A simple guide to implementing Zetadocs Expenses

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions have taken the industry by storm. There are many reasons behind their success, but in this article, I would like to focus on the simplicity of implementing a SaaS solution. Specifically, I will explain how straightforward it is to implement one of our own SaaS solutions: Zetadocs Expenses.

A SaaS solution allows you to only pay for what you use, without having to buy any hardware or expand your current IT infrastructure to support this new application. Instead, the vendor will provide the APIs and configure the application hosted in the cloud to make it accessible for you. The timeframe of implementing a SaaS solution is reduced to days compared to a traditional software model which would typically take weeks or even months.

Zetadocs Expenses is a SaaS solution hosted in the cloud which is designed to offer simple implementation that will get you up and running within days.

There are 2 fundamental steps of implementing Zetadocs Expenses: configuration of the Zetadocs Expenses account and the integration with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central or NAV.

Zetadocs Expenses account

The Zetadocs Expenses solution is hosted on the Microsoft Azure platform; therefore the first step of implementation is to initiate a data migration phase that will collect all relevant data from the customer’s Business Central system and migrate this across to the Zetadocs Expenses account. This data includes:

• Regional and Export settings: Enter Region and Home Currency
• Users: Create the user accounts including Business Central Vendor code
• Custom properties: Create custom properties and upload the Business Central dimensions values. Note - Zetadocs Expenses supports global and shortcut dimensions for export. Job list is also available for export
• Payment methods: Setting up credit card accounts and map each account to an export code
• Expense types: Create new expense types and map each expense type to a Business Central G/L code
• Currencies: Upload currency rates for each enabled currency and disabling unused currencies
• Mileage rates: Create mileage rates and specify allowance per mile
• Sales TAX: Upload TAX values from Business Central system

Additional information can be collected to meet the customers’ requirements.

Once all data has been populated into the Zetadocs account, the necessary configuration is applied to ensure the setup is aligned to the customer's expectations.

Dynamics 365 Business Central Integration

The next step is the integration with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. The following configuration steps will be performed on the customer’s Business Central server.

NAV Extensions

• Copy Zetadocs Expenses Extensions into the NAV service and Add-ins folders

Zetadocs Objects and Web Services

• Import and compile Zetadocs Expenses objects into the Business Central database
• Create Web Services in the Business Central windows client and ensure they are activated

Zetadocs Connector

• Connector install: Running setup file and install Expenses connector
• Configure the connector by importing website values and web service address
• Start the Expenses connector service

Acceptance testing

Following the two main stages detailed above will complete the Zetadocs Expenses implementation. Best practice after implementation is to perform testing to ensure all features are functioning correctly. The testing will include the following checks and any additional requests from the customer:

Submission

• To submit a cash expense
• To submit a credit card expense
• To submit a mileage expense

Export

• To validate if VAT/Tax is exported correctly
• To validate if GL codes are exported correctly
• To validate if Custom Properties are exported correctly

Administrator/End User training

Part of the implementation is to offer training on the following areas:

• Administrator Training: Zetadocs Expenses system training for the designated finance team administrator who will be responsible for managing the Zetadocs Expenses account

• End User Training: Zetadocs Expenses usability training to demonstrate how to use the solution including submission, approving and processing of expense reports

Regular updates

We highly value your feedback and take your ideas into consideration to help us plan and develop the product. Once a new feature is produced, we will run it through a DevOps cycle to ensure the feature is fully functioning and ready for release. The best part of all of this is that there is no effort or involvement required from you to experience these features.

Your feedback is enough for us to enhance our solution and make these features available for you on a monthly basis. Every month, we deploy a new release of features along with a blog post explaining what the features are and how to use it. This means that you will automatically receive these features and no extra configuration is required. You can also view software updates on this page, or download the latest version of Zetadocs Expenses directly on AppSource. 

The implementation steps described in this article gives you an idea of how Zetadocs Expenses is installed and what is included in the implementation.

To summarize, a SaaS solution like Zetadocs Expenses offers simple implementation because it is hosted in the cloud, which allows it to be very flexible and easily configurable. More importantly, the stress of building an integration with Business Central or Dynamics NAV is a thing of the past because Zetadocs Expenses uses built in web service protocol to communicate with your ERP.

Contact us now if you would like to learn more about Zetadocs Expenses. You can also view our other apps available on AppSource or register for Zetadocs Expenses Express here, which is our free express edition of expense management available for up to 25 users within an organization.

Editors Note: This post was originally published in October 2018 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.