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How To Leverage Cloud-Based Automation and Get Your Company Up-To-Date With The Changing State Of Expense Management Solutions
Making travel and expense management more efficient isn’t too high on most companies’ priority lists. Of course, both business owners and employees would prefer an easier and more efficient way to handle expenses. But as long as the system (mostly) functions then it’s good enough to get by.
There’s no denying that accounting for and reporting travel and other expenses is a tedious task for everyone involved. That’s starting to change, though. The same sort of business process automation that’s transforming systems like accounts payable and purchasing is also available for expense management.
For many enterprise-level businesses, cloud-based T&E automation is already an essential part of how they keep expense management under control. However, a large percentage of small and mid-size businesses are still trying to get by with manual T&E solutions. If you haven’t yet made the leap to automation, now is a good time to start.
Businesses That Already Use T&E Automation
A little over half of small and mid-size businesses and most enterprise-level businesses are already using travel and expense automation solutions. However, even though the future of automated expense management looks bright, not everyone sees this type of software application as an asset to their business.
One survey conducted by Nexonia found that more than 46% of small and mid-size businesses still use spreadsheets for managing business expenses. This same study found that only 16% of enterprise-level businesses are still using manual expense reporting solutions. It seems that the larger the business, the more likely they are to see the value in using automation to improve T&E management.
Reasons You Need A New T&E Solution
Travel and expense reporting automation has the potential to transform your entire T&E system. You’ll be able to
- Integrate T&E reporting and manage all employee expenses with one efficient system.
- Simplify the report submission process by taking it digital.
- Automatically ensure policy compliance.
- Fight T&E fraud before it becomes an issue.
- Streamline administrative work.
- Save money processing each report.
- Improve accuracy of budgeting for future expenses.
- Speed-up reimbursement and increase employee satisfaction.
- Make taxes and audits easier with easy-to-search, accurate records.
- Easily scale your system as the company grows.
With so many ways to improve T&E, automated expense reporting just makes sense. If you’re still not convinced, though, keep reading as we look at little closer at some of the key benefits.
A Closer Look At The Benefits of T&E Automation
Fight Fraud
One of the biggest reasons to automate your expense reports is because the system can help you prevent and catch fraud. T&E fraud might not seem like a big issue, but in April of 2018 the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reported that expense fraud can account for almost 15 percent of employee fraud in any business. In this study, they reviewed more than 2,500 cases of fraud over a 20-month period that ultimately resulted in company losses totaling more than $7 billion. One of the best ways to fight this type of fraud is through cloud-based travel and expense management because it automatically enforces anti-fraud policies.
Save Money and Time
In 2015, Paystream Advisers reported that the average cost for manually processing an expense report was $26.60. That number drops to $6.85 in a fully automated system. Not only that, but the system makes it easier to manage your finances. The complete, accurate records generated by automated systems make budgeting, audits, and taxes easier to handle. And since it handles most processing automatically, no one has to spend extra time fact-checking and processing expense reports.
Improve Employee Satisfaction
An automated system makes it much easier for employees to submit expense reports, especially if that system is cloud-based. Instead of keeping track of paper receipts, they can just snap a picture of the receipt with their smartphone and upload it directly to the expense report system. They can also forward email receipts with no trouble. And since this user-friendly system processes expense reports quickly, employees get their reimbursements in a more timely manner.
Finding A Solution That Works For Your Company
By now, you might be convinced that travel and expense management solutions are a good idea. But how do you go about finding one that fits your company?
The good news is, the best cloud-based T&E automated systems can scale to your company’s individual needs. Whether you’re a small business with a few employees who travel or an enterprise-level corporation that handles hundreds or thousands of expense reports each year, there’s an automation system that will work for you.
In addition, you can customize a good expense management solution to match your company’s travel and expense policy. This also means that switching to an automated system is a good time to update your corporate travel policy. Once your policy is up-to-date and programmed into the automated system, your new T&E management solution with enforce compliance automatically.
What To Look For When Implementing T&E Automation
There are a few key things to look for when selecting an automated T&E management system. You’ll want to utilize cloud-based technology so employees can immediately access the system and upload receipts and reports from anywhere. You’ll need a system that you can customize to fit the size of your business and enforce your company’s policies. And you’ll get more benefits from a system that makes expense records easy to access and provides a big-picture view of spending trends.
NextProcess’ Travel & Expense automation software does all these things and more. Not only do we deliver an automation solution that will meet all your T&E needs, but we back-up that promise with top-notch customer service. We’ll be with you through the entire implementation process to set things up properly and configure the system to your business needs. Plus, we’re happy to answer any questions you have and we’ll make sure the system keeps working to support your company’s needs. Contact us today to schedule a demo or to get started implementing a new and improved expense management solution for your company.