As you may have already experienced, a manual way of managing your expense reports using paper receipts is tedious and could result in errors. Over the past few years, thanks to technological advancement, there has been a substantial improvement in expense management tools.
Automated expense management software takes the hassle out of expense management as you don’t have to manage the paper receipts anymore or keep track of day to day expenses manually. More importantly, a sound expense report system can help you prevent overspending and keep track of all your costs efficiently. For further clarity on the subject, deal with providers directly at GoodFirms.
Key Features of Expense Management Software
Here are some of the most needed features that you need to have in your expense report tool:
1. Compliance with travel policies
The expense report software gives you early notifications of any violations that you might be facing due to negligence of the terms and conditions. It takes a considerable burden off the shoulders of the finance team, knowing that the corporate travel and expense policies are adhered to properly, and the company is not in any violation.
2. An in-depth look into the financial health
You get a better picture of your finance if you pay attention to where the money goes in and comes out. Areas can be found where the unnecessary expenses are made, and with that insights, you can make the right decisions to cut down the costs. This helps in planning an effective budget for your future business expenses.
3. Tax deductions and audits
In order for the organization to approve the travel expenses, they must qualify for such then. You are missing out on a lot of tax controls if you don’t have tight control over the whole process. In addition to all these, you also need to have records and audit trails that indicate that you have correctly managed all the expenses. If you keep all these in mind, then you can save yourself from exposing yourself to the government audits.
4. Ease of use for the employees
It can take a lot of toll on the employees in waiting for the reply about the claims that are needed to be approved and can easily take a lot of productive time out of your schedule. An easy to use expense management system can manage to handle the submit reports and claim reimbursements it makes their life a lot easier.
5. Advanced analytics
The expense management software provides real-time analytics reports on expenses, expense reports, policy violations, and more. You can track every cost you have paid on the trip. The expense reports based on department, location, employees, or expense category to breakdown the policies that are being violated and so on.
You can also build reports based on specific data that you might want to analyze separately and don’t want to include in the final reports. Also, the report generation can be automated and sent to your email address on the time you select.
6. Integrating credit card programs
By integrating the various credit card programs, the employers can receive the reports directly from the bank for every credit card response. Then the expense management software can match it with the business expense statements and notifies the authorities if there are any mismatches.
7. Approval process control
Most expense management tools are built with secure private keys. Even if it allows multiple users to log in to the system, the platform remains secure with assigned tasks and role permissions. Only the admin will have the security key to give necessary access to other team members.
Top expense management softwares available out there
Gnucash: Freely licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows GnuCash is a personal as well as professional financial accounting software. Gnucash is easy to use powerful and flexible, and it also allows you to track your stocks, bank accounts, income, and other expenses.
Money manager Ex: With an easy to use interface Money Manager Ex is a free open source platform that can be used for both personal and professional expense management. It will keep track of where, when, and how your money is spent and helps your organize your finances.
Expensify: If you are just beginning to use any type of expense management tool, then Expensify is worth looking at. It has the most accessible software interface and will give you the most productive results without having to learn a lot about the software.
Concur expense: The best way for automating your expense management is by using the Concur expense management software. It eliminates all the errors, paper, and procedures the goes with managing the finances. If you are a manager, then implementing the software can free up your employees and give you more control over compliance and costs.
Fyle: This tool comes with plugin support that makes the process of filing any expense report as easy as switching on your light bulb. The platform also links all the widely used consumer apps and other platforms and simplifies the process of recording and sharing any expense report easy.
