Faster Funding for Research: How the Lupus Research Alliance Saves 40+ Hours a Month with MakersHub
About the Lupus Research Alliance
Lupus is a devastating autoimmune disease with no cure. Millions of patients rely on scientific advances to improve their quality of life, and the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) exists to make those advances possible. As the world’s largest nonprofit advancing lupus research, the Lupus Research Alliance accelerates scientific discovery through grants, clinical trials, and global collaborations that push new treatments closer to reality. Since 2016, the organization has more than doubled in size, expanding its programs and supporting a rapidly growing volume of research, vendor, and event-related payments.
Behind every grant payment and vendor invoice is real progress: a clinical study that can begin on time, a research team that gets funded, a patient who gains access to a promising therapy. And as the organization has grown, so has the urgency to support researchers quickly and accurately.
With a three-person AP team and funding distributed to universities, hospitals, and labs around the world, financial operations are far more than back-office paperwork. They are an integral part of delivering on the mission to end lupus.
The Challenge
LRA had outgrown its manual, QuickBooks-based AP process. Every invoice, whether a $200 event invoice or a $200,000 research grant disbursement, had to be manually keyed in. Each bill carried multiple layers of complexity: locations, classes, accounts, and grant coding that had to be reviewed line by line.
Reconciliation was even harder. Vendor validation, matching payments to bank records with no vendor names, resolving mismatched amounts, and tracking payment types required hours of manual auditing. This created constant fire drills. When payments were misapplied or sent to the wrong vendors, the team had to track down refunds, correct the bank records, and reissue payments manually, often days later.
And as grant programs expanded, so did urgency. Quarterly disbursements could include fifty or more payments at a time. Ultimately, all of this slowed down the very work the organization exists to enable.
Looking for a better way to manage their workload, they turned to peers who were already thrilled with MakersHub, and decided to evaluate the tool.
"When AP takes days of manual work, it slows our ability to help patients waiting for progress."
Burdette Hess
Assistant Director of Finance
The MakersHub Solution
One demo was all it took, and the Lupus Research Alliance adopted MakersHub to transform how payables move through the organization. Bills are now uploaded once, coded automatically, and approved with full clarity. Payments are scheduled directly from the correct invoice details with vendor information captured in a single click.
This shift has been especially important as the organization expands globally. More grants now support research institutions outside the United States, and international payments are becoming a larger part of the workload. MakersHub gives the team one system to send payments in the currency their partners expect while maintaining complete visibility in QuickBooks Online Multi-Currency.
"The AI and OCR have made our process night and day faster. And now being able to send payments internationally with the same accuracy is going to make a real difference as our research expands."
Burdette Hess
Assistant Director of Finance
With MakersHub, LRA’s team can:
- Capture line-item detail with AI so coding is accurate from the start
- Reconcile payments confidently with correct vendor attribution
- Support growing invoice volume without increasing headcount
- Maintain full transparency and compliance for every grant dollar
- Keep researchers and partners funded on time
But what stood out the most was the partnership.
Burdette also emphasized how meaningful it is to work with a team that actively listens to real-world challenges and builds the product around what organizations actually need, something she said means a lot as LRA continues to grow.
"The support team has blown our expectations out of the water. It’s one of the biggest reasons we’re so happy with MakersHub."
Burdette Hess
Assistant Director of Finance
The Results
Since adopting MakersHub, the Lupus Research Alliance has transformed its AP operations:
90%
faster AP processing
40+
hours saved every month
By reducing errors and ensuring every dollar reaches the right vendor on the first attempt, MakersHub helps protect donor funds and move grant payments faster. The AP team continues to manage rising complexity without increasing headcount.
"We were drowning in manual work. Now the process is faster, more accurate, and so much more organized."
Burdette Hess
Assistant Director of Finance
Accelerating the Mission With Confidence
AP should never slow down progress. MakersHub gives nonprofit finance teams the accuracy, visibility, and support needed to keep their focus where it belongs: advancing science and helping people with lupus.