As charities face increasing pressure to do more with less, finance automation is emerging as a powerful tool to streamline operations, improve transparency, and free up valuable time and resources. From tackling manual processes to enhancing donor accountability, technology is reshaping how the sector manages its finances. In this interview, Charity Times editor Lauren Weymouth speaks with Phillip Douglas, CEO of Compleat Software, to explore how automation is helping charities overcome key challenges.

Founded in the UK in 2008, Compleat is a global SaaS company leading the way in AI-driven purchasing and accounts payable solutions, recognised by partners like Amazon Business.

At the helm is Douglas, a senior software executive with over 20 years of experience scaling SaaS businesses across the UK, Europe, and North America. A qualified accountant and software engineer, he combines technical expertise with strategic leadership to drive growth, develop new products, and build high-performing teams.

Passionate about innovation and continuous learning, Douglas champions a collaborative culture and excels at aligning business operations with market needs. Known for his calm, methodical approach, he inspires teams to thrive while delivering measurable results. His leadership is defined by a commitment to empowering others and turning vision into impactful, market-leading solutions.

Lauren: What would you say are charities’ biggest pain points with regards to their purchasing and finance automation journey?

Phillip: At Compleat Software, we see a few recurring challenges for charities and non-profits. Firstly, manual processes remain a significant hurdle. Many charities still rely heavily on paper invoices, spreadsheets, and fragmented systems, which leads to inefficiencies and errors. Secondly, lack of visibility is a major concern, without real-time access to financial data, it becomes incredibly difficult to make informed decisions, especially when budgets are tight. Resourcing is a constant pain point, finance teams in charities are often small and stretched thin, meaning that streamlining and automating processes is essential to free up time and headspace for more critical work.

Lauren: How has technology adapted to help to provide solutions to these issues?

Phillip: Technology has moved fast, today’s purchasing and finance solutions are designed to be intuitive, scalable, and cloud-based, which means they’re easier and more affordable to deploy than before. For charities, it’s no longer necessary to invest in heavy, bespoke systems, or worse, not invest at all, many tools are quick to setup with minimal disruption. The biggest leap has been in integration, good finance automation software now connects seamlessly with existing accounting and finance systems, giving finance teams a single source of truth.

Lauren: And how can this technology help to save charities’ time?

Phillip: In a charity environment, every hour saved is an hour that can be better spent on delivering impact. Purchasing & AP Automation reduces the time spent on manual data entry, chasing approvals, and fixing errors. So, for example, by automating the capture and matching of invoices against purchase orders, charities can drastically cut down the back-and-forth between departments. Approval workflows can be tailored to each charity’s governance structure, ensuring faster signoffs without sacrificing oversight. Reporting is also simplified, rather than pulling together month-end figures manually, finance teams can access real-time dashboards and generate reports at the click of a button. All of this means fewer administrative burdens and more focus on the core mission.

Lauren: What role does AI play in helping charities through their financial automation journey?

Phillip: AI is starting to play a major role in finance automation, and charities stand to benefit hugely. At Compleat, we see AI helping in two key areas, intelligent data capture and predictive insights. AI can extract information from invoices with far greater accuracy than manual entry, even identifying anomalies that might indicate an error or potential fraud. It can also forecast cash flow trends based on historical data, helping charities plan better in uncertain times. As it matures, we expect AI to increasingly suggest optimal purchasing decisions like, flagging better supplier deals or alerting teams to unnecessary recurring expenses. Ultimately it acts as an extension of the finance team, providing an extra layer of intelligence without increasing headcount.

Lauren: Let’s talk about transparency – how does tech help charities to be fully transparent to donors about their finances?

Phillip: Transparency is absolutely vital for charities, donors and stakeholders, they rightly expect clear, honest reporting on how funds are spent. Finance automation helps by providing a full, auditable trail of every transaction. This level of detail isn’t just for internal use, it can be shared with donors in reports or impact statements, showcasing exactly where their contributions have gone. Real-time reporting also means charities can be proactive in sharing financial information, rather than waiting for annual audits. This kind of openness builds trust and reassures supporters that their donations are being managed responsibly and effectively.

Lauren: And how can technology help to keep charities accountable?

Phillip: Accountability and transparency go hand in hand. Every action, from raising a purchase order to approving an invoice, is recorded and traceable. This makes it much easier to enforce internal policies and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Delegated authority controls, built into purchasing workflows, help make sure that spending decisions are made at the right level, and within set limits. Regular, automated reporting enables leadership teams and trustees to spot issues early on and take corrective action where needed. In a nutshell, technology helps charities hold themselves to a high standard and prove it to the outside world.

Lauren: What do you envisage the buying/paying journey to look like for charities in a decade’s time? Is there a chance it could be totally automated?

Phillip: Looking ahead ten years, I believe we will see a fully automated purchasing and payment journey for most charities. AI will play a much bigger role, purchase requests will likely be raised via AI-assisted systems that automatically recommend suppliers based on value, ethics, and previous performance. Approvals will become automatic based on risk level and spend thresholds and so on. Of course, people will still be involved in strategic decision-making and supplier relationships, but the administrative burden will be virtually eliminated. For charities, this will mean faster operations, reduced costs, and more time focused on driving social impact.

Lauren: What are the key challenges that can occur with such a heavy reliance on technology?

Phillip: I guess you can say there is risk with everything. Over-reliance on technology can expose charities to vulnerabilities. Data security must remain a top priority, and it’s crucial that finance systems are backed up, monitored, and regularly updated. A potential loss of knowledge if organisations fail to maintain a level of manual understanding alongside automation. Technology should be a tool that empowers teams, not a black box that no one fully understands. There’s also the cultural challenge, introducing automation can be unsettling for staff used to traditional ways of working.

This interview is sponsored by Compleat Software. For more information on automation for charity finance and other services Compleat provides, please click here.

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