In a business, employees need a clear way to define and set out all expenses and how to request them, whether it’s training costs or travel expenses.
It needs to be clearly defined so everyone has a transparent view of business costs, which can also help to save on wasted spend.
Using travel expense management software, paired with these handy tips on how to stay on top of travel and expense requests, will help to manage business spending effectively.
Automation Is Key
These automated solutions are widely used within travel and expense management software, helping to streamline various processes.
Expense requests can be sent through mobile notifications to managers so they can be responded to quickly, ensuring a smooth-running system.
This software can collect spending data and place all charges together in expense reporting templates so employees can attach their receipts from anywhere.
This gives a more accurate way of reporting, as you’re not restricted to where you can access the software, along with better internal controls, which reduces the amount of manual labor.
Define A Time Frame For Expense Claims
When using travel expense software, this should be paired alongside a travel and expense policy that sets out all of the guidelines to follow.
Included in the policy should be how much time employees have to submit their expense claims and how long they should expect to wait to get reimbursed.
All employees would like an idea of when they would be reimbursed, creating a better employee experience.
The submission deadline also lessens cash flow issues whilst providing better insight into expenses.
With better accuracy comes more complete and accurate data, as employees who submit expense reports on time are less likely to submit fraudulent claims, as they will likely have supporting documents.
All of these factors will significantly benefit the running of a business, ensuring maximum transparency for all employees.
Communicate Your Policy Clearly
One of the easiest ways to ensure all expense requests are made accurately is to properly communicate all expectations.
Policies should comprehensively state these guidelines, ensuring the information is easy to read with the ability to find the most relevant parts.
This way, all expectations can be more easily followed and referred to, especially if there are any uncertainties – they can be cleared up efficiently.
Try Virtual-Physical Business Cards
With various expenses, including travel, employees need to make in-person purchases, which can easily be done using virtual-physical cards.
These give a better level of convenience, security, and control in comparison to a traditional corporate card.
With these cards, a company can enforce budget limits and policies, with managers accessing a clear overview of employee spend.
They can be used even more efficiently with a predetermined set of money that complies with your policy, removing the need to submit reimbursement claims.
Staying on top of travel and expense requests whilst using travel expense software is necessary, as it ensures an efficiently run business.
It gives more transparency and accountability across a whole company to ensure all company guidelines are followed whilst managing spend effectively.
