Expense Management Systems

[Martynt74]

Unsure whether this really fits in here, but seems the best palce.

Just wondering what systems you guys use in your current workplaces. We currently use Concur, but an upcoming ERP change has put us in a position to re-evaluate this. The ERP we're moving to doesn't have sufficient functionality although it would've been nice to have a single system handle everything.

The current Concur instance is a bit of a mess. We've had a lot of re-orgs in the past and multiple acquisitions bringing their own finance systems we've had to try and integrate with. As such the recommendation is to scrap it and start with a brand new instance of Concur. This makes a lot of sense, but if we're doing that we may aswell explore other options.

Concur - ~$38k/yr plus $20k implementation
Pros - We know the system, setup and admin should be straightforward due to the above
Cons - Seems overly complex at times. This could be config based on our side and maybe a new start would fix some of this. Main issues are cost and the fact they restrict some config to certified users only.


We're then looking at a lot of the newer, more tech focussed options. Rydoo, Payhawk, Expensify etc. Generally the interface and usability seems easier and some of the features are top notch. We had a demo with Rydoo yesterday which looked very good and whilst many less customisable than Concur it should give us everything we need.

Curious to get more opinions as it's going to be rolled out to ~400+ employees globally.

 

[slinxy]

surely not all ~400+ employees are claiming expenses?

At my current place the people who can claim expenses on a regular just use company credit cards, we have cards for the department and project work too.

those who can't; like myself but need to once in a while. Costs are pre-paid and any additional costs are just done via pretty cash if it's under 50 pounds per claim. To save the paper work; it's easiler to split a week away meals into two spearate claims.

everything is done on an internal system, just upload the receipt and tag it.

It's all just pocket change to a company of the size that I work for... as long as people aint taking the ****, and that's down to the local manager to monitor and report on.

We do have an expenses department to look over all the claims.

 

[MichaelAwkward]

We're currently battling this same issue but on a smaller scale. Just acquired another group of companies, got another 150 employees (300 total), not happy with the current system (Navan).

We went through a exploratory exercise earlier in the year and looked a platforms that do it all (Expensify, Travelperk + Yokoy) and separate approaches. We use NetSuite which has expense claiming/management built in if you buy enough employee centre licenses - it's a bit clunky compared to the dedicated solutions but functional once set up. We'd then use something like CorporateTraveller for travel bookings.

However, half the reason were struggling with Navan is because of our T&E policy being too granular with approvals being required for almost everything. Navan, Expensify and I guess Concur aren't built for that.

Instead you should have a policy that sets sensible limits, then use the issued cards (Navan offer them for both expenses, which are linked to trips and deactivate automatically, and for purchasing (one time or subscriptions) to apply them automatically. Deal with the exceptions and monitor for misconduct.

Trying to sell the above approach has been a waste of time though so far. They don't trust employees so they'd rather implement email approvals for £1.50 coffee. Sillyness. They also have executives being exempt from it and able to basically use their company CCs however they like. Two tiers currently destroying company morale.

We also spoke with Revolut who do cards with controls and that platform seemed quite slick. I guess you could use any card provider like that and just allow employees to book travel themselves using them, to avoid needing a separate travel solution.

In evaluating your options, I'd definitely review whether your policies and processes make sense first rather than trying to find something to fit them and then finding out nothing really does. I actually quite like Navan and I think if we'd implemented it as designed with the cards etc and a practical policy it'd be pretty slick. Worth exploring also the integrations with your main ERP - we had some issues with Navan <> NetSuite which means we bring everything in as journals currently.

 

[mid_gen]

The startup I'm with is using Revolut which is a dream as an employee. I just have a digital business card and put any business expenses straight on it, and then in the Revolut Business app I just snap a photo of the receipt and attach it to the transaction, job done.

 

[Martynt74]

surely not all ~400+ employees are claiming expenses?

At my current place the people who can claim expenses on a regular just use company credit cards, we have cards for the department and project work too.

those who can't; like myself but need to once in a while. Costs are pre-paid and any additional costs are just done via pretty cash if it's under 50 pounds per claim. To save the paper work; it's easiler to split a week away meals into two spearate claims.

everything is done on an internal system, just upload the receipt and tag it.

It's all just pocket change to a company of the size that I work for... as long as people aint taking the ****, and that's down to the local manager to monitor and report on.

We do have an expenses department to look over all the claims.

Probably wasn't clear. It's ~400 employees who will claim expenses. A lot of them will only claim once a year for minor stuff so no point having a company card for them. Being home based there's always hotels for stays at get togethers/office events.

We're currently battling this same issue but on a smaller scale. Just acquired another group of companies, got another 150 employees (300 total), not happy with the current system (Navan).

We went through a exploratory exercise earlier in the year and looked a platforms that do it all (Expensify, Travelperk + Yokoy) and separate approaches. We use NetSuite which has expense claiming/management built in if you buy enough employee centre licenses - it's a bit clunky compared to the dedicated solutions but functional once set up. We'd then use something like CorporateTraveller for travel bookings.

However, half the reason were struggling with Navan is because of our T&E policy being too granular with approvals being required for almost everything. Navan, Expensify and I guess Concur aren't built for that.

Instead you should have a policy that sets sensible limits, then use the issued cards (Navan offer them for both expenses, which are linked to trips and deactivate automatically, and for purchasing (one time or subscriptions) to apply them automatically. Deal with the exceptions and monitor for misconduct.

Trying to sell the above approach has been a waste of time though so far. They don't trust employees so they'd rather implement email approvals for £1.50 coffee. Sillyness. They also have executives being exempt from it and able to basically use their company CCs however they like. Two tiers currently destroying company morale.

We also spoke with Revolut who do cards with controls and that platform seemed quite slick. I guess you could use any card provider like that and just allow employees to book travel themselves using them, to avoid needing a separate travel solution.

In evaluating your options, I'd definitely review whether your policies and processes make sense first rather than trying to find something to fit them and then finding out nothing really does. I actually quite like Navan and I think if we'd implemented it as designed with the cards etc and a practical policy it'd be pretty slick. Worth exploring also the integrations with your main ERP - we had some issues with Navan <> NetSuite which means we bring everything in as journals currently.

Cheers. One benefit is that we don't have a heavily defined policy. It's generally pretty lenient and up to the employee to make the correct call. For instance i went to our Madrid office and spent a lot more on a hotel than i normally would, just because it was either be 5 minutes away or 25 minutes for something cheaper.

We do actually have sufficient Employee Centre licences as we bought it based on the assumption we'd use Netsuite for expenses and we got a very hefty enterprise level discount. We'll still use it for timesheets, and i'm currently hoping to convert the employee centre bundles of 5 into full users as we progress with implementation and roll out to more departments. The main disappointment was the lack of OCR scanning for receipts and auto categorisation. Something we felt the bigger travellers would be annoyed at after having used it in Concur. Plus the lack of CC integration.

Annoying with Navan as we want to setup employees as AP vendors for payment. We had a demo of Rydoo on Monday. It was very very impressive and whilst not hugely cheaper than Concur it offered much better functionality/user experience. Had a demo for Webexpenses which is pretty cheap but felt a little clunky vs Rydoo. Have demos for Expensify and Payhawk tomorrow.

The startup I'm with is using Revolut which is a dream as an employee. I just have a digital business card and put any business expenses straight on it, and then in the Revolut Business app I just snap a photo of the receipt and attach it to the transaction, job done.

That does sound decent. I do think we might try and explore the digital card options from whoever we end up with.