Do you regularly forget to reimburse employees? How about struggling to track down the necessary receipts and invoices to issue expense reimbursements? Do you dread the expense reimbursement process because it’s time-consuming? If any of these situations describe your business, it might be time to invest in an expense management app.
Countless small to medium-sized businesses find themselves trapped in inefficient expense management processes, from spending hours going through receipts and reimbursing employees for incorrect amounts to lacking insights into spending patterns.
This doesn’t have to be your reality. In this article, we’ll cover why your business needs an expense management app, including key features to look for when searching for the perfect software solution.
5 Reasons Your Business Needs an Expense Management App
Expense management apps make it easier for both you and your employees to track expense reimbursements. Let’s cover a few more of the reasons why your business needs an expense management app.
#1 – Saves Time and Reduces Manual Work
The first advantage of an expense management app is reducing manual work. Instead of manually scanning receipts, categorizing expenses, and approving receipts, you can pass these tasks off to an expense management app. Employees can take a picture of their receipt in real time and upload it into the program for approval. There’s no need for paper to be floating around the office. Everything is handled and stored electronically.
#2 – Improves Accuracy and Minimizes Errors
Expense management apps have the ability to translate uploaded receipts into expense reimbursement requests, minimizing errors and improving accuracy. By reducing the need for human data entry, you can ensure accurate records for audits and compliance. Additionally, employees will be reimbursed for the correct amounts, which eliminates underpayments and overpayments.
#3 – Enhanced Visibility and Control Over Spending
With all records stored electronically, you can easily compile reports to gain visibility into spending patterns. For example, if your budget sets a limit for expense reimbursements, you can evaluate any deviancies to adjust your budget going into the next period. Maybe you find that one employee is constantly overspending or that unauthorized reimbursements are being paid out. Uncovering these items is crucial to implementing the proper controls in your expense management function.
#4 – Ensures Compliance and Simplifies Audits
Expense reimbursements are regulated since they are generally tax-free. With streamlined recordkeeping, digital receipts, and transaction logs, you can maximize compliance if an audit does occur. You don’t have to worry about your reimbursements becoming taxable to employees or your business deduction becoming disallowed when you have the proper paper trail.
#5 – Cost Savings in the Long Run
In the long run, expense management apps can unlock cost savings. With fewer errors, better oversight, and saved time processing reimbursement requests, your company’s bottom line benefits.
Key Features to Look for in an Expense Management App
Not all expense management apps offer the same features. This makes it important to ensure your expense management app has the necessary features, cost controls, and reporting capabilities before making the investment. Here are some of the key features to look for in your expense management app.
#1 – Automated Receipt Scanning and OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
The first feature is automated receipt scanning and OCR capabilities. You want to give employees the ability to upload receipts through the app. This reduces the need for physical copies and stores all information electronically.
#2 – Customizable Approval Workflows
The expense management app should also give you customization options, such as set cost controls based on an employee’s role, department, or transaction amount.
#3 – Real-Time Reporting and Analytics
Another feature to ensure your expense management app has is real-time reporting and analytics. You should be able to pull a report at any time to see the transactions submitted to date, including how these transactions compare to the budgeted amounts.
#4 – Integration with Accounting and ERP Software
One of the most important features of an expense management app is its integration capabilities with your accounting and ERP software. Without integration, you could notice operational silos that impact the reporting and accuracy of your financial statements.
#4 Mobile Access
Mobile access is another feature to look out for. Employees should be able to submit entries on the go. This is especially important if your business has employees that frequently travel.
N2F offers all of these features and more, helping your business replace inefficient procedures. Our software gives you the ability to customize cost controls, pull reports at a moment’s notice, and track spending.
How to Implement an Expense Management App in Your Business
Although there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing an expense management app in your business, there are a few key tips and tricks you can use to secure a smooth transition.
Involve Key Stakeholders
The first tip is to involve key stakeholders, like your finance team, employees, and managers. By involving these teams, you ensure everyone is on the same page with the app implementation.
Provide Clear Training
Training is essential when integrating an expense management app into your business. After all, employees need to understand how to use the app to streamline reporting. For example, if you never train employees on how to upload receipts into the app, you might still receive paper copies of invoices and receipts.
Rollout Programs in Phases
A gradual implementation ensures everyone is on the same page and understands how to use the app. In addition, a gradual rollout gives you the ability to address any initial issues before moving on to the next phase. By taking the implementation in steps, you can bolster comprehension and work out any challenges you come across.
Conclusion
Expense management apps are a great way to streamline reporting, save costs, improve accuracy, and minimize errors in your reimbursement process. This makes finding the right app important.
When looking at expense management providers, be sure their app integrates with your accounting system, allows real-time expense capturing, and has customizable workflows. To leverage these benefits and more, reach out to a team member at N2F today to schedule your free consultation.
