Business Functionality
As an end-to-end solution for simplifying and automating the management of expenses, mileage expenses, and per diem expenses, Continia Expense Management offers considerable benefits to virtually any business.
Built on a modular basis, it can be customized to suit your particular business needs. Each of the modules that it’s divided into represents an area of functionality, and you can choose to add any modules you want. You add these using the initial setup guide, which you can access straight from your Role Center.
Important
Not all features will be available in all versions of Expense Management. Refer to Comparison of Features by Expense Management Version to see features available by version of Expense Management.
Below you’ll find a description of each of the modules, along with an overview of their respective features.
Essential
With the mandatory Essential module, you get all the basic features you need to submit, process, and approve expenses. Your employees can submit expenses in either the mobile Continia Expense App or the browser-based Continia Expense Portal, and admin users get a complete, real-time overview of company expenses in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Approvers can approve expenses either directly in Business Central or using the Continia Web Approval Portal.
With the Essential module, you get the following key features:
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| Access to the mobile Continia Expense App for iOS and Android devices |  |
| Access to the Continia Expense Portal | |
| Access to the Continia Web Approval Portal | |
| Full approval workflow, enabling you to add comments or attachments, accept or reject expenses, put them on hold, or forward them to other approvers | |
| The ability to attach photos of receipts and similar | |
| The ability to attach PDF documents to both new and existing expenses | |
| Expense report creation, enabling approvers to group multiple (types of) expenses and then view/approve these in bulk | |
| Configurable app fields, managed directly in Business Central | |
| Automatic archive, enabling you to easily retrieve original documents using standard Business Central functionality | |
| The ability to create templates (for recurring expenses) | |
| Simplified field creation | |
| Expanded payment options with payment types | |
| Resizing the document attachment page | |
| Saved receipts improvements | |
| Payment types for user groups | |
| Merge expenses in the Expense Mobile App | |
| VAT/Sales tax input from expense users | |
| Autofill in the Expense App and Expense Portal | |
| Configurable messages | |
| Autozoom in Business Central add-in | |
| Support for GST/GST free in Australia | |
| Support for automatic allocation using distribution codes | |
| Support for OData V4 for the Continia Web Approval Portal | |
| Automatic creation of digital vouchers | |
| Changed user ID visibility for document log entries | |
| Easier migration from on-premises to online for older versions | |
| Figures indicating the number of documents for approval per type in the Web Approval Portal | |
| Data maintenance using a job queue for Continia Expense Management tables | |
| Deletion, GDPR, and the Secure Archive | |
Document approval is part of the Essential module. With document approval, you get a full approval workflow that allows you to approve business documents, assign approvers, and set approval limits. You can force the approval of documents, put them on hold, or have them approved automatically, and it’s also possible to forward documents and delegate approvals if, for example, you’re out of office for a period of time.
Document approval
The document approval part of the Essential module gives you access to the following key features:
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| Enhancement on a range of common workflow and approval scenarios not supported by standard NAV | |
| Built-in image viewer as part of the approval process | |
| Ability to view document image in external window for manual resizing purposes and similar | |
| Ability to send out one combined email with all documents for approval | |
| Support for approval sharing when Out-of-Office is on (for holiday, leave, etc.) | |
| Approval sharing that allows one or multiple users to manage approvals for other users | |
| Free online hosting with Continia Software1 | |
| Direct connection to NAV/Business Central using Web Services (full data consistency)1 | |
| An intuitive UI for users to approve documents1 | |
| Functionality that enables users to easily change lines, approve and reject documents, put documents on hold, forward documents to other users, and add attachments and comments | |
| Ability to have approvals carried out by NAV/Business Central limited users | |
- Note that you also need the Continia Web Approval Portal in order to use this feature.
Purchase contracts
The purchase contract part of the Essential module gives you access to the following key features:
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| Centralized management and storage of all purchase contracts, subscriptions, and other recurring costs | |
| Creation of contracts with all relevant information, such as vendor, pricing, contract start and end dates, and detailed contract lines | |
| Comprehensive archive containing all contract-related documents and files from the contract card | |
| Ability to create contracts directly from a recurring expense | |
| Autofilling of contract details from the information on an expense | |
| A straightforward and structured periodic contract review process, ensuring that you only pay for what you need | |
| Option to have the contract review process started automatically at regular intervals based on company policies | |
| Ability to review all contracts before the beginning of a new fiscal year | |
| Easy overview of contracts that need to be sent for review | |
| Email notifications to contract reviewers when contracts are due for review | |
| An intuitive user interface that makes it easy to review contracts from either Business Central or the Continia Web Approval Portal | |
| Functionality that enables contract reviewers to easily change lines, review and cancel contracts, and add attachments and comments | |
| Automatic approval of recurring expenses within allowed tolerances, based on reviewed contracts | |
Credit Card Transactions
The Credit Card Transactions module enables you to have employee credit card transactions automatically imported into Business Central and then linked to and matched against registered receipts. If an imported transaction doesn't have a matching receipt, the employee who incurred the expense is notified and asked to attach the relevant receipt.
The Credit Card Transactions module includes the following key features:
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| Corporate credit card integration – card transactions are automatically imported into Business Central and linked with registered expenses | |
| Automatic matching of imported credit card transactions with submitted expenses | |
| Generation of expenses based on credit card transaction details | |
| Reminders sent to expense users whenever receipts are missing | |
Mileage
The Mileage module makes it easy for you to submit mileage expenses, either in the mobile Expense App or in the browser-based Expense Portal. The smooth integration of Google Maps in the mobile app ensures that you always get the mileage right and get reimbursed accordingly, and the app even displays an image of the chosen route. This image can also be viewed in Business Central, along with all other relevant mileage details.
With the Mileage module, you get access to the following key features:
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| The ability to submit mileages from a smartphone or the Expense Portal | |
| Mileage registration with Google Maps integration, ensuring consistently accurate mileages and correct reimbursement | |
| The option of adding via points to any route, for optimum mileage accuracy | |
| Mileage details in Business Central, including route image | |
| GPS location capture, making it easier to create accurate mileages | |
| The ability to create templates (for recurring routes) | |
| UK mileage receipt VAT calculation | |
Per Diem
With the Per Diem module, your employees can easily submit travel-related expense reports, using either the Expense App or the Expense Portal, in which they specify a given travel period, the overall purpose of the travel, and any other relevant details relating to accommodation and/or daily meals. When an employee has submitted a per diem report, the entered details are used to calculate the daily allowance for this employee and for this particular purpose. All configuration, including rates and rules, takes place in Business Central.
The Per Diem module gives you access to the following key features:
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| Calculation of days and meals (spending), including special country-specific requirements | |
| Rate setup, amount calculation, and numerous other relevant actions directly in Business Central | |
| The ability to submit per diem requests (daily allowance) from either a smartphone or the Expense Portal | |
| The ability to easily create templates and custom fields in Business Central, if necessary | |
| Support for the Norwegian per diem rules | |
| Support for the German 3-months rule | |