Maintaining a record of one’s expenditures is cited by workers as one of the most taxing and time-consuming elements of their jobs. That’s why it shouldn’t be shocking that new technologies are appearing intending to relieve this particular cause of discomfort and do away with time-consuming and labour-intensive manual chores. But what qualities should a budgeting strategy have to be effective?
When looking for the best expenditure management software for your business, keep these five factors in mind:
The ability to reliably generate reports
The standard procedure for documenting expenditures is as follows: you make a purchase, receive your receipt, and save it safely for future reference. Then, you include a copy of the receipt with your expenditure report and submit the whole package for approval. Doesn’t that sound incredibly dull?
The following characteristics should be included in expenditure management systems to facilitate the most streamlined expense reporting process possible:
Instantaneous reporting after a quick scan or photo is taken of the receipt. As a result, workers’ days are less stressful, and there is less chance that reports will be late or contain human errors.
A centralized location to view details like expenses, account balance, categories of expenditure, remaining funds, per diem amounts, miles, and more.
The incorporation of credit card processing
Corporate credit cards are issued by an organization and can be used by employees for business-related expenditures; however, these cards can cause difficulties for accounting departments when reconciling transactions.
As an alternative, one may use a credit card-integrated spending management system. A system like this eliminates manual intervention by automatically matching transactions and expenses. This strategy allows financial teams to see where money is being spent in real time rather than waiting for reports to be provided manually.
Quick, individualized certification
Expenditure report approval and review is another time-consuming aspect of expense management solutions. Reviewers and approvers can quickly and easily review, confirm, or reject reports with just a few clicks when using a centralised and unified system. Modern cost management software will have an approval hierarchy built so that when many people need to look at an expense report, it can be automatically sent through the appropriate channels. As a result of its adaptability, users will be able to set up as many levels of approval as they need, each with its own set of approvers (and delegates).
Automated compliance-enforcing features
It is unfair to put the onus of memorizing regionally unique accounting requirements and corporate norms on employees’ shoulders in the best conditions.
Taxes, per diems, and other allowances specific to various locations should all be automatically factored into an all-encompassing cost management system’s calculations. An automated mechanism should make this possible. For this reason, it is less of a hassle for companies to enable their staff to submit expenses regularly from anywhere in the world, regardless of where they happen to be physically located.
Expanded compatibility
Companies will need interoperable systems as their digital capabilities grow. In the end, it will be more-harder for a corporation to achieve efficiencies if its technologies do not work together.
To be helpful in managing expenses, the system needs to be easily integrated with other programs like accounting and ERP software, as well as client billing technology. Leaders can then evaluate costs in light of relevant factors and use the resulting data to make educated choices.