Gainsight is a high-growth software company that is redefining the landscape of Customer Success. However, with fast growth also comes operational hurdles – especially for revenue recognition

Gainsight found themselves in a far from ideal situation. “Revenue is something that you don’t want to worry about,” states Karl Mosgofian, CIO of Gainsight. “You want to have confidence in the data, but having various components working together did not give that comfort feeling.” 

Manual calculations took team members’ time away from pursuing more strategic initiatives. Audits were time-consuming as data that had been calculated manually had to be recalculated to ensure accuracy of the results. During these recalculations, errors would sometimes surface, prompting the need for manual adjustments. “It was a huge time sink for IT team members, who were trying, in parallel, to stay on top of their regular responsibilities,” explains Mosgofian. “Beyond IT, others were spending so much time doing normal revenue processing, rather than thinking more strategically or exploring different business models.” The Accounting team was significantly impacted as it was challenging to complete basic, yet critical tasks, including closing a quarter.

Gainsight chose Zuora Revenue to automate the company’s revenue-related processes and provide more accurate revenue reporting. “People want a revenue system that they feel is bulletproof and that they can count on, so they aren’t constantly having to worry about double-checking data,” states Mosgofian. “Zuora Revenue was the best solution that fits our business model”

Gainsight relied heavily on Zuora Professional Services for guidance when it came to configuration of Zuora Revenue. “Part of the trick with a project like this was that we didn’t necessarily know what questions to ask because the solution was new to us,” explains Mosgofian. “Having the Zuora Revenue experts to guide us was helpful as they could rely on their past experience when providing us with advice and best practices.” This guidance helped Gainsight decide when to use default settings, and when to pursue customizations.

With Zuora Revenue in place, Gainsight now has access to many features and functionality that have had a positive impact on their business. Gainsight uses Zuora Revenue to automate and scale contract modifications, linking and delinking use cases, mass updates and more. The team has confidence in the data presented in Zuora Revenue’s reports, improved visibility into revenue recognized, and more accurate revenue forecasting. Team members also appreciate access to features that were lacking in their previous system, including SSP functionality, mass allocations, short-term and long-term calculations, as well as contract asset and contract liability splits. 

Gainsight is now in a position where they can run the company’s day-to-day revenue without placing undue burden on employees. 

“We have already benefited from significant time savings and cost savings with Zuora Revenue,” explains Anna Lee, Director of Revenue. “From contract modifications being calculated automatically to mass updates on data using the solution’s user-friendly interface, Zuora Revenue has been a game-changer for our organization.” 

Faster month-end close: The amount of time required to complete month-end close has been reduced by approximately 30 percent. According to Lee, “We’ve gone from closing Revenue using best estimates to closing them properly and rolling the numbers forward to the next month, giving us a good starting point.” Lee looks forward to the day when they can close the books on day zero.

Reduction in errors: Fewer errors have resulted in fewer questions being asked by top management and the Board because there is more confidence in the accuracy of the data provided. When questions are asked, it takes less time to answer them thanks to access to real-time data. On the occasion when an error surfaces, it is easy to identify using a log in Zuora Revenue.

Improved reporting: Lee appreciates Zuora Revenue’s extensive reporting capabilities. “In our old world, producing basic operational, day-to-day reports had to be done in Excel,” explains Lee. “Now I can easily and quickly pull a report in RevPro, and rely on the data.” The timeliness of the information, combined with the improved visibility, has also improved agility in the business.  

Less time required to complete an audit: By implementing Zuora Revenue, Gainsight was able to complete an audit in half the time that it used to take. “Being able to do an audit with more accurate data saves us both time and money,” says Lee.

More time for strategic work: With many revenue-related processes now automated, Gainsight’s team members are spending more time on revenue analysis and strategic initiatives, such as thinking about different business models. 

As Gainsight continues its impressive growth trajectory, expands into new geographies, and introduces new business models, Zuora Revenue will serve as the backbone of the company’s revenue recognition. The Gainsight team is now eager to focus on improving front-end systems and the data flowing into Zuora Revenue as part of the path towards continuous improvement and enhanced automation.