The Case for Expense Management
Given the long history of business application software use in the finance and HR functions, it’s curious that there are so many pockets of activity where organizations continue to rely on manual systems or home-grown programmes. It’s almost as if, having focused first and foremost on installing the core engines that manage their transactions, many businesses pause for breath and never get round to starting the next phases of their automation programmes.
Expense management software is a good example. Today, most organizations continue to rely on employees filling in spreadsheet templates to capture expense data. Many managers still sign off paper printouts – and even where expense forms are digitally approved, some rekeying is usually required within the accounts department, adding to the overall administrative overhead and increasing the opportunity for errors.
In principle, this is one area where the argument for automation should be a foregone conclusion. In practice, however, many organizations have held back from pushing through change, even when they accept that this isn’t the most efficient way to run a business process. If it’s looked at merely as an administrative burden, expense management simply joins a long list of other tactical automation projects vying for a share of the IT budget.
Ultimately, however, expense tracking is about far more than the quest for process efficiency. Automation brings tighter control to an area of expenditure that in many organizations is startlingly lax, especially when you take into account the high volume of transactions that are carried out to handle business travel and other non-PO items. It also gives organizations the management information they need to select preferred suppliers, negotiate discounts and ensure that employees purchase goods and services cost-effectively. Combined with the emergence of new forms of expense management that are both cheaper and less disruptive to implement, the business case becomes more compelling.
There are a number of different forms of expense management applications available today, but at heart they’re primarily designed to provide a centralised system that manages each aspect of the claim-to-payment process. The core capabilities include:
* Automating, centralising and streamlining the end-to-end process, from submission of expense claim, through approval and query resolution, to preparation of payroll data
* Increasing process control, reporting capability and policy enforcement to improve overall procurement efficiency. Where expenses management is provided online by a third party service partner, there may also be an opportunity to exploit the service provider’s aggregated buying power
* Improving initial data capture (for example, by allowing employees to enter data into a central system through a web browser or handheld device)
* Enhancing visibility into the end-to-end process for both employees and managers
* Capturing time data for analysis of billing and resource utilization
Expense On Demand Ltd
Abbey House
28-30 Chapel Street
Marlow
SL7 1DD
0870 366 2300