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Accounting

2016 Review of Certify Expense Management

Certify Travel & Expense from Certify, Inc. is designed for businesses that need to track travel and other related expenses for numerous employees. Designed to be simple enough to use regularly, the product also offers a variety of robust features ...

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Certify Travel & Expense Management: www.certify.com

Best Fit: Small to mid-sized businesses that currently need to track expenses for multiple employees.

Product Strengths:

  • Product is easy to use with no training time required
  • Certify is scalable, with three versions available for users to choose from
  • Affordable pricing puts the product within range for businesses of all sizes
  • Excellent reporting capabilities are included in the product

From the 2016 reviews of travel expense management systems.

Basic System Functions 5 Stars

Certify Travel & Expense from Certify, Inc. is designed for businesses that need to track travel and other related expenses for numerous employees. Designed to be simple enough to use regularly, the product also offers a variety of robust features such as expense control, mobile expense approvals, and solid reporting capability. Beneficial for both employees that are traveling, as well as managers and accountants that need to track and manage expenses, Certify can be downloaded easily, with users able to begin using the product immediately. The product also supports multiple languages and currencies, with users to choose from up to 64 languages and over 140 different currencies when setting up their account.    

The main premise of Certify is to simplify expense reporting, making it easier for employees to keep track of their expenses while also complying with company policy. The simplicity of the product means that users will be able to utilize the product immediately upon downloading, with no training necessary. Created specifically for mobile technology, users can also capture receipt images offline, with any information automatically uploaded into the system once Internet connectivity is restored.

Expense & Management Functions 5 Stars

Certify is ideal for both employees and accountants, offering features such as expense limits by either category or by department. Managers can simply enter the compliance rules into Certify once it’s downloaded to ensure employee compliance. Company managers receive an automatic notification when an employee books any travel, with the option to cancel a booking within 24 hours to receive a complete refund.

Employees will receive automatic notification if they in violation of any of the preset limits, with managers also able to view any compliance violations when expense reports are submitted for approval. Along with mobile submission of receipts, users can also submit receipts by email or fax, text message, of by scanner.

Mobile Features 5 Stars

Users simply need to download the version of Certify they wish to use to begin using the product. Once a purchase is made, a quick photo of the receipt is taken and uploaded automatically to Certify. The process takes a matter of seconds, and users can easily edit the information on their mobile screen if it doesn’t agree with the receipt. Currently, Certify will work with a variety of mobile devices, including iPhones, iPads, Androids, Windows Phones, and BlackBerry. Once receipt images are captured, users can use the Autofill feature, which uses Certify’s Receipt Parse technology to automatically extract data from the receipt image.

Users can easily review captured data for accuracy, and then simply save the images in order to create the report. Once receipts have been entered, users simply access the Auto Expense feature to create a report that can be easily reviewed. Once a report has been reviewed, it can be quickly submitted to management for approval. Conveniently, managers will receive an email once expense reports have been uploaded for approval, and can also approval expense reports using their smart phones as well.

Integration Options 5 Stars

For QuickBooks users, Certify offers complete integration, including the ability to link employees, vendors, expense categories, and departments between the two applications. Users can also post journal entries and issue checks directly from Certify. The product also integrates with other applications such as PeopleSoft, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, and Salesforce. An included Audit Reporting function makes it easy to verify receipt accuracy, and works well as an audit tool as well.

Certify also offer excellent reporting options for Employees, Managers, Executives, and Accountants, with the ability to track both employee mileage and airfare, compare expenses between staff, spending trends and top five expenses, and totals for all reimbursable expenses, which can be categorized by department, region, or employee

Help/Support 4.75 Stars

Certify’s support page contains a list of FAQ’s, along with a broad selection of support topics to choose from. New users can access the Training Camp, which provides a series of live user trainings, all of which are free, though users will likely only need one or two training sessions because Certify is so easy to use. A set of user guides in PDF are available for users to download, and toll-free telephone support is also available during regular business hours. Users can also choose to submit a support request via the website, and a Chat option is available as well.

Summary & Pricing

Certify is currently available in three versions:   Certify Now!, which is recommended for 1-25 users and offers all basic system functionality. Certify Now is $8.00 per user per month. For larger businesses, the Professional version of Certify is available, and billed as a monthly fee. The Professional version offers additional product functionality such as an automated accounts payable feed, QuickBooks integration, and a corporate travel application. The Enterprise version is best suited for larger businesses with more complex needs, and offers all of the features included in both the Certify Now! and Professional editions, along with both HRMS and ERP integration. The Enterprise edition is billed annually, and pricing for both the Professional and Enterprise editions are available upon request.

2016 Rating 5 Stars