Key takeaways
- Vergo codes reimbursements by inference from your Epicor accounting structure—mapping expenses to the right project, hull job and work order without manual rule-building—and syncs approved transactions directly into Epicor.
- The best solutions integrate directly with Epicor, removing manual re-entry and posting each claim with the right GL account segments, site and project or job.
- Text-based capture is critical for ship supervisors, test engineers and yard staff who submit receipts from the waterfront or the dry dock.
- Audit-ready documentation and approvals routed by project or amount help meet contract compliance requirements for government vessel work.
Where should you go next?
- See the Vergo + Epicor integration
- Learn more about Vergo Employee Reimbursements
- Learn more about Vergo Expense Management
- Learn more about Vergo AP Invoice Automation
Why shipbuilding teams need specialized reimbursements software
Shipbuilding programs span years, employ large workforces and generate thousands of reimbursable expenses—from welding consumables bought near the dry dock to travel for marine surveyors and sea trials. When your ERP is Epicor, generic expense tools create data silos that controllers spend hours reconciling. Shipyard pain points include manual entry into Epicor that causes posting errors; no hull-level coding, so expenses land in overhead instead of the right project or hull job; late submissions because welders, pipefitters and supervisors in the dry dock have no simple way to send a receipt; audit exposure when documentation for government vessel contracts falls short of what DCAA-style reviews expect; and AP re-keying receipts because the expense tool doesn't map to Epicor's chart of accounts and sites. Vergo handles employee reimbursements, card spend, and AP invoices through one coding model that proposes the coding by inference from your own Epicor accounting structure and history—no rule library to build, no keyword lists to maintain, and new vendors are coded on first sight.
What to look for in reimbursements software for shipbuilding on Epicor
The tool must post approved reimbursements to Epicor's GL and AP without spreadsheet imports or middleware. Every expense should map to a specific Epicor project, hull job or work order—and its WBS phase where you use one—not just a department. Ship supervisors and yard staff need text-based capture that works on a weak signal and doesn't require app downloads or portal logins. Approvals should route by amount, project or GL account, so program managers approve spend under a threshold and controllers approve the rest. Receipts, memos and GL coding should be attached to every transaction for contract compliance and government audits. Yard staff travel between yards and to sea trials, so the system should apply GSA rates or your own per diem schedules. CFOs need reimbursement spend by hull and project before month-end close—not after—so real-time visibility into transactions as they happen is essential.
A practical example
A ship supervisor visits a supplier near the dry dock to buy specialty fasteners for a Navy frigate refit. She pays with her personal card. In a generic expense system, she would log into a portal days later, type the vendor, amount and a memo, then wait for the controller to assign the Epicor project, job and GL account at month-end. By then the program manager has already reported material costs to the contracting officer, without the fastener expense. With Vergo, she texts a photo of the receipt right after the purchase. Vergo infers the refit project, hull job and GL account from similar past transactions, and the program manager approves it the same morning. The claim syncs to Epicor within minutes, and she is reimbursed through the yard's normal payroll or AP run. Employees handle everything by text message with no app to download, and approvals route by project or amount.
How Vergo handles this
Vergo is an AI-native, card-agnostic expense management platform that runs employee reimbursements, card spend, and AP invoices through one coding model. Vergo proposes the coding by inference from your own Epicor accounting structure and history—no rule library to build, no keyword lists to maintain, and new vendors are coded on first sight. Every coding shows why it was chosen, so a reviewer confirms in seconds instead of re-coding by hand. Approval workflows are optional and fit how you already control spend: route by GL account, by amount, or by project—or skip approval flows entirely and let policy flags catch only what breaks a rule. Employees handle everything by text message—no app to download, no portal login—and Vergo chases missing receipts itself instead of waiting for a report. Transactions are ready to code the moment they happen, with no waiting for clearing, and once they clear they sync into Epicor. Connecting your existing cards involves no card applications, no re-issuing, and no banking change.
Related questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Vergo integrate with Epicor for reimbursements?
Yes. Vergo integrates with Epicor, and approved reimbursements sync to Epicor's general ledger and accounts payable with no spreadsheet exports or manual journal entries. Vergo reads your existing Epicor chart of accounts, sites, projects and jobs, including hull-level structures.
Can shipyard staff submit reimbursements from a phone?
Yes. Shipyard staff text a photo of the receipt from the pier or dry dock—no app to download. Vergo proposes the hull, project and GL account, and a text sends as soon as the phone regains signal. That ends the paper receipt backlogs common in shipyards.
How does reimbursement software handle cost tracking for shipbuilding contracts?
Vergo maps every reimbursement to the Epicor project, hull job, work order or WBS phase it belongs to, proposed from what was bought and your coding history. Reimbursable costs hit the right hull instead of general overhead, improving contract profitability tracking.
Is Vergo's reimbursement software suitable for government shipbuilding audit requirements?
Vergo attaches the receipt, GL coding, approval timestamps and memos to every reimbursement, creating an audit-ready trail for government vessel contracts and DCAA-style reviews. Controllers can pull documentation by hull, project or date range for any audit or contract review.
What makes shipbuilding-ready reimbursement software different from generic expense management tools?
It codes to hulls, projects and work orders, integrates directly with ERPs like Epicor, routes approvals by project, and takes receipts by text from the yard. Generic tools lack hull-level cost allocation and direct posting to Epicor.
