Duolingo chooses Navan for smarter policy control and expense approvals

Duolingo, the world’s leading language-learning platform, operates in the technology and education sectors, with offices in multiple countries. Known for its innovative app that enables users to learn languages for free, Duolingo faced challenges in managing travel and expense processes as its operations expanded. Seeking a comprehensive solution, the company turned to Navan to simplify travel management and improve expense control. The result was a dramatic improvement in both efficiency and employee satisfaction.

Before Navan

Before implementing Navan, Duolingo faced significant challenges in managing its travel and expense operations. Processes relied on fragmented systems that created inefficiencies and added complexity for employees. Expense reporting was particularly time-consuming and diverted focus from core responsibilities. 

Additionally, the company struggled to enforce travel and expense policies consistently across its global workforce, which led to a lack of visibility into spending and compliance issues. These limitations made it clear that Duolingo needed a unified, user-friendly solution to streamline its operations.

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“Before Navan, it felt like a full-time job for us managing expenses.”

Andrea Servedio

Accountant

Why Duolingo chose Navan 

Duolingo’s partnership with Navan began with a focus on solving travel management issues. The platform’s intuitive and user-friendly interface quickly won over employees by simplifying what had been a cumbersome process. Previously, Duolingo lacked a travel management solution, which left employees to manage bookings independently, often with varying platforms. 

“Before Navan, everything was disparate, and it was a lot of work for employees to book travel on their own and for us to review all of their expenses,” said McLain Vincent, Accounting Programme Manager at Duolingo. “Navan made booking travel less of a chore.” 

Building on this success, Duolingo expanded its use of Navan in 2023 to include expense management. The results were similarly successful. Automated expense reconciliation dramatically reduced the time finance managers spent on expense reporting, while the integration of travel and expense systems eliminated the inefficiencies of managing them separately. Additionally, Navan’s user-friendly design not only resulted in a rapid, company-wide rollout but also achieved an impressive 99% mobile adoption rate, further enhancing employee satisfaction and engagement.

Empowering policy controls

One of the most valued features of Navan for Duolingo was its policy enforcement capabilities. The platform enabled Duolingo to create custom rules that aligned with its budgetary and compliance standards.

Real-time dashboards provided accounting teams with instant access to spending data, improving their ability to make informed decisions. This level of control and transparency became a cornerstone of Duolingo’s improved travel and expense strategy.

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“We’re seeing a lot more expenses as they’re actually happening. It’s been really helpful for our reporting, budgeting, and financial visibility.”

McLain Vincent

Accounting Programme Manager

Results with Navan

With Navan, Duolingo experienced transformative results that reshaped its travel and expense processes. The expense reporting automation saved travellers and admins valuable time, allowing them to focus on higher-priority tasks. 

The integration of travel and expense systems brought newfound efficiency, while real-time insights into spending enabled better financial oversight. “I like that we are able to set up our own custom policies and no longer have to look at every single expense,” said Andrea Servedio, Accountant at Duolingo. “Previously, we had to approve every single item.”

Duolingo required two levels of approvals for expenses with its previous solution, which added unnecessary time and delays to the reporting process. Navan’s streamlined approach has significantly reduced this administrative burden, delivering measurable time savings. 

“When we did our analysis of switching to Navan, we calculated that we would save close to 2,000 hours a year!” said Taylor Proie, Staff Accountant at Duolingo. These efficiencies have not only improved operational productivity but also freed up valuable resources to focus on strategic initiatives.

Looking to the future

Duolingo sees Navan as an essential partner in supporting its continued growth. The company plans to leverage deeper data from the solution to gain even more actionable insights into spending patterns and identify opportunities for further optimisation. 

With Navan’s support, Duolingo is confident in its ability to maintain efficiency, improve compliance, and empower employees as the organisation continues to scale and grow.