Tracking Employee Expenses: Tips and Tricks
By Procurify
These six tips will help you save time and energy in tracking employee expenses (and they're more efficient than a cardboard box).
-
Research Online Expense Management Apps
Choose an expense management app or system that fits your budget and meets your needs. Most importantly, make sure your employees use it. Give them time to learn the new system so it will all go smoothly.
-
Analyze Your System
Just because your expense management structure has worked in the past doesn't mean it still does. Regularly check your system to make sure it's still relevant and efficient for your company and easy for your employees to use.
-
Keep Track of Petty Cash
Make sure you know where the petty cash is going and have firm policies on how it is to be used. Without these policies, tracking down random receipts when you're trying to balance your cash can be a hassle (or even impossible).
-
Monitor Employee Expense Reports
Follow up on expense reports to determine where money is going and if it could be allocated differently. For example, are numerous employees submitting receipts for commuting from the same city? Could they carpool? Looks for opportunities to streamline and consolidate common expenses.
-
Have Firm Policies in Place
Ensure your company has firm guidelines in place for reimbursement and make sure they are followed. If receipts are to be submitted within two weeks of the charge being incurred, then receipts submitted after that must be denied. This helps you keep track of your cash flow and better manage employee expenses.
-
Consider a Pre-Paid Card
Pre-paid debit cards with daily limits are becoming more popular for business. They can be kept in the office and activated when needed. If an employee is on a business trip, rather than setting out expense guidelines for meals, a pre-paid card with a daily limit could be used to buy food. This saves you from tedious paperwor, and your employee the hassle of submitting for reimbursement.
