Rockbuilding: financial control in site-based project environments

Managing projects in site-based environments means managing complexity. Multiple stakeholders, distributed teams, constant travel, and decisions that can’t wait for month-end closing.

This is the context in which Rockbuilding operates - a project management company overseeing demanding developments, where financial rigor and visibility are just as critical as meeting deadlines.

The challenge: control and efficiency in a growing company

As Rockbuilding grew, it became essential to simplify, digitize, and accelerate employee expense management. With multiple projects running simultaneously and teams frequently on site, the company faced challenges common to site-based operations:

• Expenses linked to different projects and cost centers
• Invoices and receipts arriving through multiple channels
• Overly manual validation and approval processes
• Slow, manual employee reimbursements
• Limited real-time visibility into project-level costs

"Rockbuilding is growing, and the process that worked with seven employees no longer works with 50. It was bureaucratic, slow, and harder to control. There was a clear need to improve the entire process and gain greater control,” explains Catarina Realista, Finance Manager at Rockbuilding.

‍

Less friction on site, more control in management

The priority was clear: simplify the experience and speed up reimbursements for teams on site, while strengthening financial control across projects.

Rockbuilding was looking for a solution that enabled:

• Fast expense submission in site-based contexts
• Easy and accurate allocation of expenses to the correct projects
• Quick approvals and reimbursements
• Clear visibility by project
• Integration with existing financial systems

All without adding bureaucracy to teams already operating under pressure.

"We manage several projects and many employees, which adds a lot of complexity. With Paynest, it’s very easy to assign expenses to the correct project, and that’s extremely important for us. We need to know each project’s overall costs in real time,” says Catarina Realista.

‍

The solution: control, simplicity, and speed

Rockbuilding chose Paynest as its employee expense management platform, bringing structure and automation to a naturally dynamic environment.

"Paynest offers a modern, fast, intuitive, and accessible app. The AI alerts are extremely helpful in identifying situations that require more attention. The change and integration with our accounting system were smooth, and all employees gave very positive feedback,” she adds.

‍

📱 Expenses submitted directly on site

With the Paynest app, teams started submitting expenses in real time. Automatic invoice reading, accurate mileage calculation for travel, and instant alerts for inconsistencies reduced errors, corrections, and time spent on administrative tasks.

⚡ Simple approvals, no noise

The finance team now validates expenses continuously throughout the month — instead of concentrating the process on a single day — directly within the platform. Clear approval flows and AI-powered validations allow compliant expenses to be approved in bulk, eliminating email back-and-forth.

💰 Faster reimbursements

Employees now receive reimbursements within up to two days after expense submission, compared to up to 20 days previously.

📊 Real-time financial control by project

Management gained a consolidated and up-to-date view of employee expenses by project, enabling informed decisions while projects are ongoing — not only at the end.

🔗 Seamless integration and effortless month-end close

Customizing the platform to Rockbuilding’s cost structure and ERP reduced implementation friction and made every month-end close faster and simpler.

‍

More control, less operational burden

With Paynest, Rockbuilding achieved:

• A drastic reduction in manual work related to employee expenses
• Greater financial rigor and project-level control
• An improved experience for teams on site
• Decision-making supported by reliable, real-time data

In site-based environments, where every decision directly impacts costs and timelines, this level of visibility makes all the difference. Paynest became an extension of the finance team, ensuring control and efficiency even in highly complex operational contexts.

‍