Automating expenses process from Excel to a Web App solution

Cutting down tens of working hours a month and reducing human error

This article explores the solution implemented in a medium-sized company to streamline expense processing and reporting. Previously, the company relied on internally shared Excel spreadsheets for expense tracking. These files were manually updated monthly for each cost center, and the accounting team would ensure they were correctly filled before appending them to a global file. Additionally, at the end of each month, the team would retrieve expense reports from three vendors (Gas, Electrical, and Toll) and integrate this data into the accounting spreadsheets. Despite macros handling some tasks, inefficiencies persisted, leading to time consumption and systematic errors. Key issues included:

• Email Overload: Excel files were frequently exchanged between mailboxes, causing confusion and delays.
• Error-Prone Data: Inconsistent field formats required accounting personnel to spend time standardizing data.
• Manual Copying and Pasting: Errors often arose from transferring data between Excel files.
• Unmanageable History: Maintaining expense history in Excel became increasingly difficult.
• Handling Special Cases: New…