T&E Vendors Debut 'Webware'

<FONT SIZE="+3"><B>T&E Vendors Debut 'Webware'</B>

By Mary Ann McNulty

With visions of customers dancing in their heads this holiday season, vendors of expense reporting solutions are announcing new products, alliances and Web-based versions at a frenzied pace.

News of Internet-based software is welcome to Web-dependent companies because until now, T&E software was available only as stand-alone or server-based applications.

Recognizing the tremendous growth of intranets and the Internet, vendors began developing T&E applications that can be accessed using the browsers from Microsoft and Netscape. By loading applications on the Internet or an intranet, corporations can reduce the costs of maintaining software on each computer and can free up valuable hard-disk space. With just one copy of the application, it's also much easier to update policies. And corporations no longer have to worry about finding applications written in multiple operating systems because Internet applications will work with any system.

Among the new Internet-based applications:

<H3></H3> Newcomer Ballou Internet Services Inc., Townsend, Mass., just released its NetSelect Time & Expense software, designed for use on the World Wide Web or corporate intranets. NetSelect was developed by consultants who support financial applications and travel frequently; it was "invention by necessity," according to vice president of marketing Richard Banning. Travelers will enter their expenses using a graphical user interface and the software will automatically audit according to policies established. Once approved, the expense data can feed into various financial systems, including SAP, Oracle, and D&B Software.

The company also is working on a service-bureau version of the product that would allow employees to access NetSelect's Internet site to drop off expense reports.

<H3></H3> Redmond, Wash.-based Portable Software plans a beta release of its intranet-ready T&E expense solution in the second quarter of 1997, with several of its Fortune 100 clients planning to test it.

<H3></H3> Captura Software expects to release its browser application for Employee Payables by the spring; users currently can e-mail their expense reports via the Internet. The Internet will become one of several data transport mechanisms that can be used for automated T&E reporting, said Dana Bruttig, president and CEO of Bothell, Wash.-based Captura.

The primary disadvantage of Internet applications, Bruttig said, is that the user must be online to create and submit an expense report. System slowness or the inability to access the Internet during peak periods could pose problems.

<H3> </H3>Workflow Solutions Inc., based in Bellevue, Wash., plans to develop a Web-enabled version early next year. As a first step in releasing the Web version, Workflow intends to release in the first quarter of 1997 a commercial, off-the-shelf edition of TAMS to work with Microsoft Windows products.

Looking for greater distribution of its products, T&E vendors also are aligning with new players. Rosenbluth International today is announcing plans to scrap its home-grown expense solution and replace it with Captura's product. Rosenbluth International's Expense Management product will combine booked and billed data, accept credit card feeds to pre-populate expense reports and interface with the agency's E-Res Electronic Reservation System and Vision Direct pre- and post-travel reporting.

Rosenbluth's Dean Sivley, chief information officer and vice president of marketing, said he was concerned that it would take too long to develop all the modules of its internally developed software. For Captura, the deal triples 1997 sales projections. "We recognize that our strength is in travel management, and Captura's strength is in financial systems," Sivley said.

Acctg. Software Adds T&E

Meanwhile, some of the biggest players in accounting and business enterprise solutions are turning their attention to expense reporting systems. For instance, PeopleSoft Inc., based in Pleasanton, Calif., plans to beta test a travel expense reporting application this month with general release by year-end 1997. The new module will have two components, one to be used by the traveler and the second a back-end processing piece that will automatically audit the expense data, approve it and process it through accounts payable or payroll, according to product marketing manager Betsy Bland.

On the back end, it will allow corporations to determine what they want to audit: certain individuals, departments, expenses over a certain threshold or variance with a benchmark. PeopleSoft intends to build interfaces to accept charge card data feeds to pre-populate expense records.

Also, Corporate Vat Management, the Seattle-based maker of Auto Vat, signed technical alliances with Captura, Necho Systems and Workflow Solutions to integrate its automated VAT refund processing with each of the expense reporting packages.