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The Initial Situation: Growth that pushes Excel to its limits
When Torsten Blaschke joined Doctari as CFO in 2018, the company was still family-run, and travel expense reporting was handled via Excel.
What initially seemed practical became a real burden with a growing workforce: legislative changes could hardly be tracked manually, and the administrative burden continued to increase with every new employee.
"A nightmare" – that's how Torsten Blaschke describes the situation before Circula was implemented.
The key pain points:
- Excel-based expense reports: error-prone, not scalable, non-compliant
- A maximum of 5 credit cards in circulation: more receipts would have overwhelmed the system
- A previous solution brought digitalization but fell short in administrative accounting
- Manual DATEV upload with extensive post-corrections of transaction descriptions and vendors
- Per diem calculations were performed manually – with errors and inconsistencies
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The Solution: Two Requirements, One Platform
The requirement was for a platform that effectively served two key stakeholders simultaneously: employees with an intuitive smartphone app, and accounting with deep, error-free system integration. Circula – implemented with the support of partner Finclair – was the only solution that convincingly addressed both needs.
Native Tax Logic: Automatic Per Diem Calculation
Per diem allowances are automatically calculated based on travel start, end, and location, including deductions for provided meals. No manual steps, no errors, consistent reimbursements for all employees.
Deep Integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
The interface transfers booking texts, creditors, and tax codes 1:1 into the accounting system — eliminating manual post-processing. Developed jointly with Circula and partner FinClair.
Company Credit Cards with Automatic Synchronization
40 credit cards, including digital cards, are now integrated into Circula. Transactions are automatically recorded in the system – the previous receipt chaos with a maximum of 5 cards is a thing of the past.
AI-powered Receipt Recognition
When uploading a receipt, fields are automatically pre-filled. Employees only need to add individual details such as cost center or reason for travel; Circula handles the rest.
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The Results: From Manual to Automated - at All Levels
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Before</th>
<th>With Circula</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Excel expense reports, manually maintained and error-prone</td>
<td>App-based submission via smartphone in seconds</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Max. 5 credit cards due to receipt chaos</td>
<td>40 company credit cards incl. digital cards, automatically synchronized</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Manual VMA calculation, error-prone and inconsistent</td>
<td>Automatic VMA calculation based on travel start, end, and location</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Posting text and vendors had to be adjusted manually</td>
<td>Data flows 1:1 from Circula into Business Central - no manual step</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Previous Solution: Digital, but inadequate for accounting</td>
<td>End-to-end automated: from submission to DATEV export</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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