{"id":10258,"date":"2025-04-19T14:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T13:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rldatix.com\/en-uki\/?p=10258"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T11:05:14","slug":"new-expenses-policy-enforcement-and-governance-at-northumberland-county-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rldatix.com\/en-uki\/resources\/new-expenses-policy-enforcement-and-governance-at-northumberland-county-council\/","title":{"rendered":"New expenses policy enforcement and governance at Northumberland County Council"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Northumberland County Council is benefitting from more accurate staff mileage claims, easier expenses management, automated and more effective policy enforcement, and enhanced governance and approval powers, with the introduction of Assure Expenses\u2019 cloud service from Allocate. The service replaces use of an expenses module within the Council\u2019s back office IT system.

All of Northumberland County Council\u2019s approximate 3,000 HQ and remote office staff, plus a small number of firefighters and former NHS staff, can now access the service. It currently handles 1,500 claims each month \u2013 approximately 80 per cent are mileage related. By the summer of 2014, the service will be rolled-out to schools\u2019 employees \u2013 an additional 4,500 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Policy Compliance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Using the service, Northumberland County Council can now more effectively enforce its expenses policy. Derek Brown, Transactions Manager, Northumberland County Council says: \u201cOur previous system did not link with our corporate policy leaving it open to interpretation. For example, for staff travelling from home to multiple remote sites and back to their usual place of work, removing the mileage between home and the usual place of work, from their claim, was confusing and difficult. It would lead to errors and overclaiming, identified as part of manual auditing processes. The new system calculates this automatically, creating more accurate claims and lowering our costs.\u201d

The new expenses service also enforces the Council\u2019s policy of reimbursing the shortest route \u2013 not necessarily the quickest – between start and destination postcodes of a journey. Again, enforcement of the policy prevents overclaiming and reduces costs for the Council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Derek adds: \u201cThe new service is much better, with the policy integrated to the system employees have clear visibility about what they can and can\u2019t claim for; we\u2019re eradicating claim errors at the point of submission and cutting costs by reducing over claiming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Governance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The service also enhances the Council\u2019s expenses governance powers. Managers now have much greater visibility of submitted claims, viewing specific claims and scanned copies of receipts. The claims can be approved real time or returned for clarification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system also supports managers by preventing over-claiming before it happens with a range of inbuilt claim limits. It can also flag duplicate claims, weekend claims, and inconsistent mileage claims to the same location.

Staff are notified automatically from the service, by email, of each step in the process. Previously, claims were handled with a self-approval process, with staff using the written corporate policies for guidance. In addition, line managers could review and check all claims at the end of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe new service is much better, with the policy integrated to the system employees have clear visibility about what they can and can\u2019t claim for; we\u2019re eradicating claim errors at the point of submission and cutting costs by reducing\u201d.<\/p>\nDerek Brown
Transactions Manager, Northumberland County Council<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Easy Implementation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The introduction of Assure Expenses was managed within a very small timeframe. Data migration, such as staff details, reimbursement rates, and typical expenses items, from the previous system was handled by Allocate, along with customisation of the new service to match Northumberland County Council\u2019s corporate policy. Allocate provided on site support and rapid, responsive telephone support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n