IOP Publishing

IOP is a global leader in providing publishing opportunities for scientific research and studies, stretching across the entire industry. With such a presence, they felt it was time to update their expenses process to best match the needs and requirements of their employees to ensure internal expense management was as streamlined as their publishing offerings.

We had the chance to speak to Debbie Peach, Accounts Payable Manager at IOP about her experience before, during and after deciding to choose Webexpenses.

What process was being used for the management of expenses before Webexpenses?

An excel form was used which was typed or handwritten, then printed so it could be manually signed by the approving manager and then given to the Accounts Payable team to check and process. This was time-consuming for the claimants to complete and for the Accounts Payable team to check as they would just be given a paper form with a pile of receipts (in no order) attached, which made checking them very time-consuming.

What ultimately made you start to look for an expense solution?

We were looking to streamline the process and make it more efficient by reducing the amount of time required by the claimants to submit claims and reduce the amount of paper going around the office with the risk of getting misplaced. We also wanted to make it easier for Accounts Payable to check, automate the entry into our ERP system, have full visibility of all claims and their status and to run more detailed reports.

Why did IOP Publishing select Webexpenses over any other solution?

We had a project team who were looking at various solutions and this team independently rated each solution following the demonstrations. Webexpenses was rated the top solution by all members of the project team as it was user-friendly, had good reviews and we were able to customise it to fit our accounting requirements.

How did you find working with Webexpenses’ sales team?

The sales team were very good and easy to work with, providing us with all the information we needed, carrying out a demonstration and working with us to customise the fields we needed to use to ensure our accounts were charged correctly.

How was the implementation of Webexpenses?

The implementation went extremely smoothly for both our project team and for our users. We have also added on another entity since the initial implementation and again this went smoothly with the team helpfully preparing everything they could for us in advance.

How have you found the customer service support from Webexpenses?

Customer service support is excellent. The whole team are always friendly, helpful and efficient and are very quick at investigating and resolving queries. One aspect we particularly like are the different contact methods available, especially the live chat facility.

How do you find our ongoing communication to you about Webexpenses?

We receive regular support from our Account Manager which is beneficial as this gives us the opportunity to discuss ideas and feedback from our claimants and get updates on whether these ideas are on the road map.

General communication comes via emails for any scheduled upgrades and I regularly check the update page on the Webexpenses support hub, so I can check for any updates that may affect/benefit our users, so I can then advise them accordingly.

Which key benefits have Webexpenses brought so far?

Claimants submit their claims much quicker, especially since the introduction of the full mobile app, as this has made it easier for them as they can prepare claims whilst travelling instead of waiting until they are back in the office with a pile of receipts to sort through. This has resulted in improved monthly accounting as we have fewer costs to accrue for.

It has also eliminated paper, preventing claims being misplaced and eradicating the need for manual filing as well as saving time for the Accounts Payable team by automating the input to our ERP system.