Concur Tax Assurance by Blue dot: New Solution Increases Compliance and Maximises VAT Reclaim

Trusted data completion and VAT Compliance Platform will maximise return on employee driven spend

As a result of COVID-19, many countries around the world have introduced new or temporary changes to VAT regulations. While these regulations vary per country and have garnered awareness from the financial sector due to the reasons they were introduced, many finance teams still remain unaware of other more established VAT regulations. As a result, finance teams are unable to maximise their VAT reclaim and even more importantly are unable to comply with the latest requirements in an environment where audits and potential penalties need to be considered. For example, in the United Kingdom, only 50% of the cost of a temporary company car replacement rental exceeding 10 days can be submitted for VAT recovery.

With more than 160 countries globally applying Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services, with varying policies, compliance with VAT regulations can be confusing and complex for many businesses and their employees. With research highlighting that over 42% of employee expense transactions fail to meet requirements for VAT or GST reclaim due to incorrect information or missing data[2], and 54% of eligible VAT going unclaimed[3], many businesses are losing out on recouping much needed funds through tax reclaim.

Generating cashflow with the power of AI

Using a solution that removes the need for businesses to manage their VAT reclaim manually can lead to significant time and cash savings and minimise compliance issues.

Concur Tax Assurance by Blue dot offers a new approach that eases the burden on finance leaders and helps them to maximise their VAT reclaim for their organisation. With sophisticated AI algorithms and intricate tax knowledge, the solution digitalises the compliance process, maximises recovery of paid VAT and reduces the risk of penalties for non-compliance.

In addition, domestic and foreign compliance rules and regulations are embedded in the solution, eliminating the need for manual updates and ongoing intervention. At a time when many governments are considering increasing VAT rates in order to generate revenue, it’s now more important for organisations to use a solution that handles the complexity of different tax regulations with accuracy and speed. This is set to become even more important for organisations that conduct business overseas, with Brexit creating new challenges and rules to comply with.

Commenting on the launch, Blue dot SVP Global Channels Mark Stirling said “We have witnessed an acceleration of the tax domain digitalisation process that continues to drive business transformation, in particular those transactions that are driven by employees. The extended partnership with SAP Concur builds upon our proven technology that already serves major global brands. This represents an unprecedented opportunity to improve efficiencies, compliance, and bottom line impact around VAT/GST management for business”.

Key features of Concur Tax Assurance by Blue dot include:

• Leading edge technology embedded in the SAP Concur Workflow: The platform combines sophisticated AI algorithms and intricate tax knowledge to enable three-way matching between supplier data, evidence and reports to ensure full compliance.
• Global tax expertise: Domestic and foreign compliance rules and regulations embedded in the solution eliminate the need for manual updates and intervention, with over 96% country coverage of the identified VAT/GST/HST potential in the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions.
• Easy onboarding and maintenance: The solution is installed using a powerful wizard-based setup and can be configured and easily maintained – globally and locally – in step with changing business needs.

“Over the past year the economic landscape has changed, creating a lasting impact on how organisations do business. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic combined with new Brexit pressures, means that maintaining cashflow has become even more important for UK organisations. As a result, many businesses now have different needs and are looking to adopt solutions and technologies that enable them to remain resilient through uncertain times. Now, more than ever, the need for visibility and control of expenses is critical to a business’s success and bottom-line,” says Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, EMEA SVP and General Manager at SAP Concur. “We are excited to usher in the new year with this new solution, which addresses our customers’ ever-evolving compliance needs and will help their businesses grow and succeed in 2021 and beyond.”

For more information on Concur Tax Assurance by Blue dot, please visit: Concur Tax Assurance by Blue dot

[1] Tax Research Platform of IBFD (subscription based) and local tax authority websites. For more information, please visit: https://research.ibfd.org/  

[2] Vanson Bourne: Connecting the Dots on Travel, Expense and Invoice Spend, 2017, link  

[3] VATBox Data Benchmark, 2018