DATABASICS In Review: 2025's Top Innovations & Most Popular Content

What a year it's been! As we close out 2025, we're reflecting on the innovations we launched, the challenges we helped solve, and the content that resonated most with our community. Here's a look back at the year that was (and a sneak peek at what's coming in 2026).

Top Innovations of 2025

1. DBee™: Your AI-Powered Time & Expense Assistant

In July 2025, we introduced DBee, our AI-powered assistant designed to make work faster, smarter, and easier. DBee transformed how organizations interact with their time and expense data by offering:

• Instant Report Generation: Use plain language to get real-time insights on time tracking, expenses, leave, and more
• Smart Data Lookup: Quickly find specific transactions, usage trends, or anomalies across your data
• AI-Powered Insights: Receive alerts on leave trends, policy compliance, and team availability
• Conversational Interface: Chat in-app with DBee
• Secure & Role-Aware: DBee respects access permissions and maintains enterprise-grade security

By year's end, DBee had evolved to include expense audit support, receipt matching, PTO balance tracking, currency exchange variance detection, and meals & rest break compliance validation.

2. Commercial Card

In Q4 2025, we launched a Commercial Card, an all-in-one spend control solution that changed the game for expense management. Key features included:

• Real-time Reconciliation: Card transactions flow directly into DATABASICS with automated expense reports
• Instant Notifications: Receive email or app notifications within minutes of every charge, with the ability to reply with your receipt for automatic linking
• Pre-set Controls: Prevent out-of-policy spend before it happens
• Flexible Options: Prepaid, disbursement, and traditional card options to fit any organization
• AI-Powered Insights: Smarter decision-making with real-time data

But we also maintained our commitment to card freedom. Organizations can bring their own credit cards while still benefiting from DATABASICS' powerful expense management capabilities.

3. Hybrid & Remote Work Schedule Management

As hybrid work policies became a permanent fixture, we introduced Hybrid & Remote Work Schedule Management in September to help organizations:

• Employee Self-Service: Employees can set and publish their daily hours and work location
• Manager Visibility: Track team presence in real time for better collaboration
• HR Compliance: Enforce and monitor remote work allowances with automated alerts
• Mobile Capability: Full integration with DATABASICS Timesheet & Leave Management

This feature helped organizations balance flexibility with accountability, ensuring compliance while supporting hybrid teams.

4. Strategic Integrations That Expanded Our Ecosystem

2025 was a banner year for integrations that made DATABASICS even more powerful:

• WEX Card Integration: Seamless fuel and fleet expense reporting for construction and field services
• Acumatica Integration: Unified Time & Expense solution for Acumatica Cloud ERP customers
• Bamboo HR Connector: Formalized HRIS integration with the growing HR platform
• Lyft Receipt Integration: Business Lyft rides automatically send receipts directly to DATABASICS Expense
• Home Depot & Lowe's Receipt Import: Automatic import of receipt details for construction customers

Top 3 Blogs of 2025

Blog #1: 2026 Mileage Rates: Updates, Delays & Compliance Tips

This article addressed the delay in the IRS releasing 2026 standard mileage rates and GSA per diem updates, explaining why mileage rates matter for compliance and cost management and providing historical context (2025: 70¢/mile, 2024: 67¢/mile) while offering practical guidance on how organizations can centralize mileage policies and automate rate updates. Read more to see why we emphasized an automated approach to loading new rates within 1-2 business days of official release, eliminating manual policy updates and compliance gaps.

Key Takeaways: Automated rate management reduces compliance risk, proactive policy review is essential during transition periods, and centralized expense management systems eliminate manual tracking errors.

Blog #2: 2025 Per Diem Rates for Business Travel Go Into Effect Soon

This guide covered the GSA's 2025 per diem rate changes, including the standard CONUS rate increase to $178 ($110 lodging, $68 M&IE) and the 296 non-standard areas with higher rates, explaining how DATABASICS integrates seamlessly with GSA per diem tables for both CONUS and OCONUS rates, automatically calculating Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) requirements including first and last day reductions. It also covered the 2025 IRS mileage rates (70¢ business, 21¢ medical/moving, 14¢ charitable) and demonstrating how automation eliminates tedious calculations and ensures accurate reimbursements.

Key Takeaways: Real-time per diem management saves time and reduces errors, automated systems stay current with seasonal and economic rate changes, and integration with federal rate tables ensures compliance for government contractors.

Blog #3: Combating AI-Generated Receipt Fraud with Spend Control

This post tackled the emerging threat of AI-generated receipt fraud, which accounted for 14% of fraudulent documents in September 2025. Rather than focusing solely on detection, we make the case for preventing fraud through controlled spend systems, explaining how commercial cards with pre-set controls, vendor restrictions, and automated data capture eliminate the opportunity for fraudulent receipts to enter the system. Read more to learn how shifting from reactive detection to proactive spend control not only reduces fraud risk but also eliminates operational drag like chasing receipts, manual audits, and month-end surprises.

Key Takeaways: Detection alone cannot keep pace with AI-generated fraud, controlled spend prevents fraud at the point of purchase rather than after the fact, and modern expense platforms with built-in policy controls create environments where fraud becomes significantly harder while reconciliation becomes faster.

Recognition & Milestones

Best in Biz Awards 2025 - Silver Winner

We're honored to have received Silver in the "Most Customer Friendly Company of the Year" category at the 15th annual Best in Biz Awards 2025. This recognition validates what we've always believed: that putting customers first is the foundation of everything we do.

Since 1997, DATABASICS has delivered exceptional customer support, long before "customer friendly" was a trend rather than an operating principle. This award belongs to our incredible customers and our dedicated team who make customer excellence a daily reality.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we celebrate 2025's achievements, we're already excited about what's coming in 2026:

• Continued evolution of DBee with new AI capabilities
• Further ERP integrations and ecosystem expansion
• New compliance and audit features

Thank You

None of this would have been possible without our incredible customers, partners, and team members. Your trust, feedback, and dedication drive everything we do.

Thank you for making 2025 an amazing year. We're excited to continue innovating, solving challenges, and delivering exceptional experiences in 2026 and beyond.

Here's to a successful year ahead, together!

Want to learn more about any of these innovations? Visit our website or schedule a demo to see how DATABASICS can transform your time and expense management in 2026.