Flow in Acubiz

Acubiz delivers data to the company’s financial system as export files, which must be imported into the financial system (ERP). The data that enters Acubiz must therefore be exported after passing through Acubiz’s posting engine.

Data in Acubiz can originate from different sources, which are processed through different flows:

1. Provisioning flow (credit card) [1]. Automatic postings that occur immediately when a credit card transaction is received or created in Acubiz.
2. Expense flow [2]. Manually created or enriched expenses from employees that require approval.
3. Invoice flow (credit card) [3]. Automatic postings that are generated and posted when the monthly consolidated or credit card invoice is received in Acubiz.

[2] Expense flow: From registration to accounting

Regardless of the expense’s origin, all transactions in the expense flow [2] must go through a defined approval process. Although the specific workflow may vary from company to company, the basic principles are always divided into three fixed roles: The Employee, The Approver, and The Finance Employee.

(A) The Employee’s process

The employee is responsible for registering and documenting their expenses (whether these are credit card transactions, cash expenses, mileage, per diems, or cash advances):

• Posting: Choose the correct expense type for all expenses.
• Dimensioning: Apply relevant dimensions (e.g., cost center, project, department, etc.).
• Documentation: Attach valid receipts and vouchers for all expenses.
• Structuring: Optionally group related expenses into a consolidated travel report to ensure better overview for both employee and manager.
• Send the expenses forward in the flow for approval.

💡Tips for employees:

• Take the picture immediately: Digitize the receipt right after the purchase to avoid losing the document.
• Ensure full visibility: The entire receipt – including all four corners – must be visible on the screen.
• Ensure good lighting: Take the picture in a well-lit environment, preferably against a darker, uniform background for best readability.
• Check the amount: Always verify that the entered amount exactly matches the amount on the receipt.
• Withdrawal of documents: Note that a submitted document can only be withdrawn as long as it has not yet been approved.

(B) The Approver’s (Manager’s) process

The approver ensures that the employee’s expenses are business-relevant:

• Policy check: Review the received expenses against the company’s current expense policy.
• Document control: Ensure that valid and sufficient documentation exists for the expenses.
• Processing: Approve the expenses for further processing or reject them back to the employee with a comment if information is missing.

💡Tips for approvers/managers:

• Use waiting time effectively: Process and approve/reject documents continuously during short breaks throughout the workday (e.g., while traveling or at the airport).
• Create overview through sorting: Sort documents by employee to gain better overview and a more efficient approval process.
• Stable connection: Ensure good mobile coverage or a secure internet connection when approving documents via mobile.

(C) The Finance Employee’s process

The finance department performs the final check and ensures everything is ready for accounting and possible payment:

• Compliance: Ensure that approved expenses comply with the company’s internal guidelines and tax regulations.
• Audit: Verify that documentation and posting comply with applicable accounting practices.
• Validation: Perform the final approval or reject expenses back in the flow if errors are found.
• Export: Transfer approved data to the company’s financial system (ERP) and/or payroll system (e.g., for mileage or per diems).

💡Tips for finance:

• Reject repeated errors: Reject documents that are incorrectly posted by the same user. This ensures correct accounting and helps the employee learn continuously (learning by doing).
• Use the split function: Use the system’s split function when an amount needs to be allocated to multiple case or accounting accounts.
• Create overview with reports: Regularly generate reports to get a comprehensive overview of consumption, approval flow, and status.
• Follow up on open documents: Regularly follow up on unfinished and open documents in the approval flow to avoid bottlenecks.
• Perform regular reconciliations: Continuously reconcile between Acubiz and the company’s accounting system to ensure data quality, avoid discrepancies, and facilitate external audits.

[1] Provisioning flow

When an employee makes a purchase with their company credit card, Acubiz receives transaction data directly from the card issuer. The system automatically performs a provisioning posting, so the company has a real-time view of outstanding liabilities in the financial system, even before the employee has settled the receipt.

[3] Invoice flow

When the monthly consolidated invoice from the credit card issuer arrives in Acubiz, it is automatically matched and posted in the system. This ensures a fast and accurate reconciliation against the received transactions without manual intervention.