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Simplicity, time savings, and performance have allowed Notilus to become the true digital companion of the mobile employee. It meets the needs of all types of travellers while addressing all corporate departments impacted by T&E (Travel & Expense), a sector in full mutation after a turbulent 2020 year. The integration of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the use of data make Notilus the most advanced management tool on the market.
Three core considerations make the DNA of Notilus:
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improving the daily life of mobile employees,
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putting users’ well-being at the heart of the project,
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developing features in collaboration with users.
During the webinar hosted by Caroline Coudry, and Nicolas Rousseaux, Product and Sales Manager respectively, we discussed continuous innovations, predictive and end-to-end travel management, digital archiving with probative value, and reliable data management.
Discover Notilus!
With our OCR, all fields such as VAT, currency or amount are automatically detected. With the electronic archiving, your expense receipts are stored in a secure cloud, no more paper.
1. Mobility: much more than just expense reports!
The core business of Notilus is expense report processing. A powerful optical recognition system (OCR) allows users to document expenses (toll, fuel, meal…) from a simple photograph. Notilus automatically recognizes and extracts key data (expense amount, type, VAT with multiple rates, date, country, currency, fuel…) from the picture, thus saving precious time. In mobility, reactivity is crucial and our offer cannot limit itself to solely managing expense reports. Notilus is designed to accompany travellers throughout their travels, from the trip request and reservations (such as train and hotel reservations, customer meetings) to the management of expense reports and trip-related supplier invoices. Notilus is a unique tool that allows intuitive and complete management of all business-related trips and expenses.
The challenge of a successful T&E project lies in satisfying both the regular or occasional mobile employee, in the fine-tuned application of company rules (ceiling, validation, etc.), and above all in the time saved for ALL users, regardless of their function in the company (managers, administrators, accounting). All departments can be impacted by a T&E project, which is why they are so important. Notilus has been designed to become an “intelligent” travel companion for consulting, entering, or validating information in real-time, meaning it can be finely customized. A user can personalize the software with notes, comments, professional or personal reminders while Notilus relieves him of as many administrative tasks as possible. Users can book their next train, hotel, etc., through Notilus as well.
2. A simple – but not simplistic – solution for all types of users
Notilus has evolved to follow governmental regulations and embrace both technology and new user behaviours. Indeed, smartphones and tablets have become essential work tools. During the “Notilus Days” (formerly called “Users Club”), the product is enriched with innovative ideas from its users to fit their actual needs: screens, sequences, ergonomics, visualization with the Notilus mobile application from a smartphone tablet, or PC depending on the user’s appetence or maturity towards new technologies. Since Travel & Expense software are perhaps one of the most visible tools in the company, it is, therefore, crucial that they meet the expectations of all users. To do that, listening to customers’ needs is a must. This is how the new Notilus platform was born, operating in real-time with a backup of expenses in the cloud, simple and intuitive interfaces, and facilitating the lives of employees who can manage their expense reports via personalized alerts.
Many departments are impacted by T&E: the travel department for trip planning, HR for training, IT for the security of incoming and outgoing flows, or data management. The control and validation interface of Notilus displays key information to the approver, who quickly spots, thanks to advanced sorting and filtering functionalities, any abnormal behaviour (forgotten entries, overrun, duplicates). While it may sound simple, few tools on the market are capable of combining streamlined approval processes, information feedback, and data entry with powerful reporting abilities, vehicle fleet management, mission order management, and supplier invoices. Many administrative tasks are transferred to internal teams, especially in accounting.
For example, Notilus offers a conditional approval workflow, depending on the information entered by the traveller and the rules defined by the company: expense report or trip request can be sent for validation to a given department rather than another (CFO or classic approver depending on the amount). This allows for a very precise management of approval rules and automation of the first levels of control. Notilus adapts to the rules of the company, the establishment, the department… and not the opposite. It can thus meet the needs of multi-company, multi-country groups by adapting to local rules and constraints.
3. Dematerialization with probative value: compliance, security, and reliability issues
In addition to its speedy recognition of a dozen data types, Notilus OCR is also a very reliable tool. Its minimum accuracy rate exceeds 80% and is generally around 90-95%. In addition to OCR, AI helps identify the correct nature of the expenses and thus avoid creating duplicated new entries. New technologies also bring new challenges to T&E projects, such as security management and the monitoring of new regulations. Specific rules apply to each country. For example, in France since May 2019, dematerialization with probative value is driving organizations to become paperless, provided they satisfy 3 conditions: guarantee of authenticity, integrity, and durability of scanned documentation.
Notilus converts all scanned documents into PDF, applies an electronic signature on these documents, and hosts them for more than ten years via a trusted third party. Furthermore, we have developed a requester that allows the retrieving of all scanned and archived documents at any time.
Nearly 50% of companies have initiated a project for the total dematerialization of their expense reports and about 20% are already operating on a paperless basis. In 2020, the reliability of the offer proposed by Notilus has led 100% of our new customers to choose the digitization with probative value option in the solution.
We recognize that a dematerialization project can generate stress in the company. Notilus secures not only the processed documents but also the data. The process is strictly compliant with tax authorities’ and Urssaf policies. The ISO 27001 certification, renewed every three years, is a guarantee of robust data security, indispensable today given the growing number of cyber-attacks around the world.
4. Solution integration is essential to a T&E project
Notilus integrates with its users’ IT tools (HR systems, ERP, accounting systems, Self-Booking Tools) to ensure that data is transferred as smoothly as possible and blends in with the company’s IS. It reduces manual data entry by automating flows as much as possible. Two types of interfaces are used to receive (HR, project codes, exchange rates, etc.) and extract data (accounting for expense reports, payments if reimbursements are reflected in the pay, etc.).
5. A unique data management tool
A company cannot manage its activity without reliable information. However, T&E data come from numerous sources, such as travel agencies, online booking portals, supplier invoices, expense reports, CRM, Outlook, etc. Notilus is proud to offer a unique database for data analysis, extraction, and reporting on 3 levels, including the fully customizable report builder.
Every company is different when it comes to analytics. However, the need to consolidate cost data generated by mobile employees is common to all. The data must therefore be qualitative and enable processes to be refined, for example, on overruns (revision of ceilings) or modes of transport (contract renegotiation). The manager can retrieve all the data related to an appointment, for example, and make his business codes more reliable. It will simplify the approval process of its mobile employees, who will now be freed from time-consuming tasks.
This is the challenge taken up by Notilus: to ensure both qualitative and quantitative management of data from end to end via a solution that is intuitive to use and easy to set up!
In conclusion, with Notilus, the employee is at the centre of the mobility project and the software simplifies all his administrative tasks. It goes far beyond the mere management of expense reports, to offer an entire analytical system for managers, fleet and T&E managers, and accountants… Data, the lifeblood of performance, is constantly evolving to provide decision-makers with reliable and customizable management information.
Our solution is dedicated to the moblity management. In addition to the expense reports management you can plan, book and track your business trips. It is also possible to manage your car fleet.
