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Implementation cost return on investment realised within first year of going ‘live’

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SaaS charging model is a set rate per claim – pay for usage rather than a monthly fee per person


August 17, 2011 – P2D announces today that major British retailer, the Co-operative Group, has deployed its online expense system to radically improve the whole process of staff expense claim management within its trading group of businesses.[1]

The Software-as-a Service (SaaS) P2D eExpenses solution improves administration efficiency, significantly improves financial control and management information, and provides staff full visibility of where their claims are in the approval cycle. 

Now fully rolled out, claims are charged on a per unit basis with implementation cost return on investment realised within the first year of deployment. Within its trading businesses, the Co-operative processes around 60,000 staff expense claims per annum or 1,200 per week.

With an annual turnover of £13.7 billion, The Co-operative Group operates over 5,000 retail outlets and serves 17 million customers every week. In 2007, the group merged with United Co-operative, and over the past three years has integrated Britannia Building Society and Somerfield foodstores into its business. While well known as a food retailer – it is the 5th largest in the UK with over 2,800 stores - the Co-operative is also the country’s leading funeral director, one of the largest farmers, and operates the third largest pharmacy chain.

Historically employee expense claims were managed using a spreadsheet which staff accessed from the Co-operative’s Intranet, however this involved completion, printing and then circulation of hard copy with receipts for appropriate sign off. This was then sent in the post with receipts attached to its headquarters in Manchester for final processing and payment.

The Co-operative recognised that this process required updating in a way that provided full status visibility to the claimant as well as improved processing efficiency, financial control, good management information and, most important, the timely and accurate reimbursement to employee colleagues.

Adam Williams, head of shared financial services centre for the Co-operative’s trading businesses said, “The Co-operative considered various solutions and selected P2D’s eExpenses system as it was impressed with how intuitive the software is to use, the simplicity of deployment and customisation, and its comprehensive range of features. P2D also offered a favourable pay-to-use pricing structure, attentive account management, and an informative site visit to another P2D retail customer. The project started in August 2010, with the roll out complete by December 2010.”

Staff now login to the P2D eExpenses system through a browser from their home or office computers, complete their claims online which are then automatically routed to the appropriate managers for review and sign off. Around 80% of staff scan and upload their receipts to accompany each claim, with the remainder sending actual receipts to P2D’s scanning bureau partner, Quantor Scanning, for processing.

Robin Colla, P2D’s chief executive, explains, “Authorised managers get an email alert from our system telling them claims have arrived for review. If they ‘approve’ the whole claim, it’s then routed to the financial team for a last check, with data integration to the Co-operative’s accounts software made on a daily basis to initiate payment. If an expense is rejected, this in turn generates an email back to the employee saying why. What is key, is that only the rejected items are held back – approved elements are processed immediately so the whole claim isn’t held up.”

The benefits of the system are wide ranging.
1.
The Co-operative has improved administration efficiency in the management of expenses for its trading businesses and this improvement has very quickly paid back the initial implementation costs.

2.
Quality management information is now available through the P2D solution to enhance compliance and financial reporting which was only available in a very limited format with the previous paper-based system. For example, the Co-operative expects the level of VAT recovery to rise as the P2D system requires staff to upload receipts before expenses are paid. Williams says, “If receipts aren’t sent in, then we can’t reclaim VAT so each business is charged the full gross value if approved. The P2D solution now allows managers to take action, investigate and discuss claims with staff to ensure compliance with company policy.”
The management information now available monitors this position and drives continuous improvement.
Similarly, the business can now delve in and review how much is being spent, on what type of expense, by whom and by which business so greater control on expenditure can be made group-wide. Furthermore, the system makes it easier for the Co-operative to claim corporate tax relief as accounts staff can ‘drill’ into nominal codes to see which expenses have been charged, and whether tax can actually be recovered.

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Robust processes are now in place in terms of who signs off expenses, and the consistency of information provided has been standardised which improves later financial analysis.

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Staff now have total visibility of where their claims are in the approval cycle and have the flexibility to complete expenses on a daily basis and save them for later submission.


Clive Dunkey, Quantor Scanning’s managing director, says, “Gone are the black hole days where claims were submitted and people were never quite sure when they would be repaid. For staff sending receipts to us, we deliver against an aggressive SLA of same day scanning and uploading to ensure claims aren’t delayed. ”

Williams says, “We’ve had first class service from P2D and its eExpenses system is an excellent solution. They’ve been responsive to our needs, delivered quickly and supported us all the way. I have no hesitation recommending the system based on our experiences.”

Colla concludes, “Expenses might at first glance seem like a prosaic business process with limited scope for radical change. However a pay-to-process solution is a cost effective way for all companies to not only cut administration costs but significantly enhance efficiency and improve financial control, crucial in today’s tougher commercial environment.”