Manual Expense Processes Could be Causing More Damage than You Realize
In the ever-changing marketplace, small businesses are facing the challenge of not only surviving, but thriving. When it comes to remaining competitive, every penny counts, and having a firm grasp of your finances is the first place to start. If you’re still manually keeping track of business expenses, there is a good chance you are missing out on opportunities due to lack of visibility and inefficient processes.
You Can’t Manage What You Can’t See
As a small business owner, it is easier to keep to the status quo, doing what it takes to survive the day-to-day. As the old adage says: “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” right? Not necessarily. You may think that manually managing business expenses seems to be working to get employees reimbursed and the bills paid. But, do you have the visibility you need to make solid business decisions, or are you relying on your gut and best guess?
This is one area where using a cloud-based, automated spend management processes can have a huge impact on your financial strategy. Imagine being able to see up-to-date expense data at a moment’s notice or being able to pull a report that shows your current AP status. These cloud-enabled solutions allow for mobility, allowing employees to claim expenses while on the road, and showing you expenses in real-time.
Be Proactive and Stop Playing Catch-Up
Not being "in the know” often means you are in a reactive mode when it comes to managing your company’s finances. Beyond the stress and agitation this can cause both you and your employees, it is also a bad use of time and energy. All those hours spent with back and forth, data crunching, and report creating adds up. Still not sold? Do the math and you just might be surprised at the total:
Hours spent x Employee hourly wage = Cost of manual process
With the help of automated solutions, you can move many manual, frustrating, and mundane tasks off you and your employees' plates and free up time to be spent on more strategic tasks. Now you can actually begin work on those strategic initiatives that will promote growth and open more opportunities for your company.
Bring Those Processes Into the Modern Age
Automation isn’t a cure. It enhances the processes that are already in place. So, if you either don’t have a process or are using something that was created when you first started your business then that needs to be fixed first. When updating or creating processes, do so with automation in mind. This will allow you to maximize efficiencies.
Not sure where to begin? Start with employee expenses. This category is often one of the largest when it comes to calculating and managing spend. Not to mention, clear-cut rules and processes will aid you in other areas, such as fraud prevention and your risk management program.
Now it’s time to put pen to paper, and at SAP Concur, we understand that writing an employee expense policy can be challenging. That is why we created the Expense Policy Builder. This free tool creates a personalized expense policy in a few short clicks and answering a few questions. Strings? None attached. We truly want you to succeed. And believe us when we say, it will be worth it in the long run.