More and more accountants understand the advantages of digitally managing expense claims, mileages, entertainment and per diems. In addition to avoiding smudged receipts and spending unnecessary time on manual paperwork, a digital tool increases security and saves money.

Many systems on the market offer a digital expense management service – but there are only a few that do not require some type of manual labour. Most businesses and employees who think they manage expenses digitally still have manual elements in their processes.

Unfortunately for accountants, the manual workload often lands on them — tasks ranging from transferring data between financial systems to calculating correct and accurate reimbursement for a business trip.

So, how do you avoid the expense management trap? Let’s look at three key areas.

1. No more manual data entry.

Yes, this may sound familiar. As one of the most tedious tasks for businesses, manual data entry is part of the everyday lives in organisations – from financial data to support tickets.

When looking at expense management, there are multiple financial systems – from accounting software to company cards – that must work together to eliminate the manual entry of data.

With a plethora of tools available in the market it’s easy to fall into the expense management trap, and select a tool that requires manual data entry. Stay true to your already working process and choose an expense management tool that ties your existing bank, cards, accounting- and payroll systems together. Avoid alternatives that add to your tech stack without actually solving a problem.
With a solution that ties your process together, all data is managed in one place and distributed correctly from the purchase to bookkeeping, giving you better control and more time back.

2. Lost receipts, yesterday's news.

Lost receipts are no fun for anyone, really. Accountants spend hours – often in vain – chasing them down, businesses have expenses without the requirements to make a claim and employees experience long reimbursement delays, if they are reimbursed at all.

It’s possible to eliminate this headache, and it’s really easy.

Manage all receipts; paper, email, digital, faxed – yes, whatever you may have – in one expense management solution. They are photographed, fetched or shared immediately with the tool, giving you a central place for all receipts regardless of type. From within the expense management solution you can approve (or reject for that matter) and post the expense to the right place in your accounting system.

3. Tax regulations are accounted for automatically.

Monitoring and staying up-to-date with latest local expense regulations is part of an accountant's everyday life, but does it have to be?

Don’t get us wrong, expenses must be posted in accordance with the regulations – but all hours spent updating excel sheet formulas, crunching numbers on calculators and screening documents can be avoided.

HMRC normally updates tax regulations every year, which means that accountants must update their information and formulas at least once a year. The real manual trap, however, are the countless hours spent monitoring and calculating the posted amount for all types of expenses. The amount for a business trip to Paris versus Glasgow differs, and it takes time to get it right.

Instead, make sure that your expense management solution is compliant with local regulations, always up to date and calculates the post amounts for you – like Findity. Then you can retire that calculator once and for all.

Feeling ready to get out of the expense management trap? Get in touch with us at Findity – we’re happy to help.