prone billing process with an automated and scalable system. By unbundling software fees and centralising subscription management, the firm reduced admin time, improved accuracy, and recovered lost revenue while freeing up capacity to focus on higher-value client work.