6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 1

AN EBOOK BY:

Stepsto Switch

from spreadsheets to cloud-based expense

management6A comprehensive guide to help you switch from old-school spreadsheets to automated

expense management software

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 2

INTRODUCTION

STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE ISSUES

STEP 2: IDENTIFY YOUR REQUIREMENTS

STEP 3: ASSESS VENDORS

STEP 4: BUILD THE BUSINESS CASE

STEP 5: IMPLEMENT YOUR SOLUTION

STEP 6: ENJOY THE BENEFITS

SUMMARY

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6 Steps to Switch / from spreadsheets to cloud-based expense management

Contents

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 3

From Old-School to AutomatedManually tracking and managing expenses can be incredibly costly, yet the exact costs are often hidden.

First, manual processes take too much time. Expense reporting tasks you know all too well—creating spreadsheet formulas, consolidating piles of receipts, and the extensive reconciliation process—consume resources in a way that doesn’t appear on the company ledger. But as the saying goes, time is money.

Manual processes also limit insight into, and control of, your company’s expense spend. Many companies are adopting automation to better manage expense policy compliance and identify other opportunities for savings.

OK, so automated expense management saves time and money, in many different ways. But just what do we mean when we say “manual?” The checklist below illustrates different aspects of a manual expense management system. Use it to see how manual your company’s process really is:

Manual Expense Management

Companies using a cloud-based expense

system are able to lower their processing

costs by 83%

EMPLOYEE☐ Creating expense reports using spreadsheets☐ Printing out the expense reports☐ Stapling/taping receipts to the report☐ Matching the expense lines to the credit card charges☐ Sending the expense report to your manager for approval

MANAgER☐ Waiting for an expense report to be submitted on time☐ Reviewing each expense line to ensure T&E policy compliance☐ Matching the attached receipts to each expense line☐ Sending the expense report to another approver, or submitting to accounting for reimbursement

ACCOUNTANT☐ Waiting for an expense report to be submitted on time ☐ Reviewing each expense line to ensure T&E policy compliance☐ Matching the attached receipts to each expense line☐ Reconciling the expenses to the appropriate budget

Introduction

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 4

Identify the Issues

1Step

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 5

Identify the Issues The first step in fixing a problem is knowing what the problem is. Use this worksheet to identify the pain points in your company’s current expense management system. Uncovering the hidden costs of your manual process will allow for a clearer assessment of the need to change. Which of these areas could be improved to lower costs and increase efficiencies?

DOES YOUR COMPANY SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON EXPENSE REPORTS?

Consider these time-consuming tasks: ☐ Getting staff to submit reports ☐ Staff time to create, submit ☐ Manager review, accountant review ☐ Expense report approval ☐ Reconciling expenses ☐ Processing for reimbursement ☐ Other

46% of companies identify the top expense management pain point as employee failure to submit reports on time.

DOES YOUR ORgANIZATION HAVE POLICY COMPLIANCE ISSUES?

Consider these issues: ☐ Manual data entry errors ☐ Duplicate expenses ☐ Fraudulent expenses ☐ Lack of policy awareness ☐ Other

Fraudulent employee spending cost companies $3.5 trillion dollars in 2013, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner’s 2013 Report.

WHAT ARE YOUR HARD COSTS FOR EXPENSE MANAgEMENT?

Consider these items: ☐ Office supplies (paper, ink, staples, etc.) ☐ Storage space to file past expense reports ☐ Overnight postage costs ☐ Other

Creating and processing a single expense report manually costs an average of $41.12, versus $7.17 with an automated expense system, according to Aberdeen Group.

ARE EMPLOYEES EXPERIENCINg TIMELY REIMBURSEMENTS?

Employees are reimbursed within: ☐ 30 to 60 days ☐ 15 to 30 days ☐ 0 to 14 days

45% of those using a cloud-based expense system experienced faster employee reimbursements.

1Step

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 6

Identify your Requirements

2Step

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 7

2Step

FORM A PROJECT gROUP WITH MEMBERS FROM kEY DEPARTMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE:

Information Technology

Accounting and/or Finance

Human Resources

Sales

Marketing

CREATE A LIST OF REQUIREMENTS BASED ON THE PROJECT TEAM’S NEEDS. FOR EXAMPLE:

Expense report automation

Mobile capabilities

Travel policy enforcement

Integration with current business software

On-demand reporting and analytics

Ongoing software support for all users

Integrated travel booking solution

Multiple language/currency capabilities

53% of companies named mobile capabilities (mobile

receipt capture/mobile expense report creation) as the number one must have feature

when selecting an expense management vendor

Identify requirements Identify your company’s specific requirements of an expense management system, based on the issues defined in Step 1. Which users use the software on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? What would your company need to alleviate expense management pain points? Form a project group of potential users and narrow down your software requirements.

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 8

AssessVendors

3Step

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 9

3Step

Read reviews to narrow your vendor poolWhen researching vendors, match each product feature to your defined list of requirements from Step 2. Crowd-sourcing business software review sites are a good place to start, such as G2 Crowd or Capterra. Real reviews by real people will give you the user’s perspective of each vendor.

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 10

3Step

H&R BLOCk: Vendor Assessment ProcessWhen beginning the selection process, H&R Block defined specific requirements of an online expense management vendor, making sure all departments were on the same page. Their requirements included:

SCALABILITY

MOBILE TECHNOLOgY

EASE OF USE

Focusing on these specific needs, H&R Block narrowed down the final three vendors and put them to the literal test: a conference room pilot. According to Tim Harrison, Director for Corporate Systems, their unconventional—but effective—vendor selection process was as follows:

We let the users of the system—the power users, the admins, the people that really have a stake in this and use the system from day to day—they are going to select the system…At the end of the day, they cast their vote: 9 out of 10 users selected Certify as their vendor. To us, that really spoke highly about the product and the end user experience.”

TIP: When selecting a business software, let the managers narrow

the vendors and let the users make the decision. User satisfaction and

adoption rates will be much higher.

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 11

Build theBusiness Case

4Step

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 12

4Step

Build the Business CaseOK, so you have followed a great process and identified a solution provider that works best for your company. Now it’s time to build a business case for implementing a solution, so that you can advocate for the proposed solution within your company. Here is a guide to the most common savings for companies who switch to a cloud-based expense management system:

REDUCE LABOR HOURS

Eliminate data entry

Less time on expense analysis for accountants

Reduce time for employees to create expense reports

No more tracking down employees for reports

Employees creating expense reports

Managers tracking down employees

REAL PEOPLE, REAL SAVINgS: “It probably takes me one-third the time to do expense reports now. I’m spending maybe a couple hours a week versus six hours.” —Jeannie Hagmeier, Senior Accounts Payable Specialist, iCAD Inc.

SAVE MONEY ON THESE OFFICE SUPPLIES

Printer paper and ink cartridges

Envelopes and mailing labels

Staples, paper clips

Storage space for past expense reports

REAL PEOPLE, REAL SAVINgS: “With Certify, we are saving over $40,000 annually in just time, paper and office supplies alone,” said Joyce Taylor, Accounting Manager of Pitney Bowes.

FACT: Creating and processing a single expense

report manually costs an average of $41.12, versus $7.17 with an automated

expense system, according to Aberdeen Group.

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 13

4Step

Build the Business Case (cont.)

ELIMINATE THESE POSTAgE COSTS

Employees mailing reports to managers

Managers overnighting reports to accountants

REAL PEOPLE, REAL SAVINgS: PhMIC is reducing paper usage by 4,800 to 6,000 pages per year, and cutting approximately $1,944 in postage each year as employees no longer need to mail in reports, according to Terri Tweedy of PhMIC.

IMPROVED EXPENSE POLICY COMPLIANCE

No duplicate expenses

System flags out-of-compliance items

Analytics provide overview of compliance trends

REAL PEOPLE, REAL BENEFITS: “Moving to Certify, we are seeing an annual savings of over $40,000 from avoiding the payment of duplicate and out of policy items,” Eric Newman, Corporate Controller of Saddle Creek Logistics Services.

FACT: Companies using a manual expense management process

have a 36% rate of compliance to corporate travel policies, versus a 91% compliance rate of those

using an automated expense management system. - 2014

Travel & Expense Management Guide; Aberdeen Group

REMEMBER

Happy Employees: Don’t forget, reducing the headaches around expense reports boosts morale! Employees enjoy faster expense reimbursements as well as having more time to focus on day-to-day priorities.

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 14

4Step

Build the Business Case

Cloud-based vs. on-premise software IMPROVE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY:

Employees can easily access documents, policies, software and emails when working remotely.

REDUCE UPFRONT COSTS:

A cloud-based subscription model allows businesses to easily increase or decrease their use of software services according to their needs, and stays constantly updated.

BOOST COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION:

There is much more visibility into cloud-based reporting and analytics. Employees, managers, and accountants can all stay on the same page when it comes to expense management.

kEEP INFORMATION SECURE:

With multiple levels of security, all information is backed up and stored securely, so in the unfortunate event of data loss, all your company’s information remains intact.

SEAMLESSLY INTEgRATE USERS:

Using the cloud is very straightforward—there’s no need to install new hardware. Especially with software solutions that provide full customer support, integrating a cloud-based software is often a seamless transition.

ACCESS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE:

Cloud-based software allows employees, managers, and accountants to access their information via smartphone, tablet, or computer.

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 15

ImplementYour Solution

5Step

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 16

Implementation 101Once you’ve selected an expense management vendor, work with your implementation manager or support team to configure the solution to your company’s needs. You may have specific systems to integrate, such as ACH reimbursments (direct deposit), existing accounting software, corporate credit card feeds, CRM platforms or other corporate programs.

5Step

H&R BLOCk: The Implementation Process IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS: 100,000+ users in North America

CUSTOM INTEgRATIONS: Corporate credit cards, HRIS feed for employees and departments, single sign on capabilities, fees for accounts payable

“Your implementation manager is the person who’s going to be there from beginning to end of the project. From Certify’s standpoint, we really relied on their expertise to help drive the process.

Picking the right partner, picking the right implementation manager, and not forgetting about change management—it’s a critical piece. The technology is amazing but if you don’t have the other pieces in place, it will make the implementation, and ultimately the adoption, more difficult.” —Tim Harrison, Director of Corporate Systems

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 17

Enjoy theBenefits

6Step

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 18

Enjoy the BenefitsFollowing implementation, you’ll find there are countless benefits of cloud-based expense management. Here are just a few of the benefits experienced by companies just like yours...

6Step

54%of companies decreased

or eliminated manual data entry by using a web-based expense

75%of small businesses

experienced 100% ROI in one year or less

72%of companies

experienced an ROI in less than two years

83%Companies using a cloud-

based expense system are able to lower their

processing costs by 83%

45%Holland & Company saved

its accounting department 6 hours per month, reducing

processing time by 45%

50%VitaPlus cut its entire

expense management budget by 50% using

Certify

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 19

6Step

Benefits by Role EMPLOYEE

Mobile technology provides on-the-go flexibility and faster processing

Paperless system eliminates the hassle of printing, stapling, and mailing

Gain insight into expense report lifecycle, from creation to approval

MANAgER

Increased compliance rates

Employees submit expense reports on time

Paperless process eliminates the hassle of printing and mailing

Increased insight into spend and expense report lifecycle

ACCOUNTANT

Automated process eliminates manual reconciliation

Less time spent auditing and reviewing expense reports

Increased insight into spend and access to full analytics suite

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 20

6Step

H&R BLOCk: The Immediate Benefits REDUCTION IN PROCESS LIFECYCLEExpense report process lifecycle reduced from 54 days in PeopleSoft to 15 days in Certify

FASTER AUDITINg PROCESSAccountants are able to review 100 expense reports in one hour, compared to 4+ hours previously

MOBILE CAPABILITIES SAVE TIMEUsers significantly reduced time spent creating and submitting expense reports

DIgITAL INITIATIVEPaperless system eliminated 4,000 pieces of paper in the first month of use alone

AUTOMATIC RECONCILIATIONAutomated technology eliminated manual reconciliation of expenses and receipts

INCREASE IN POLICY COMPLIANCEProvided insights into automobile mileage via mapping and route functionality

STANDARDIZATIONCreated single, global platform with single sign on (SSO) capabilities for web and mobile users

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 21

SummarySwitching from a manual expense management process to an automated one doesn’t need to be overwhelming. With strategic planning, a streamlined approach, and engagement of client stakeholders, you’re bound to see an immediate ROI not only in overall costs, but also in high adoption rates.

Visitwww.certify.com

to learn more or request a demo.

WHERE TO gO FROM HERE

Learn More About CertifyVisit www.certify.com to learn more or request a demo.

Estimate Your Return on Investment Switching from a manual process to a cloud-based software?Talk to a product specialist to identify your potential ROI.

RECOMMENDED SOFTWARE REVIEW WEBSITES To read business software reviews and research expense management vendors, visit G2 Crowd and/or Capterra.

RESOURCES

Dwyer, Christopher J. “T&E Expense Management: A Solution Selection Guide” August 2012 Online <PDF>

Certify, Inc. “ROI of Electronic Expense Management” Online <Infographic>

IMA: Inside Talk “New Technologies and Best Practices in Expense Management: Insights to Drive Growth” October 2014 Online <Webinar>

6 STEPS TO SWITCH FROM SPREADSHEETS TO CLOUD-BASED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT 22

If you’d like to learn more about how Certify can help organize and manage your current expense management process, visit our website at www.Certify.com.

CERTIFY SUPPORTPhone: 888-925-0510Email: support@certify.com

CERTIFY SALESPhone: 888-925-0510Email: sales@certify.com

COMPANY HEADQUARTERS20 York Street, Portland, ME 04101Phone: 207-773-6100