7 Reasons why businesses should switch to an automated expense reporting system

Are expense reports getting in the way of business? The tedious task of manually creating and reviewing spreadsheets along with paper receipt backup? An automated expense management system could be the solution to all of your problems. With an automated expense reporting system, you can have error-free expense reports without all of the headaches!
All different industries and sizes of businesses need to track expenses and need a method to control spending regardless of the amount – everything from travel and vehicle mileage or just a team lunch outing.

Tracking expenses have evolved some over the years from pen and paper to spreadsheets. But with the volume of businesses grow and the need to not only track what the expense was for but also what department the expense should be tracked against, spreadsheets just can’t scale to what is needed.

Automated expense management software can help businesses increase efficiency, save money and produce accurate financial reporting useful to management.
If you are using a manual expense reporting process, chances are your chasing receipts, having to remind employees about the expense policy rules, and spending a ton of time doing data entry to enter all of the expenses information into the accounting system.

If that sounds like you then, here are 7 reasons you should switch to an automated expense reporting system.

1. It saves companies time – Everyone who touches expense reports would save time: employees save time tracking receipts as well as preparing and submitting reports, management saves time on the review process and the finance department saves time on data entry.

2. It saves companies money – Yes, time is money so obviously it saves money in that way but it also has shown to cut down on errors resulting in overpayments. It showed a reduction in travel, meals and entertainment charges at some companies. Transparency is key!

3. No more paper! Everything is stored online, so you eliminate the paper. Being paperless helps the environment and your companies efficiency at the same time. Employees don’t have to keep track of their receipts turning in old pieces of paper to their manager with written notes on it as to what the expense was for. Using cloud-based software, companies have access to their information from anywhere.

4. It is convenient to use – Being able to use a mobile app to take pictures of receipts as you are making the charge makes using an expense reporting management system easy for employees to use. The majority of expense reporting software has many features specifically designed for ease of use.

5. Compliance – Normally compliance is a manual process performed by the finance team or management. They’re the ones making sure the policy that the company set for expenses is enforced. It is time-consuming and prone to error. With expense reporting software, the tool can do the enforcement. It has features built in to help set the policy and then make sure the employees are compliant. eReceipts are another feature that makes sure you are always compliant with the Internal Revenue Service. Some software has internal controls, workflows and other compliance featured built right in.

6. Management reporting – What management and finance team doesn’t want to be able to run expense reports? With the expense management systems available, businesses can have real-time information on what their employees are spending.

7. Simple integration with your accounting software – Automated expenses management software can connect with the business’s accounting system to allow expenses information to sync automatically. No more manually entering the expense data.

An automated expense management system could be the solution to all of your problems. With an automated expense reporting system, you can have error-free expense reports without all of the headaches!