Sherlok is Australia’s first & only AI-driven retention and refinance platform helping mortgage brokers keep existing clients engaged, happy and retained for longer. Founded by award-winning mortgage broker Adam Grocke, Sherlok became an Archa customer in early 2021. We spoke with Grocke about how his business came to use Archa and how Archa helps his business day to day.

“It was one of those ‘the system is broken’ moments”

As Sherlok scaled up, Founder & CEO Adam Grocke identified the need to establish an expense and spend management process for his business. However, like many similar businesses in their position, there was one fairly substantial challenge…

“Being a startup, we flat out couldn’t get our own Corporate Credit Card,” Grocke said. “What blew my mind was that we not only spoke with two of the big 4 banks, but also with the bank that I’d used for another business I was running, and even they couldn’t help us, even with the small credit limit that we needed at that time. It was crazy.”

The only option for Sherlok was to ask the team to spend on their personal cards and be reimbursed once a month, something Grocke was uncomfortable doing. 

“As a company, I think it’s a bit rich to ask someone, especially your key senior employees, to use their own money to pay for business expenses, then force them through a horrendous reimbursement process. It’s slow, it’s complicated, and it also doesn’t make business sense. 

“We’re now pushing all of our business spending through Archa”

Grocke was introduced to Archa at a leading Fintech event and was immediately drawn to both the simplicity and adaptability of Archa’s solution, which were crucial requirements to keep up with the fast-paced and changing nature of his startup.

“For Archa specifically, I can easily issue new team member’s their own cards or close cards for those that no longer need them. That process alone with the bank would have previously taken 7+ days and was always super clunky. With Archa, it’s literally a few clicks or taps, and it’s done.”   

Sherlok have now issued cards to all senior team members, with a view that Archa as a platform will scale with their business as they grow and hire more employees. Currently, employees pay their business expenses, from domestic flights and client entertainment to everyday software subscriptions and merchandise, with their Archa cards. Grocke said this helps free up staff to focus on higher-value tasks.

“We have a clear strategy within the business to automate our lowest cost items. I don’t want our Sales or Marketing teams spending 1-2 hours a week submitting expenses when that time can be better spent converting more sales and getting more customers. By issuing them their own Archa card, they have that time to focus on those higher-value tasks” 

For more information about Archa, view our pricing plans or speak with an Archa expert.