2017 Review of Chrome River

Chrome River Mercury is the latest version of Chrome River’s expense management application that is well suited for larger businesses and global organizations.   Along with expense management, Chrome River also offers Invoicing, Auditing, and Analytics modules.

Mercury is the latest version of Chrome River’s expense management application that features an up to date user interface. Chrome River is accessible via the web, or from mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. One of Chrome River’s best features is that the product offers a standard interface that remains consistent across multiple devices, ensuring a similar experience whether from a desktop computer or an iPhone.

Chrome River uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) that allows users to simply snap a photo of a receipt for quick processing. The product offers other methods for submitting receipts including Snap and Send which shares images via email or Direct Upload. Users can also submit receipts via email, scan or fax.

Each Chrome River user is assigned access to the system by department and by assigned role, with users only able to view information relevant to their assigned role, making it easy to enter data quickly. The product offers both multi-language and multi-currency capability, supporting hundreds of currency types. Chrome River also includes a per-diem wizard that will accurately calculate currency exchange rates based on the user and their current location.

The product currently does not track time or timesheets, but mileage can be tracked using third-party apps such as Google Maps to calculate miles traveled, which can then be entered into the application.

Chrome River offers integration with several online booking tools and travel management companies such as Sabre and Amadeus. The Hotel Folio option emails users hotel receipts, which can be used to create line item expenses automatically.

Chrome River currently works with a variety of credit card companies including American Express, Diners Club, and MasterCard. The Statements function of Chrome River is a credit card solution in partnership with U.S. Bank, which allows users to automatically reconcile their U.S. Bank statement completely online.

The product contains a business rules engine which allows users to create a custom workflow to expedite the approval process. Separate approvers can be easily created, with the ability to approve only the transactions they are authorized to approve. Transactions can also be approved individually without holding up the reimbursement process.

Direct-Pay offers both automatic credit card payments as well as ACH deposits of any expense reimbursements, which go directly into an employee’s bank account with a three-day turnaround.

The Business Rules Engine, mentioned earlier, allows managers and administrators to create custom rules that serve to enforce expense policies. Compliance rules can also be entered, with the ability to enforce rules by location, by expense type, or by employee.

Chrome River creates expense reports automatically as expenses are entered or uploaded. For reports that require multiple approvers, the expenses are separated, with only specific expenses going to each approver.

Chrome River Analytics offers a series of standard reports, with users able to easily customize reports if desired, with reports providing a look at travel and expenses incurred using a variety of parameters when creating the report. Custom reports can also be created and saved in Chrome River as well. Additional comprehensive reporting capabilities are also included in the product.

Chrome River offers excellent integration capability, with the product integrating with numerous third-party applications such as SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, People Soft, and Ellucian. The product also integrates with a variety of travel applications such as BCD, Carlson, Wagonlit, and others. And UBER users can automatically submit receipts directly into Chrome River if desired.

Chrome River offers complete system implementation services with system planning, designing, configuring, and deploying the system done in collaboration with Chrome River Staff. Chrome River University offers a variety of training options, as well as access to numerous help files and training videos. All help and training options are available directly from Chrome River’s online Help Center. Online support is available 24/7, and toll free support is available to users during regular business hours.

Chrome River Mercury is best suited for enterprise or global organizations, offering solid expense management and related applications. Potential users should be aware that system setup and implementation is complex and will take considerable time. Chrome River offers three pricing models, with pricing available upon request.

 

2017 Rating: 5 Stars