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.