- Challenge: Reduce time to process claims with product simplicity and integrate into existing accounting packages.
- Solution: Selenity Expenses
- Results: More accurate auditing, reduced errors, broad range of reports, VAT claimed more accurately and more control over expenses.
Bowers & Wilkins is a loud speaker and audio amplification manufacturer based in Worthing, West Sussex. They are an International company that specialises in the manufacture and production of high end audio equipment such as loud speakers, award winning multimedia products such as head phones and their Zeppelin Air docking station for the iPhone, supported by Apple’s Air Play.
The Challenge
The company were looking for a modern expenses solution that would cope with their specific needs and that would integrate well with existing accounting packages.
The reduction of time taken to process claims and product simplicity, while maintaining compliance with HMRC’s regulations were key attributes for Bowers & Wilkins in choosing their perfect expenses solution.
The Solution
Selenity Expenses solution was selected to alleviate the issues previously faced while helping Bowers & Wilkins increase claim efficiency and claimant confidence.
John Nieuwoudt, Payroll Administrator and Accounts Assistant, Bowers & Wilkins says: “We found Selenity Expenses to be a lot more user-friendly and we feel it also meets our requirements when it comes to processing expense claims. The online demonstrations we received were clear cut and provided a good insight as to how the system works and what it could do for us in the long run.”
The expectation was that Selenity Expenses would help them save time, reduce the risk of human error, allow correct reclaiming of VAT and also provide reliable reports and stats for auditing purposes.
Implementation Deployment of Selenity Expenses consisted of initial ‘kickoff meetings’ and data analysis, configuration of the system to allow integration with their current products, finally culminating in a single rollout for employees.
Benefits for Bowers & Wilkins
- More accurate auditing of expense claims.
- Reduced errors on individual claims.
- Broad range of reporting facilities.
- VAT has been claimed more accurately.
- More control over expense claims from start to finish ensuring secure approval by relevant bodies.
Policy compliance is not always the easiest factor to control and govern, however with the customisability of Selenity Expenses to enforce certain rules and regulations and the full accessibility of the policy to claimants, Bowers & Wilkins have seen a clear improvement in the compliance to their company policy.
Customer Experience
The Customer Service teams were available to help guide Bowers & Wilkins through the process from start to finish.
John Nieuwoudt stated that “The customer service was very efficient and more importantly we did not feel pressured into committing to anything at any time. The help and support we received during the implementation process was tremendous and we were happy with the way it was carried out.”
Employee confidence is paramount to successful implementation of a new system and the training provided allowed administrators to be walked through, in great detail, the features and uses of Selenity Expenses. This allowed them to relay information back to employees before the system went live to ensure that a sense of knowledge had been built prior to the Open to Claimants (OTC) stage of rollout.
The Result
When asked about their initial specification and goals they hoped to achieve Bowers & Wilkins responded with “The biggest saving we have made to date is the time aspect as we are finding that the more people are using the system the more they are becoming familiar with it which in turn leads to quicker, more efficient claims processing.”
Selenity Expenses functionality to allow compatibility with other existing systems is something Bowers & Wilkins have seen a great amount of success with, allowing minimal disruption and a consistent and improved workflow.
Moving forward, the company feel that the ability to use Selenity Expenses abroad and electronically scan receipts is particularly advantageous as they will be rolling out the system to their overseas employees in due course.
