Archive for month: March, 2013

You are here: / / March

Automated Expense Reporting Integration with ERP & Accounting Systems

/4 Comments/in , , , , /by

In the last few months, we have been receiving inquiries regarding our integration with ERP & Accounting systems in relation to some of the other expense reporting solutions out there. I think the key difference can be summarized as – Full Automation

Most of the other systems out there say that they can ‘integrate’ but what they really mean is that they provide a flat-file that can then be imported into the ERP system. Nothing wrong with this and it may actually work better for some companies. But when we refer to integration, we mean full 100% automated integration, which means – the Accounting person pushes a button and the expenses are available in the ERP system as GL entries or into AP. This makes a huge difference for our customers.

Using our integration manager utility, they are able to pick and choose expense reports they want to send. After that, they click on a button to push the expense data. Simple as that! We have heard from our customers that With this approach, there is lesser chances of errors, much fewer manual steps that need to be taken and it can be performed by anyone in Accounting or AP without any expert training. Plus, the mapping of parameters can be tweaked very easily within the integration manager by the Admin without having to redesign the flat file format. Thus the Accounting folks will have lot more flexibility in how the data is pushed to the ERP or Accounting systems. We guarantee that this approach is 21st century proof! šŸ™‚

So, come take a look at this and some of the other advancements we are making in the expense reporting space. To see a list of some of the systems we integrate with, go to the ‘Advanced Functions’ tab here. If you’d like to learn more or have any questions, as always, send us an email – info@gorillaexpense.com

Three Amigos: NAV2013, Gorilla Expense and The Cloud

/9 Comments/in , , , , /by

We have been receiving several inquiries over the last few months about our integration with NAV2013 in relation to what would happen if NAV is hosted on the cloud. Here is the quick scoop –

Microsoft has made significant investments towards the ā€œhostabilityā€ of NAV2013. This helps deploying and using NAV in the cloud, thus benefiting both customers and partners. Microsoft is currently fine-tuning deployment scenarios and developing guidance for deploying NAV on Azure. Microsoft expects to make deployment of NAV on Azure broadly available in Q1, 2013. They had initially planned it closer to Nov 2012.

Our application is deployed on the cloud too (as one of the options), specifically Azure (Yes, we are heavily Microsoft oriented and we love it :). With this option, the customer has nothing to worry about in regards to hosting the data, managing the application or tackling the overhead associated with maintaining a server, support etc. Our integration with NAV is agnostic to the hosting format employed. NAV can be on a dedicated server on the cloud or we could be co-hosted with NAV too. Neither approaches affect out integration from the user’s perspective. On the back-end, there will be a few more gerbils turning wheels. But the customer will always experience a seamless and fully automated integration between our solution and NAV.

This flexible integration and hosting capabilities between our solution and NAV makes life much easier for the customer, the partner and of course for us too. Read about our integration with NAV here. If you would like to learn more or have any further questions, send us a message at – info@gorillaexpense.com.

Meanwhile, here are some more tidbits about NAV013 you may find useful

– Microsoft announced the availability of NAV 2013 in 15 markets. With significant improvements in functionality and several new capabilities, this launch was hailed as the most significant release of NAV yet
– Functionality such as Cash Flow Forecast, Cost Accounting, and Excel Integration to Query enable greater accounting efficiency for customers while offering partners the ability to develop customized solutions
– The new NAV web client allows users to access NAV from virtually any device. Improved query and charting offer compelling ways to analyze and display data for more users
– Improvements to the migration tool, partner development tools, and increased interoperability with Microsoft technologies mean less time is needed for partners to customize and deploy solutions, and they are easier for customers to learn and have impact
– Specifically useful for partners, NAV2013 enables easier deployment, configuration and installation through the RoleTailored developer experience. The new .NET Framework enhancements makes it easier to build, deploy and integrate high-performing add-ons with existing NAV solutions, and share data more easily

Adios!

Stress Triggers for Business Travelers

/in , /by

More and more corporate travel managers are paying more attention to make life and travel easier for their corporate travelers. They understand that frequent business travel has an impact on travelers’ personal health, productivity and affects employee’s willingness to remain at the firm. Many travel managers indicated that they were dissatisfied with the way their companies address the impact of business travel on travelers. Concerns about traveler’s health and willingness to stay at the firm weighed heaviest, followed by safety and productivity. Carlson Wagonlit (CWT Solutions Group) put together a study that discussed key stress triggers for travelers.

Here is the synopsis –

“What emerged from this survey is that the 33 stress triggers studied can be grouped into 3 main categories (which are not mutually exclusive), based on the way they impact a traveler:

1. Lost time: situation in which work is difficult or impossible (e.g. Flying economy on long haul)
2. Surprises: when an unforeseen event occurs (e.g. Lost or delayed baggage)
3. Routine breakers: inability to maintain oneā€™s habits (e.g. Unable to eat healthily at destination)

The main stress drivers reported by our respondents all have a ā€œlost timeā€ component and fall into at least one additional category (surprise and/or routine breaker):

Lost or delayed baggage [79/100]
Poor Internet connection at destination [77/100]
Flying economy on Medium/Long haul [73/100]
Delays [72/100]

Furthermore, we observed significant differences in the stress perceived by the different demographic groups we studied. For example: Women report on average four points of stress more than men (on the most stressful factors, defined as scores above 60/100).

There is a cumulative effect of stress with increased travel frequency. A difference of four stress points is measured betweenĀ  frequent (over 30 trips per year) travelers and occasional travelers.Ā  Frequent travelers are more skilled at tackling surprises, butĀ  more distressed by ā€œlost timeā€ events.Ā  There is a high correlation among the demographic groups segmented by job seniority, age and trip frequency, creating similar patterns of perceived stress.Ā  For respondents living with a partner, traveling during weekends and long stays (over 3 days) generate an additional 8 points and 4 points of stress respectively compared to those living alone. The same effect is observed when comparing respondents with and without children.Ā  This research lays the groundwork that will enable us to build an overall measure of stress and to assess the corresponding productivity impact on an organization. Our ultimate objective is to provide recommendations to tackle the hidden costs ofĀ  business travel.”

The full report is available here