Founded in 2015, Native Microbials develops innovative microbial products for various industries, with a focus on dairy cattle and dogs. Their unique approach centers on using microbes that are native to the animals they serve, rather than forcing microbes from other industries into non-native organisms. Native Microbials' approach centers on a key insight about animal digestive systems - particularly for ruminants like dairy cows. The company's microbiome scientist Lisa Marotz explains that "cows, ruminants, unlike other animals, need their microbiomes" and "the rumen microbiome is completely essential not just to her health, but also to her ability to produce milk."
To reach their customers, Native Microbials relies on an outside sales team that regularly travels throughout large territories. This mobile workforce requires a reliable mileage and expense tracking solution to ensure fair compensation for their extensive travel.
Before implementing Everlance, Native Microbials used another solution for their FAVR (Fixed and Variable Rate) vehicle reimbursement program. Their compensation model included a fixed monthly stipend plus variable mileage reimbursement, but they were experiencing significant issues:"
Inaccurate Mileage Recording: The previous solution frequently failed to track trips accurately, sometimes missing 1,000-1,500 miles per month for some representatives. With representatives averaging 2,500-3,000 miles monthly, this represented a substantial portion of their reimbursable miles.
Time-Consuming Manual Validation: To address the tracking inaccuracies, Sales Operations Manager Jacob Reynolds began asking team members to manually record their mileage to compare against the system. This created additional work for both the sales team and management.
Limited Reporting Capabilities: The previous platform had an outdated user interface that made it difficult to access and analyze data. Managers couldn't easily gain insights into driving patterns, territory coverage, or route optimization opportunities.
Support Issues: The company was spending significant time managing support tickets and following up on unresolved problems with their previous provider.
Employee Dissatisfaction: With rising car insurance and gas prices, accurate mileage reimbursement was increasingly important to the sales team. The unreliable tracking was creating frustration and impacting morale.
Native Microbials was so frustrated with their current provider that they were willing to use another vendor even though their contract with their current one was still going.
[.quote-wrap][.quote-top][.quote-top] "We struggled to get payments and reporting out on time each month [with our last provider]… The data was buried in their platform, making it difficult to gain insights. Their outdated system wasn’t working, and they weren’t fulfilling their end of the bargain. With Everlance, everything—especially reporting—is just really easy.” [.author-attribute][.author-facts][.author-facts][.author-bold]Jacob Reynolds[.author-bold][.author-pos] Sales Operations Manager for Native Microbials [.author-pos][.author-attribute][.quote-bottom][.quote-bottom][.quote-wrap]
Native Microbials discovered Everlance while looking for alternatives. and ultimately they selected Everlance for its:
Accurate Tracking: Everlance's reliable GPS-based tracking provided confidence that all business miles would be properly recorded.
Streamlined Administrative Processes: The platform offered easy access to reports and simplified the approval workflow between sales operations and accounting.
Ease of Use: The user-friendly interface made it simple for both drivers and administrators to learn and use the system.
Strong Support: The Everlance team provided excellent assistance during the implementation process, answering detailed questions and ensuring a smooth transition.
Right-Sized Solution: Everlance offered the features Native Microbials needed at a price point that made sense for their team size.
Because they wanted to ensure a smooth transition for their team, Native Microbials ran Everlance parallel to their previous solution for a month to ensure that Everlance had the most accurate tracking.
The switch to Everlance delivered multiple significant benefits to Native Microbials:
Before implementing Everlance, Jacob was spending 1-2 hours per week managing support tickets and validating mileage with the previous system. Each sales team member was spending an additional 1-1.5 hours weekly on manual tracking and verification. This amounted to approximately 20 hours of collective team time lost each week.
After switching to Everlance, Jacob's time commitment dropped to about an hour per month for routine administration. The sales team now spends minimal time on mileage tracking, with the app automatically recording their travels. The time savings allow both management and sales staff to focus on core business activities rather than administrative tasks.
A critical outcome has been the elimination of complaints from the sales team regarding mileage tracking—a noteworthy achievement for a group that typically doesn't hesitate to voice concerns about technology issues. The sales representatives now feel confident they're being fairly compensated for their travel, with accurate mileage tracking supporting their reimbursements.
Jacob noted: "They've never once complained over the last year, and you know, I've managed sales for a long time. I mean, you definitely get your fair share of complaints."
Managers can now easily access data about team members' travel patterns, enabling opportunities to provide feedback on route efficiency. This visibility helps with territory management and ensures sales representatives are optimizing their travel time.
The finance team has found Everlance's reporting capabilities much easier to use. The controller, who has final approval authority on expenses, appreciates the straightforward access to data and clear reporting format.
The transition to Everlance was notably smooth compared to other software implementations at Native Microbials because the onboarding process is flexible and people can spend more or less time, depending on-how in-depth they want to explore the system.
Initial Setup: The implementation team spent approximately 5 hours validating stipend values and mileage rates to ensure consistent compensation.
User Training: A brief 30-45 minute training session was sufficient to get all team members up and running.
End-of-Month Review: An additional 2-3 hours were spent analyzing the first month's results to confirm accuracy and build team confidence.
User Adoption: Each sales representative spent approximately 3 hours total on learning the system, installing the app, entering vehicle information, and becoming familiar with classifying trips and submitting reports.
Jacob described the implementation as "probably the smoothest transition" among their software implementations, noting that it was "kind of just like, turn it on and let it roll."
Watch the full video with Jacob Reynolds below!
When asked why he would recommend Everlance to other companies with outside sales teams, Jacob emphasized:
Reliability: The solution consistently performs as promised, with accurate tracking that users can depend on.
Simplicity: The platform is straightforward to implement and use, requiring minimal training and support.
Value: Everlance delivers significant benefits at a reasonable cost, making it a "no-brainer" solution for mileage tracking needs.
Positive User Experience: The sales team, who interact with multiple technology platforms daily, have embraced Everlance without the typical resistance to new software.
Native Microbials was so committed to improving their mileage tracking that they continued paying for their previous solution's contract while implementing Everlance—a testament to the value they placed on finding a reliable solution.
After a year with Everlance, Native Microbials continue to be satisfied with their selection. The company views Everlance as a "turn it on and count on it" solution that requires minimal ongoing management while delivering consistent value to both the administrative team and field sales representatives.
[.quote-wrap][.quote-top][.quote-top] "I like to have different products within my tech stack portfolio as a manager, and whatever company that I'm a part of. So when I go and they don't have something I'm like, 'Hey, I've already worked with Everlance. Let's call and get that done week one.' You know, it'll be a transition period, especially if they're manual or have another system. But if there's a struggle there, it's nice to have the no-brainer solution already on deck to be able to implement." [.author-attribute][.author-facts][.author-facts][.author-bold]Jacob Reynolds[.author-bold][.author-pos] Sales Operations Manager for Native Microbials [.author-pos][.author-attribute][.quote-bottom][.quote-bottom][.quote-wrap]
To learn more about how FAVR works, please check out our guide on How to Save on Employee Mileage Reimbursements. Or answer a few quick questions about yourself, and we'll be in touch.
Damask is the Content Marketing Lead at Everlance, where she develops engaging content to showcase how Everlance's mileage tracking software help businesses and self-employed professionals track for taxes. She specializes in creating educational resources that demonstrate how users can maximize their savings on business expenses through mileage tracking.
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