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Chargetrip is an Amsterdam-based software company specializing in EV routing solutions for drivers and fleets across Europe and North America. Each month, Chargetrip routes about 20% of European EV drivers, facilitates 2.2 million charge sessions, and helps manage 32 GWh of energy worth €20 million in charging revenue. Their customers include major players like Shell, Ionity, Porsche, Hertz, and Engie. Chargetrip provides a variety of API services and white-label products for electric vehicle (EV) route planning, charging its clients a fee per successful API call.
Rising costs and legacy issues with the previous provider
Operating with an outdated, rigid financial tool that lacked modern flexibility, efficiency, and integration capabilities is no fun.
Before re:cap, Chargetrip relied on a well-known software for cash flow management. "We’ve mostly aimed to maintain our existing usage, while optimizing our processes and cost base where possible," explains Alex Sakakushev, Financial Controller at Chargetrip. However, the setup was starting to cause issues. These were two-fold:
- Legacy problems: despite raising concerns, Chargetrip’s issues with the provider were never fully addressed, leading to growing frustration and inefficiencies.
- Cost increases: the previous provider raised its fees steadily, which put pressure on Chargetrip’s cost-control strategy.
Chargetrip needed a solution that not only solved these problems but also provided more value and future-proofed their operations.
Replacing outdated with flexible, feature-rich software
"Just a couple of months before our renewal deadline, re:cap came into the picture at the perfect time," Alex says. Chargetrip was in search of an alternative that could at least match the functionality of their current tool. What they found went even a step further, both in terms of the technical capability, as well as the service offering.
For Alex, the decision to switch was driven by two factors:
- Modern architecture and efficiency: re:cap’s back-end and front-end systems were built from the ground up, offering greater agility and efficiency compared to the outdated provider.
- Comprehensive and regional integrations: re:cap offered exceptional value for money, with excellent customer support. The platform’s strong focus on the DACH and Benelux regions made it easy to integrate with essential platforms for process automation in SMEs.
How Chargetrip uses re:cap
Since adopting re:cap, Chargetrip has integrated all of their bank accounts, providing real-time cash flow monitoring and liquidity forecasting. Here’s how they use re:cap today:
- Bank integration: effortlessly consolidating 6 international bank accounts into one portal via automated bank transaction protocols supported by re:cap
- Transaction categorization: ensuring that all bank transactions are automatically categorized with a high degree of accuracy for seamless reporting and full overview.
- Cash flow management: preparing and analyzing cash flow statements for a clear overview of their financial health.
- Cash flow forecasting: creating future cash flow development scenarios to evaluate impact of planned business decisions on Chargetrip’s financial health, in light of recurring fundraising cycles
- Multi-entity management: as a multi-entity business, Chargetrip leverages re:cap’s ability to manage multiple legal entities and bank accounts, using consolidated and individual entity views for detailed internal and board-level financial reporting.
Better value for money, improved forecasting, and efficient reporting
Chargetrip now works more cost efficiently as Alex explains:
"Switching to re:cap has significantly reduced our operational costs while improving the overall value of their financial management system."
Overall, Alex estimates that, since implementing re:cap, Chargetrip has managed to reduce their hourly overhead in the cash flow preparation, review and forecasting processes by approximately 1 day per month.
With the ability to model future cash flow scenarios, Chargetrip now has a clearer understanding of their liquidity position, enabling more strategic decision-making. The same applies to reporting:
"Our monthly reporting is now much more efficient, with re:cap generating accurate, comprehensive reports without the need for manual processes," Alex explains.
For Chargetrip, switching to re:cap has meant better value for money, improved cash flow forecasting, and a more efficient reporting process. The transition away from an outdated provider has not only reduced costs but also provided a platform better suited to their current and future needs. With re:cap, Chargetrip is now better equipped to manage their liquidity and scale their business effectively.
