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“Today, on the public side, there are still many entities that manage their expense reports and mission orders in Word or Excel. They are then printed in several copies and signed by different departments. In accounting, everything has to be done manually in the accounting software” explains Vanessa.
However, on July 3, 2006, decree number 2006-781 set the conditions and modalities for the payment of expenses incurred by temporary travel of civil servants. For the past ten years, we have been offering a very specific service for the public sector: Notilus InOne. The differences and specificities are indeed numerous compared to the private sector, hence the need for a customized solution.
Are the travel order and the expense reports a specificity of the public sector?
In reality, whether in the private or public sector, the principle stays the same. A business trip will generate various expenses that must be declared in an “expense reports” to obtain reimbursement.
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Solution dedicated to the management of temporary travel for government and civil service employees. Travel Order, Expense Reports, Suplliers Invoices…
This expense reports must be assigned a travel order. The travel order is a prerequisite for any travel by a government employee. Some employees have a permanent travel order (generally valid for one year in a given geographical area).
When they travel outside this territory, they declare their travel in a temporary or ad hoc travel order.
For example, imagine I am an agent of a local authority and have to travel daily in my department. I have a permanent travel order that authorizes me to travel within a defined territory. When I declare my periodic expense reports, often to declare my mileage allowances, I attach it directly to my permanent travel order. On the other hand, when I need to travel occasionally for training, for example, I may need to book a train ticket. In this case, I declare my mission through a one-time mission order. When I return from the training, I declare the expenses incurred during the training in an expense reports.
It should be noted that many private companies also use the principle of mission orders to organize the travel of their employees.
What are some other specificities of the public sector?
1. The commitment of the expense
This is one of the major differences. In the public sector, public entities are required to commit the expense. This means that in accounting there is a time lag between the authorization to commit expenditure and actual payment. Note that this is not the case in all public entities (especially parapublic ones), and some do not “book” the expense.
2. Daily and mileage allowances
In the public sector, the mission order will integrate (automatically in Notilus InOne) the daily allowances which are also called “mission expenses” for trips abroad. In our solution, the agent will enter the duration of his stay and the name of the destination city or country. These are the elements that will initiate the automatic calculation of meal or overnight expenses in accordance with the regulations.
As mentioned above, public sector employees, and in particular local authorities, declare numerous mileage allowances. In Notilus InOne, their calculation is also automated. Depending on the itinerary and the vehicle declared in the solution, the amount of the mileage allowance is automatically filled in. Moreover, it is possible to digitize the elements that make up the “file” of the vehicle by logging in the system the driver’s license or the registration document. The user also declares the fiscal power of his vehicle which will be required to determine the exact amount of the mileage allowance due.
3. Forecasted expenses
Notilus InOne offers all the functionalities that allow you to value the mission as accurately as possible before it is validated. This is the case for provisional expenses when the trip involves expenses that are additional to the daily allowances and that are known before the trip, such as cab, parking fees, specific invoices, etc.
The budget approver thus has an accurate view of the estimated amount needed for the mission and can check if it is within the budget before the validates the mission.
4. Liquidating the expenditure
In terms of accounting, when we want to reimburse an agent, we proceed to the liquidation of the expense. In the public sector, after having committed the expense and blocked a provisional amount of money, the accountant manager now has to regularize and readjust it to the real amount of the allowances, which are then mandated to proceed with reimbursement.
5. Advances
In the public sector, an advance must be attached to a mission order and may even be capped. 100% of the daily allowance is rarely granted before the trip. Usually, an accounting manager makes an advance declaration in the system and informs an advance has been made by transfer, corresponding to, for example, 75% of the amount of the estimated expenses and daily allowances declared. This management can be automated as well in a tool such as Notilus InOne.
6. Managing population profiles
In a project to manage expense reports and mission orders, several populations or types of profiles can be supervised. This will allow you to create operating and reimbursement rules that will be distinct according to the agent’s profile.
For example, in a local authority, the rules for declaring travel and reimbursement for agents are different from those for elected officials.
Finally, why adopt Notilus InOne?
Notilus InOne is a solution developed to cover the specific travel needs of public sector entities.
Moreover, it offers:
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Possible connectors with travel providers. For some public entities that travel a lot, we can add a connector with the travel company, at the level of mission orders. This way, when a specific trip requires the reservation of a train or plane ticket, the amount of the reservation will be automatically added to the mission order.
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Accounting interfaces. Notilus InOne provides accounting interfaces with all accounting software editors. Our team also masters all the standardized flows that may be required by local authorities.
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A dedicated Product and Support team located in France. It is always better to have people who understand your needs to make the product evolve! Notilus InOne has a team of experts specialized in the needs of public entities.
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Compliance with regulations. As soon as the daily allowances are updated by decree, the reference frame is updated in our tool.
In concrete terms, how do you implement Notilus InOne in your organization?
As soon as a project exceeds the regulatory thresholds, it must go through an established regulatory framework. There are several possible solutions: you can equip go through a central purchasing agency such as the UGAP, or you can launch a procurement procedure (MaPA or call for tenders depending on the amount of money envisaged).
Sourcing is a very interesting procedure to identify potential economic operators, the different coverages offered according to your needs, and to have a precise idea of the pricing for this type of project.
Whether you go through MAPA, call for tenders, or acquisition via a central purchasing office: a detailed description of your needs should be formalized in a specification to ensure that the end result meets your expectations.
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.
