How Steller Used Klear To Automate The Influencer Payment Process

Challenge: Processing Payments and Tax Forms For Influencers

Steller's influencer marketing strategy requires working with global, travel influencers to promote their storytelling app. There is a constant rollout of campaigns that include multiple creators. The Steller team is deeply experienced and embedded in the industry, which means they know exactly what they need from an influencer tool.

“The payment process was by far the most difficult and cumbersome. We had always worked with an influencer marketing tool, but they did not have payments integrated in the same way as Klear.”

Vazul Szakács, Partnerships Director

When it comes to managing a campaign, the payment process was the most time exhaustive for the team. Paying an influencer is like paying an independent service provider or freelancer, which means you need all the relevant tax forms, wire transfers, and banking details. Not to mention, when working with international creators, processing payments in multiple currencies, and understanding international tax laws was time-consuming. The Steller team needed a tool that would ensure the influencer’s payment details were submitted properly.

Solution: An Automated Payment Tool

The Steller team worked with an influencer platform before Klear. However, the more time-consuming the payment process became the more they understood that their prior platform wasn’t serving their needs. They needed a tool that automated the entire payment process, especially the element of rigorous tax forms.

“Before Klear, the payment process was left to our accounting team. Not only was this time-consuming, but there were so many intensive parts involved from forms not entered properly to missing information. Klear made everything about the process easier.”

Vazul Szakács, Partnerships Director

They knew they needed a tool that would eliminate the time-consuming manual work of paying influencers and allow the team to focus on what really matters. When vetting new tools, Klear’s integrated payment capabilities was exactly what they needed to scale their strategy. Klear’s tool automated essential stages of the payment process for the Steller team and identified the relevant tax forms needed for each influencer. Streamlining the team’s ability to pay influencers efficiently, and freeing time from tedious, manual work.

Success: 6-Hours Saved Per Influencer

Klear now plays a critical role in the success of Steller’s influencer campaigns. The team has an accountant dedicated to influencer campaigns. Before Klear, a lot of time, around 6-hours, would be taken up by paying one single influencer due to manual work. Now, with Klear Pay, the Steller team can work efficiently with Klear’s end-to-end payment process.

“Without Klear, there would be A LOT more work. In fact, Klear has basically saved us an entire job’s worth of manual work. Our accountants are much happier!”

Vazul Szakács, Partnerships Director

Now that Klear has automated the entire influencer payment process, Steller accountants have been freed of an entire role of work that was time-consuming. This allows them to focus their resources in other places and work better together. Since influencer relationships are lasting, having an efficient payment process ensures that Steller and its content creators have a healthy relationship.

What Did Steller Achieve

• With Klear, Steller now saves 6-hours per-influencer due to an automated payment process
• A method that ensures payments are processed swiftly with all the necessary tax forms and billing requirements
• A streamlined process that improved the work-flow between brand managers and accountants, as well as improved the collaboration process of influencers and the Steller team