Imperium records 8x ROI over 8 years with Zoho Expense

The Company

Imperium helps enterprises across Asia move faster and smarter through digital transformation. With deep expertise in cybersecurity, automation, and data analytics, they work closely with banks, government agencies, and global enterprises to deliver solutions that are not just secure, but smart.

Their mission is simple: help businesses reach their potential while protecting what matters most. Whether it's cutting down false alerts with AI or enabling real-time insights through advanced monitoring, their team of 50 brings energy, curiosity, and a commitment to growth into everything they do.

The Challenge

With a travel-heavy, distributed workforce, managing expenses wasn't just time-consuming; it was draining resources across the board. With more than 98% of employees regularly submitting claims, most of them on the move or working remotely, the HR team was struggling to keep up. Receipts came in manually, submissions were delayed, and approvals often stretched out for days.

It used to take me two full days to just go through pending claims. I'd be checking receipts, comparing them with company policies, and cross-verifying amounts, dates, and vendor details—and that was just one part of my job.

Patricia Sy-Duque,

CHRA, Imperium

But slow approvals were only the beginning. Without proper pre-approval workflows, employees often booked travel that didn't align with policy. Expense data was scattered, making it hard to identify trends or negotiate with vendors. Duplicate claims occasionally slipped through, and without a real-time system, reconciling with payroll took weeks. Their team lacked both control and visibility—especially when it came to non-compliant spends.

Disconnected tools left the team flying blind.

There were gaps everywhere—from visibility to compliance. We knew we had to shift to a system that gave us clarity and control without slowing anyone down.

Patricia Sy-Duque,

CHRA, Imperium

The Solution

When Imperium rolled out Zoho Expense in 2017, the immediate goal was to simplify travel expense reimbursements for their fast-moving team. But as their business rapidly expanded across cybersecurity, automation, and professional services, Zoho Expense scaled right alongside, evolving into a central platform for managing everything from travel claims to monthly medical reimbursements and internal cost control.

Travel plays a critical role in their operations—from trip requests and bookings to tagging expenses against clients or projects. With real-time spend alerts and configurable budgets by department or project head, teams stay aligned and accountable without micromanagement.

Approvals stay on track even during absences. With multi-level workflows and delegated access, alternate approvers can take charge without slowing things down. Admins can also act on behalf of leaders, ensuring continuity.

Role-based policies, soft and hard rules, and category-wise limits now guide employees clearly, reducing back-and-forths while ensuring compliance. The HR team has complete visibility and control, stopping overspend before it happens.

Employees benefit too. Manual entry is no longer a pain point; the autoscan feature captures details like dates, amounts, and categories automatically, even across formats from different countries.

The real shift came from combining AI-powered autoscan and smart, policy-driven controls—transforming expense management from a recurring bottleneck into a business enabler.

Now, it's as simple as check, compare, and approve claims—all at a glance. I don't have to chase receipts or switch between systems. Everything I need is right there on one screen. If the autoscan feature didn't exist, most people would forget to submit their claims. Now it takes just minutes.

Patricia Sy-Duque,

CHRA, Imperium

Claims are now submitted and reimbursed within a week, eliminating the end-of-month backlog. Their HR admin team uses custom reports to track expenses by department or category, monitor recurring costs, and manage budgets more proactively.

On the compliance side, Zoho Expense automatically flags duplicates, expired claims, or previously reimbursed entries. AI-powered auditing ensures the team is always audit-ready without the extra overhead.

For the first time, we're not reacting—we're making decisions with clarity. Zoho Expense gives us that control.

Patricia Sy-Duque,

CHRA, Imperium

Benefits and ROI

By shifting to Zoho Expense, Imperium transformed a time-intensive process into a streamlined, strategic advantage—one that empowers their HR team to move faster, stay compliant, and support a 98% on-the-go workforce without compromise.

What used to take days of chasing receipts and manual checks now takes just five seconds. Payroll runs faster, audits are easier, and employees feel confident their claims won't get lost. For an IT company like ours, where speed and accuracy are key, this has made a huge difference.

Patricia Sy-Duque,

CHRA, Imperium

• 5-second approvals: With the flexible delegation rules and custom roles, approvals now happen in seconds—even when managers are unavailable.
• AI-powered submissions: Auto scan eliminates manual entry, capturing dates, categories, and currencies from receipts, making claim submissions quick, accurate, and stress-free.
• Built-in compliance: The system flags duplicate claims, expired receipts, and policy violations in real time, keeping expense workflows clean and audit-ready.
• Real-time spend visibility and control: Their CHRA gets detailed reports by department, client, and claim type, helping set smarter budgets and control costs like transport reimbursements.
• Global-ready capabilities: The platform supports different receipt formats across countries, speeds up payroll, and ensures employees get reimbursed on time every month.

Today, with expense processing that's faster than ever, 98% workforce adoption, and near-instant approvals, Zoho Expense gives Imperium clarity, compliance, and control—all without adding complexity.