International growth brings a challenge: how do you keep travel and expense processes running efficiently when reimbursement practices vary from country to country? Finnish diagnostics company Aidian solved this with Bezala.
Unified processes to support international growth
Aidian is a Finnish company specializing in in vitro diagnostics (IVD), developing, manufacturing, and distributing rapid and reliable diagnostic solutions for healthcare use around the world. In addition to Finland, Aidian has local offices in 12 countries, and uses Bezala to manage expense reimbursements and travel claims. Usage has been expanded gradually to different subsidiaries as needed, and Bezala is currently in use across eight countries within the group. The goal has been to build unified ways of working across an international organization. HR Specialist Marjo Järvinen and Accounting Manager Annu Kangas share how Bezala has made their daily work easier.
Aidian continuously invests in process development, efficiency, and the use of modern tools. Building unified and standardized ways of working and reducing manual work through technology is a priority for the company.
“We constantly look to streamline processes and make the most of modern tools – including AI,” says Accounting Manager Annu Kangas.
When the goal was to unify expense processes across countries
Aidian’s story goes back to 1943, when Finnish company Orion began producing microbiological culture media. Over the years, the company has grown into a well-known international player. The company name also changed – from Orion Diagnostica to Aidian — following a change in ownership.
Over the years, Aidian recognized – particularly in an international operating environment – how important it is to have consistent expense processes across countries. Bezala was first introduced in 2019.
Bezala was already in use in some countries when Järvinen joined the company in 2021. The implementation was carried out in collaboration with an external payroll partner.
Expenses are always reimbursed according to local practice in each country – either as per diems or expense reimbursements – but all countries use the same application through which claims are submitted, approved, and forwarded to accounting and payment.
In Poland and Slovakia, for example, processes had previously been highly manual.
“The process was very manual before, and it wasn’t consistent with how things were done in other countries,” says Kangas.
“From an accounting perspective, the manual handling and recording of expense reimbursements introduced room for error and made simple tasks take far longer than they should.”
The old way of working was also felt in employees’ daily lives – as slowness and extra effort.
“In Poland and Slovakia, we moved away from manual Excel files and scanned receipts. That has sped things up significantly,” says Järvinen.
Aidian’s goal was to reduce manual work, speed up approval processes, and make everyday life easier for both staff and the finance team.
A solution that’s quick to adopt
Since 2021, Aidian has expanded Bezala’s use to Spain, Slovakia, and Poland, among other countries. During this summer, Bezala will be rolled out to the holding company and Czech Republic – bringing the total to 10 entities across 9 countries.
Rollouts have gone smoothly and quickly, according to Aidian.
New users receive a short training session covering how to log expenses and navigate the approval process. After that, they pick up the system quickly.
“Bezala is very quick to learn. The system is genuinely user-friendly and easy to get to grips with,” says Järvinen.
The mobile app in particular receives praise from users.
“When new sales reps join, some only need a five-minute walkthrough of how to add receipts in Bezala.”
“Sales reps are on the move all the time, and with the app they can log expenses right away, wherever they are.”
At Aidian, Bezala’s key strengths are seen as ease of use, automation, and a unified way of working.
“The high level of automation — for example in mileage calculations, handling different currencies, and applying local travel expense rules – are things that genuinely make our daily work easier,” says Kangas.
The solution has also made daily work easier from an accounting perspective.
According to HR Specialist Marjo Järvinen, Bezala has reduced manual work by unifying processes across countries.
Less manual work, more efficiency
Since adopting Bezala, Aidian has successfully unified its expense processes across countries and significantly reduced manual work.
“Speed and a consistent process in almost every country” are the biggest benefits, according to Järvinen.
The finance team’s work has also become more efficient.
“Rolling out Bezala in Poland and Slovakia has saved time for the accounting team, as we now receive accounting materials in the same standardized format as all other countries,” says Kangas.
At Aidian, credit cards are integrated with Bezala, so cardholders can see directly in the app which purchases are still missing receipts – and Bezala automatically sends reminders. According to Järvinen, this motivates users to add receipts promptly and speeds up the overall process.
Smooth collaboration and continuous development
Aidian has found the collaboration with Bezala to run smoothly throughout the partnership. Customer support also receives praise.
“The collaboration is smooth and friendly. Help is always available.”
The company also plans to continue expanding Bezala’s use to new countries as needed.
Järvinen says she would warmly recommend Bezala – especially to organizations looking to build unified and easily manageable expense processes.
“I can warmly recommend Bezala for the reasons already mentioned. In countries where per diems aren’t a local practice, the expense reimbursement functionality works perfectly well.”
When asked about the most important reasons to use Bezala, the answers are clear:
“Ease of use, a standardized process across all entities, and a complete audit trail,” summarizes Kangas.
Bezala in one sentence
When asked to sum up Bezala in a single sentence, the answer comes quickly:
“Bezala is a modern, fast, and easy-to-use expense management system.” — Marjo Järvinen, Aidian
Read more about Bezala:
Expense management For international companies Handling credit card receipts
