Four Croatian companies already have more than 20,000 users.
While politicians are trying to find someone to blame for recent travel expenses scandal for fictitious travel of close associates of prime ministers Zoran Milanović, Tihomir Orešković and Andrej Plenković, the affair could be used to give major impetus to the development of several Croatian startups, reports Poslovni.hr on March 8, 2017.
At least four Croatian software startups have released products during the last few years which simplify management of travel expenses. In addition to them, similar solutions have also been developed by a number of Croatian IT companies as part of their business accounting programs.
Velimir Gašparović, director of Calyx, the company which has developed the Putni (travel) software, says that he had developed it in order to simplify his own travel expenses management. “I have shortened the process from half an hour to just a few minutes per travel. I have decided to offer it for free to others, so my software is now used by 3,500 small businesses”, says Gašparović, adding that he would be pleased if the state were to be interested in his solution.
Vlatko Škarica, founder and CEO of Mobilne Komunikacije, which has developed a free iPhone application Gooma, says that the app has been downloaded 10,000 times in just a year. He adds that he often travels and therefore wanted to simplify the procedure for management of travel expenses by using GPS to automatically records the route and kilometres travelled. “My research has shown that an average employee spends three workdays a year doing the paperwork connected with travel, which means that companies lose about 1,500 kuna per employee. Since similar problems exist in other countries as well, I plan to export my software”, says Škarica.
Marko Kosović, director of Locco free service, says that he has 956 users. “I make money by adapting software, because medium and large enterprises want to have customized solutions”, says Kosović.
Manuel Grgec, director of Relago, the major player in the industry, whose 2,500 users pay for his service, says that his system uses Google Maps, GPS data, official exchange rate for currency conversion, and even helps with the preparation of reports for the tax authorities. “Processing of one travel, especially when it comes to travel through several countries, used to demand a lot of manual work”, says Grgec.
Krešo Vrkić, director of N-LAB Software, Croatian IT company which has included travel expenses management in its business accounting software, says that he is optimistic and has already gained 10 new users. They all explain that the state would help itself and them if it were to cease to insist on printed invoiced and start accepting the digital ones.
