Item: Webexpenses
Rating: 8
Author: Derek Brookes

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Paper reduction and workflow processes hugely improved—secured function for staff to input expenses and management to approve or decline. The finance team can see the whole process and expenditure. Reporting provides management with a high-level view and the ability to drill down into the details. As the portal is secured and available 24/7 then staff can use this when they have the time to process their expenses.

Pros and Cons

No more paper process or paper to be stored for HMRC and auditing.
Approval process.
Improved speed of process expenses.
Improved speed to repay expenses to staff.

Expense input could be easier and more friendly.
Checking of duplicate expenses.
Ability to provide details & attachments to accompany the expenses.
Assistance where there are errors.

Return on Investment

Reduced time required for the expense processes.
Reduced resources for expense management.
Limited paper processing and paper storage.
Improves auditing procedures and review.

Usability

The OCR of invoices is not 100% and can change dates or amounts without the end user realizing. This leads to inaccurate data. The error process needs improvement to help the end user. It can take some time to become familiar with claiming expenses. It would be good to have a wizard initially for new users or people who do not use the application regularly. Once competent, then the ability to turn the wizard off.

Time Savings

All expenses must be input via the application. coding for expenses is important to ensure correct allocation. There is a centralized record of all expenses and expense invoices and requests. The application allows our staff to monitor their expenses and their records as well as allows them to take time creating their expenses. The reduction in rekeying data into any other systems saves large amounts of time and resources as well as reducing errors.

Requirements

The application holds significant amounts of data and so needs to be secure and highly available. It must be able to integrate with finance systems to stop the requirement for data rekeying. The application claiming expenses must match the manner in which the internal procedure is laid out. The reporting is critical for the finance team and the management teams.

Alternatives Considered

SAP Concur and Zoho Expense

I am unable to provide any detail to this question as I have not used these products, but I am aware of these products and other applications.

Key Insights

Do you think Webexpenses delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Webexpenses's feature set?

Yes

Did Webexpenses live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Webexpenses go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Webexpenses again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

Where staff are spread across geographical areas. A centralized finance team will not dread dealing with the manual process, pieces of paper, and storing the paper. Companies that do not have formal procedures and checks would substantially improve their control. The applications are good for ensuring the correct people are informed and approve the expenses. The application is good for centralized records management.

Webexpenses Useful for all.

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Webexpenses