Is Your Expense Management Process "Anywhere" Ready?
The pandemic forced businesses around the world to rapidly adopt new digital technologies to stay afloat. For many companies, this meant moving operations online overnight, which exposed several inefficiencies in manual processes and workflows. As a result, digitalization has become a major priority across the board, putting pressure on finance and IT departments to provide cost-effective solutions.
With so many people now working from home, businesses are having to reevaluate their expense management processes and policies. Paper is quickly becoming a thing of the past, as businesses move to digital tracking and recording of expenses.
This shift has also uncovered entirely new categories of spending, as people incur costs for setting up and maintaining a home office. Forecasting, budgeting, and cash flow have all been impacted by these changes, requiring businesses to adapt.
How do you manage the expenses of employees in a hybrid setup?
When it comes to expenses, employees need to feel confident that they can accurately and easily submit claims for reimbursement. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
All too often, employees are left feeling confused about what types of expenses are eligible for reimbursement and how much they can claim for new expense types. This can lead to frustration and even resentment. Fortunately, there are ways to alleviate this stress:
- First and foremost, it’s important to have a clear understanding of which expense types and thresholds are applicable for remote days, office days, and travel. This will ensure that employees are accurately reimbursed for their work-related expenses.
- Secondly, reporting methods should be adapted to provide clarity on he working location of the employee. This is especially important if line items on the expense report relate specifically to the office or travel.
- Finally, auditing processes should be put in place to validate any new policies. This will help to ensure that the system is fair and transparent for all employees
Is your process “Anywhere” ready?
Although we have seen some very major digital breakthroughs in recent years, paper receipts and spreadsheets are still very much in evidence when it comes to managing expenses, reimbursements, and reconciliation. This is particularly the case where hybrid work arrangement is concerned and where automated expense management comes in.
By automating this process, businesses and individuals can save time and energy that would otherwise be spent on manual data entry and reconciliation. Auto-generation of expense reports eliminates the need for paper receipts and spreadsheets, and allows managers and accounting staff to approve reports remotely. This is particularly helpful for businesses with remote or hybrid staff, as it allows them to manage expenses without requiring physical documents.
In addition, auto-generation of disbursement reports and lists can help streamline the reimbursement process, making it simpler and more efficient. Automated expense management is a convenient and powerful tool that can help businesses and individuals save time and resources.
While there are many different approaches to digitalization, one of the most important factors is choosing the right platform.
A platform should be easy to use and offer a wide range of features, including workflow automation and real-time reporting.
It should also be scalable so that it can grow with your business.
With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to know where to start. However, by taking the time to understand your needs, you can find a platform that will help you streamline your operations and improve your bottom line.
Are your expense policies “Anywhere” ready?
Specific policies need to be put in place in hybrid work arrangements. Questions like
- “In what situations can employees reimburse travel expenses?”
- “What do I do when I buy stationery for office use?”
- “What about dinners/meals with my team?”