In today’s competitive era, a lot of organizations still manage their travel expenses in a very unorganized manner. The traditional way wastes employee time and productivity and increases the stress of Account payable and Finance team in managing the process manually. To gain competitive advantage, organizations need to move to travel expense management platform that integrates travelers, approvers, travel desks, travel agents, accounts payable and finance on one portal to reduce miscommunication and streamline the process. Unnecessary trips and wasteful cancellations are decreased, travel is only with authorized vendors and travelers function within the recommended procedures and systems. This saves both time and money. Below mentioned are few benefits of an efficient Travel Expense Management Software:
Structured Travel Policy
Earlier when accounting for travel expenses was done manually, it was difficult to keep track of all the expenses and cost incurred. With the travel expense management software, the travel policies will be very clear and erroneous payments can be highlighted. Common travel expenses including hotel and food ought to be written down clearly. This helps in preventing issues in the future.
Expense Visibility
The finance and accounts payable team can get a clear visibility on the spend made. They will have all the related information available in the system with details of the same. They can easily know which department is spending how much and can put budget control wherever needed.
Efficient Processes
Entering expenses manually into a spreadsheet can be really tedious and can tend to be inaccurate. It becomes difficult for the accounts payable and finance team as well if you have several hundred employees in an organization. This is where the travel expense management software comes into the picture. The software allows employees to report their expenses in the system which automatically follows the workflow and goes for approval. Post approval it goes to the relevant department for authenticating and processing the payment. The entire process is seamless, automated and quick for employees and internal departments.
On-Time Employee Reimbursement
If you take too much time to reimburse your employee, it will lead to growing resentment. It could also lead to employees hesitant to go on business trips and maybe even flat-out refuse, which would ultimately affect the business. The software allows the employees to report their expenses on the go and it immediately goes for approval and payment. The entire process is quick and automated which saves a lot of time and helps to reimburse employee expenses on or before time.
Employee Travel Expense Trends
With a spreadsheet, it is difficult to say if a particular employee’s expenditure is atypical to the normal pattern. The software helps to capture data and analyse the trend based on historical data. Management can run multiple reports and get analytics to help them make business decisions. For ex. It is easy to look up different trips and find out whether inflation is bringing up the expenses or if the employee is skirting along the edge of allowed expenses. Both the Travel Expense Management Software and the Procure to Pay Software helps bring financial control in the organization saving a lot of cost and time.
