Emburse Certify vs. ScaleFactor

Certify is not well suited for multi-dimensional ERPs. Although Certify 'offers' general ledger dimensions GLD, the use of them is extremely limited. Filtering on any GLD can only be done once. There is not the possibility for creating hierarchies with the dimensions. The only method of exporting is via a flat file or the open API, which I understand is quite limited. This software is for a smaller scaled business that is not trying to track across dimensions or create hierarchies. Data flow is one directional. I cannot emphasize enough the shortcomings of the reporting. The parameters are mostly based on expense dates rather than expense reports. There are entirely too many of them, and some of them perform the function!

Incentivized

I work with several businesses and have attempted to bring ScaleFactor into multiple. Thus far the business status/environment has been suitable for ScaleFactor only once, but I'll continue to look for more. ScaleFactor is great when a company has matured beyond the owner making all accounting and banking entries. As soon as multiple systems are needed, it's likely a decent time to call ScaleFactor. I'm confident my operations could run through ScaleFactor for a long time as the next step for us would be something akin to NetSuite or some other more rigid enterprise solution. Additionally, our business has a geographically displaced work force, typically working from home. Having access to all systems via the cloud has been great. No longer do we have to pass a specific computer back and forth for a physical computer software license. It's enabled maximum work flow convenience.

Incentivized

• Integration with Amtrav or other travel booking systems. Certify has a tight integration with travel systems that makes it feel nearly like one cohesive tool.
• Easy expense options. Use OCR on receipts, import from credit cards and merge items, approve and inquire about expenses. Track your submissions.
• Easy UI. Friendly and easy to navigate without getting lost.

Incentivized

• ScaleFactor has been a great resource for me as I got my business off the ground. They have allowed me to focus on marketing and strategy while they handle my Quickbooks and other accounting needs. Great accounting and finance solutions that don't require you to hire an in-house staff
• Presenting data clearly.

Incentivized

• Reporting: I would like to see more chart availability from the program. We include various data points from Certify in our monthly financial statement package. Currently, we export data from the program and create our own pivot tables to create charts.
• Dashboard feature: It would be nice to be able to use the data for a specific date and then be able to print that information.
• Can't think of another one. As stated before, they listen to their customers so prior issues have been addressed and implemented.

Incentivized

• Could connect with All saving accounts i.e. Building society saving aswell as major banks.
• When a connected bank or savings account hasn't been used for a month or 2 it could show a 0 transaction to keep it updated rather then saying "last updated 3 months ago"

Incentivized

If the integrations with our card programs had succeeded, I expect [Emburse] Certify would have worked well for expense submitters and approvers. During the short time that the American Express Business integration was active, transactions flowed smoothly, and the expense reporting and receipt matching functions were quite good. The [Emburse] Certify mobile app was particularly powerful and easy to use.

Incentivized

ScaleFactor has been a great resource for me as I got my business off the ground. They have allowed me to focus on marketing and strategy while they handle my Quickbooks and other accounting needs. Great accounting and finance solutions that don't require you to hire an in-house staff.

Incentivized

The measure of support is how well they respond when you really need them, like when the system is not performing correctly. We have been on the platform less than a year, and there have been at least 2 instances, where the platform was down. The 2nd time was the day before out fiscal year end. And they need a development website. When they are making changes to your LIVE instance, and things go wrong, the client is the first to know about it! I've come to understand that Certify has tiers of support. Those in tier 1, barely know more about the software than the users. I sent a request for a report that shows expense reports currently pending approval and after 5 days of back and forth I was told to build it myself.

Incentivized

Not sure if support is still available.

Incentivized

Before Certify, there was only manual expense reports entered for our company. This took too much time for employees too finish and caused a delay of efficiency. With Certify, it is easier to access and finish each report with the right amount of effectiveness and efficiency it needs. Certify is really helpful in saving a lot of time for employees that do not have time.

Incentivized

Scale factor, can be used like Xero I believe. However all my past data was already stored in Xero so I used it as an add on. It is a lot more user friendly and helpful, i.e. you don't need to be an accountant to use it. However I am not sure it is useable anymore or supported, so i have gone back to using Xero alone.

Incentivized

• The organization and automatic flow of the expense report to approvers and then AP saves time for all. The user has agreed that it is easier and quicker to prepare the expense report and the managers and AP department finds the automated process to be quicker and more efficient. Time saved is money saved.
• Certify can recognize if a duplicate expense is submitted or if an expense is submitted too late to be reimbursed according to our policies. This prevents us from reimbursing an expense in error.
• We use a customized report to track a specific type of expense that gets submitted by our sales team. There is a limit on what can be spent on specific expenses that fall into an entertainment category and the report helps us to stay within the limits. Previously, without this tool, we had spent so much more time manually tracking these expenses and had gone over the limits, creating a deficiency in our processes.

Incentivized

• They have been fundamental in helping us grow and scale at a relatively low cost in comparison to out-sourcing these functions. We can spend more on other items that can fuel growth while knowing the back end is taken care of.
• They provide automated supports for key areas like payroll, expenses, etc so that we can quickly get back to focusing on the other items.

Incentivized