Spend Smarter: How to Identify Maverick Spend with Scale
Not all costs are where they should be. Maverick spend, duplicate vendors, and policy violations often fly under the radar – until it’s too late. Scale helps you find them early. 🔍 What Is Maverick Spend? Maverick spend is when employees purchase outside of approved channels, suppliers, or budgets —

Not all costs are where they should be. Maverick spend, duplicate vendors, and policy violations often fly under the radar – until it’s too late. Scale helps you find them early.
🔍 What Is Maverick Spend?
Maverick spend is when employees purchase outside of approved channels, suppliers, or budgets — either unknowingly or deliberately. Over time, this erodes compliance, dilutes negotiated savings, and exposes the organisation to risk.
Some common red flags:
- Purchases made outside approved catalogues or contracts
- Suppliers paid more than once for the same deliverable
- Inconsistent unit pricing across departments
- Approvals that happen after the purchase
🚩 The Hidden Risks Behind the Numbers
Even when spend appears normal, the hidden risks can include:
- Duplicate vendors with slightly altered names or details
- Contract leakage, where negotiated rates aren’t enforced
- Over-dependence on a single vendor without backup
- Untracked commitments that impact cash flow and planning
🛠️ How Scale Helps You Spend Smarter
Scale gives procurement and finance teams the ability to spot issues early — before they turn into audit flags or overspending.
Here’s how:
✅ All Spend Data in One Place
No more toggling between ERPs, email chains, and spreadsheets. Scale centralises every purchase request, approval, PO, and invoice – giving you a full audit trail.
✅ Smart Filters and Flags
Identify unapproved vendors, repeat transactions, or missed SLAs in seconds. Highlight purchases without matching PRs, RFx events, or contracts.
✅ Cross-Department Visibility
See how much each department or location is spending, on what, and with whom. Spot inconsistent pricing, duplicate vendors, or fragmented sourcing practices.
✅ Real-Time Alerts
Get notified when spend exceeds thresholds, bypasses policy, or violates vendor restrictions — so you can act before it’s too late.
📈 Use Cases
- Flagging Off-Contract Spend: An urgent laptop purchase was made without following the approved vendor list. Scale flags it instantly.
- Detecting Duplicate Vendors: Two vendors with similar names and tax info are detected in the system.
- Spotting Approval Gaps: A PR was approved after the PO was raised. Scale auto-flags it for review.
💡 Final Thought
Spend control isn’t just about approvals – it’s about visibility, traceability, and prevention.
With Scale, you don’t need to wait for an audit to know where the risks are. You’ll see them live – and fix them faster.