Webflow slashes approval times from weeks to hours

The challenge

Webflow, the innovative no-code visual web development platform, found itself facing significant challenges during early phases of rapid growth.

The finance teams were struggling with time-consuming spend request processes. NetSuite provided official records for finance, but provided little visibility across the organization. Employees were making requests manually through Slack, kicking off a manual process that was overwhelming company resources.

Without a dedicated procurement function in place, the company struggled to scale operations effectively.

Webflow needed a simple and transparent way to enable employee requests to keep pace with growth, and had limited time to do it. They needed to act fast, and it was up to Ivan Makarov, Former VP of Finance, to figure out how.

Makarov searched for a solution. He found it in Zip.

The solution

Zip quickly and dramatically transformed Webflow’s financial operations. With a powerful, streamlined spend request process, Zip provided control and oversight across all stages of procurement.


“We use Zip primarily for three things: We use it to handle approvals for new software of contractor spend; we use it to track the renewals, because these things typically have a recurring nature to them, and then we use it to expand,” Makarov said.



“For example, we might initially buy a tool with 20 seats, and if we find that six months later we actually need 60 seats, we can use Zip to initiate the process and renegotiate the expansion. Zip ensures it gets proper approval by the proper parties.”

The result

With Zip, Webflow experienced a significant boost in operational efficiency.

“Zip allowed us to scale procurement before we hired our first procurement person, enabling us to run multiple buying processes in parallel,” Makarov told us. This shift drastically reduced approval times from weeks to as little as a few hours, enhancing Webflow’s ability to move fast.

Zip also added an extra compliance layer to reduce risk. Now, over 80% of Webflow’s non-headcount-related spend goes through Zip, allowing for better tracking, improvement, and due diligence.

To Makarov, the transparency of the Zip platform is crucial. "I'm the final approver. I can see what work has been done, who's already looked at it, and I get extra confidence that we've done our due diligence during the process.

"This streamlined approval process has been pivotal in maintaining Webflow's growth momentum.”

“When I think of Zip, I think of accelerating things and I think of documentation. This is the best way we found in order for us to get through the process, but also to properly document everything.”

“We see ourselves scaling with Zip for a long time.”

“We went from things taking weeks to approve to where things can get done within a day or two, sometimes within a few hours.”