Metrovacesa is a Spanish company founded in 1918 that is engaged in the real estate business. Its business activity is focused in large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, in addition to the Costa del Sol. It also handles land management activities that range from urban development to the promotion and sale of land and high-quality homes located in areas with high demand in Spain.
The problem
Metrovacesa is formed by a team that has a very high mobility index, therefore requiring a major effort in maintaining adequate and controlled management of the large volume of expenses that are generated every month.
Before implementing Tickelia, expense reports were managed through a trip module of SAP. Part of the approval of settlements was done on paper, and subsequently validation was processed through the trip module. The posting and payment process was also automated through SAP. The Area secretaries were in charge of authorising settlements, and from Finance, an accounting person generated the accounting entry and the file for payment by Cash Management. They took 2 to 3 business days every month to manage the expense reports of all the company’s employees.
At a certain point, they reached the ceiling, and it became clear that alternatives had to be sought to reorganise the entire process.
The solution
At Metrovacesa, they were aware that their expense management process had points that could be improved: they needed to streamline and simplify the operation of creating the expense report by employees. That’s why the proposal for automation with Tickelia quickly drew their attention.
One of the functionalities that caught their attention the most when evaluating Tickelia was the automatic recognition of information. This meant the complete automation of the reporting process, given that employees didn’t have to enter any data, just take a photo of their receipts.
Another differentiating factor was Tickelia’s official approval by the Tax Agency. This meant the complete elimination of paper in expense management, given that digitised receipts are valid in audits.
Another Tickelia functionality that motivated Metrovacesa to decide on our solution was the multi-level validation, whereby all expenses are supervised through a streamlined, multi-level and practically automatic workflow thanks to the alerts programmed through Tickelia. A solution for increased control thanks to prior validation by supervisors or the people involved in the process.
A final factor – less attractive for users but essential for the company – was the capability to integrate Tickelia with Metrovacesa’s SAP system. This allowed a flow of expense information that was completely integrated with the company’s accounting.
The results
By implementing Tickelia, Metrovacesa’s expense management process has changed radically. From taking 2 to 3 business days to manage the expense reports of all company employees, the process is now completely automated, with expense reports generated automatically using Tickelia, and the control and review process now takes place through a completely digitised platform.
From the employees’ point of view, the main benefit has been the drastic drop in the time they were taking to manage their company expenses. Moreover, they now have a tool that automates their expense reporting and that informs them in real time about the part of their allocation that they’re spending.
Finally, supervisors have real-time control of over the expenses of a team, or of an individual, and they can directly notify those who are not meeting the conditions.
