Are you still stuck with the traditional system of expense recording and analyzing? If yes, it’s time to switch to a new economical way of expense management: embracing the Expense Management System.
Expense management is the most important aspect of any business as it determines its long-term profitability and economic viability. Investors and stakeholders always look out for the enterprise expense trends when financial results are out. Thus, it is important to maintain an adequate expense-to-revenue ratio to maintain the brand image, eliminate unnecessary costs and improve profit margins.
However, it is difficult to manually handle any system or enter data today because of the large volumes of financial data generation. So, smart businesses work around systems like expense management to ensure accurate financial reporting and make well-informed decisions.
What is an Expense Management System?
It is a software-based approach that helps businesses track and manage expenses. It is a system that automates expense reporting, entry, analysis, and trends and ensures all expenses are within company policies and guidelines. It is a system that saves time and money by reducing the burden of manual data processing and ensures precise expense information whenever required.
How to Make the Most From an Expense Management System?
Set Clear Policies and Guidelines
The most important step in the expense management system is to set clear enterprise policies and guidelines. It will ensure all the employees know the guidelines and how the expenses get processed. Knowing the rules and expectations concerning expense reporting, related documentation, and the expense approval process is important. Clear policies and guidelines will not leave any room for employees to be confused about the official expenses. For instance, if an employee has made an expense on account of official work-related travel, they should know the process of reimbursement and the documentation required. It ensures avoiding unnecessary costs to the company.
Train Employees
It is important to train employees concerning the working of the expense management system. Concerned employees will be trained and appointed to look out for the system and solve issues, if any. The training must cover all the system processes, rules and procedures for documentation etc. Thus, it will ensure that the system is not abused by unauthorised access and no manipulation occurs. The system is automated, requiring minimum human interference. But, it is always suggested that certain employees must be trained around the system to ensure a hassle-free experience.
Monitor and Analyse Expense Trends
The expense management system gives you real-time information regarding your business expenditure. Thus, you can spot any unnecessary spending, costs, and adverse cash flows. The system generates reports with a single click providing you with accurate information that can be used to analyse trends. Key ratios can be calculated, and a comparison can be made year-on-year. It will bring to light discrepancies or negative trends, if any, and immediate action can be taken around it. The system can also provide custom reports like expense reports generated product-wise to know about any loss-making units.
Integrate with Other Tools
The best you can do to get the maximum benefit from the expense management system is to integrate it with other tools used in the business process. You can integrate the system with HR payroll processes or accounting software and toolkits. Integration with other system tools will ensure a streamlined financial process. Single-point data entry will record the expense and its impact on various financial areas.
Analyse Return on Investment
Before investing in an expense management system, calculating the return on investment is important. You need to calculate the potential savings and benefits of implementing this system. Then compare the same with the cost of investment. If the benefits outcast the cost, the answer is simple- implement the system with immediate effect. It will ensure all your expenses are streamlined in one place before getting recorded to the respective impacting financial areas. Also, implementing this system will speed up the business process and ensure efficiency.
Customise the System
Every business is unique, as so are the business processes. Thus procuring and implementing a system that aligns with your business processes is paramount. You may be required to set up custom modules and fields concerning expense reporting to meet the needs of your business. It will make it easier for your employees to report business expenses and generate custom reports.
Conclusion
Thus, an efficient expense management solution can help you run your business more efficiently, saving time and money and reducing the chances of human error. It is important to note that although the expense management system is automated, it requires regular monitoring and optimization. It will help you identify new opportunities for savings, improve regulatory compliance and regularise your expenditure management.
