Red Cross Austria

Austria’s largest NGO, the Austrian Red Cross, has been at the heart of humanitarian aid since 1880. With over 10,000 employees and 75,000 volunteers delivering critical services, ranging from disaster relief to emergency medical transport and international aid, their work touches countless lives every year. Teams are stationed in countries worldwide, ready to act swiftly in response to crises. To do this, they need immediate access to funds on the ground, as even minor delays can mean critical setbacks in life-saving work.

Facing Administrative Overload in a Growing Humanitarian Organisation

Managing the finances of such a large and complex organisation came with significant challenges, particularly as the organisation continued to expand. The finance team, responsible for overseeing the expenses of over 600 employees, many of whom work internationally, found themselves buried under ever-growing stacks of spreadsheets, receipts, and manual expense reports. From paramedics to volunteers, everyone needed to file their expenses. Their system, heavily reliant on Excel, had become more of a burden than a solution.
The team was pouring countless hours into managing expenses manually, time they could have spent on strategic initiatives to directly support those on the ground, whether in Ukraine, during the Covid-19 pandemic, or at other critical sites where aid was urgently needed. “We were spending our time on administrative tasks instead of focusing on our mission,” Gabriela Loreth-Kurz, Head of the Finance Team at Red Cross Austria, explains.
As a non-governmental organisation, Red Cross Austria is also held to high standards of financial transparency. Public trust and donor confidence depend on clear, accessible records of how funds are used— this added an extra layer of complexity to an already strained system. They needed a solution that could handle the complexity of spend management, compliance, and reporting while upholding transparency, accountability, and quick access to funds for teams working in some of the world’s most hostile areas.

Empowerment Through Perk’s End-to-End Automation

Determined to find a better way forward, the Austrian Red Cross turned to Perk to transform their outdated processes. They implemented Perk’s Expense and Pay modules for easy, trackable employee spending.
The entire process, from receipt uploads to final approvals, is now fully automated, significantly reducing the time and effort required from the finance team. Employees and volunteers upload receipts directly into the system, while AI operates as a second set of eyes, enforcing strict compliance rules, detecting any anomalies, and ensuring complete transparency across every transaction.
Using Perk’s virtual cards has made spending not only trackable and flexible but also responsive to real-time needs in the field. Every transaction is recorded instantly, giving the finance team full visibility and control—no matter where the spending occurs.
With Perk integrated into the Red Cross’ ERP system, each expense is now automatically logged, reducing manual errors and saving valuable time. The finance team can access detailed reports at the click of a button, simplifying the process of financial disclosure.

Maximising Time and Resources for Global Humanitarian Efforts

The impact of implementing Perk was both immediate and significant. What once took days is now processed in a fraction of the time, thanks to Perk’s automated workflows. “We’ve created more capacity for the team, reduced time spent on admin, and can now track every euro spent across the organisation,” Gabriela explains.

The 70 Perk cards in circulation have given employees the flexibility to make global transactions while in the field, all while maintaining full financial transparency. With delays no longer an obstacle, Red Cross Austria’s teams on the ground can act faster, confident that financial resources will be there when they need them most.

With Perk, the Red Cross’s mission of delivering swift and critical aid is now fully supported by efficient, transparent financial processes, enabling them to continue their life-saving work with fewer administrative constraints. “We’re no longer tied up with expense management,” Gabriela added. “Now we’re able to focus on more strategic initiatives, supporting our mission and our people on the ground.”