Expenses systems – money well-spent?
Jo Victoria Russell, freelance writer, discusses the benefits of modern expenses management systems and how they can help improve payroll processes and procedures
t was not so long ago when the MP’s expenses scandal rocked UK politics. Unsurprisingly, the disclosure of widespread abuse of the permitted expenses and allowances claimed by Members of Parliament aroused fervent outrage amongst the British public. Despite being highly controversial, the scandal is a powerful example of the importance of robust expenses management. If left unchecked, expenses can quickly escalate into a major financial liability and can affect any organisation – from the House of Commons to a small family-run business.
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Expenses systems – then and now Long gone are the days when most organisations used paper-based expense systems. Nowadays, employers are utilising automated expense management platforms, which streamline the processes around logging, calculating, auditing and approving expense claims, therefore providing greater management control and dramatically reducing transaction costs. With so many viable options available on the market, it comes as no surprise that expense management software is widely perceived as the way forward. Darren Beal, Head of commercial services at Ceridian, the payroll and HR software provider, agrees with the sentiment that going digital offers the best
option for business. He elaborated: “What is amazing is that only five years ago, many businesses operated using paper claims or simple printed excel timesheet forms with absolutely no rules compliance. Indeed such practices still exist. Having said this, fully functional systems now use workflow routines for authorisation using web technology, with an application of multiple types of business rules for different sectors or businesses. This allows an automatic policy adherence to a corporate expenses policy along with spending limits by categories, VAT [value added tax] compliance, mileage reporting and payment, daily allowances and tax reporting.” There is no doubt that software will continue to improve the current expense management landscape as technology evolves. Darren continued: “For instance, mobile applications allow for claims to be made on the move, the utilisation of Google Maps can automatically log the ‘start’ and ‘end’ of journeys and mobile phone cameras can be used to record images of receipts. Add interaction with travel management companies to book trains, planes and hotel accommodation online and expenses management has moved on significantly in recent years.” Darren paints a highly sophisticated picture of the expense management platforms currently available; broadly speaking, there are three main types of expenses software, all with varying levels of capability and efficiency. These include web-based, client server and cloud-based systems. Michael Richards, owner of webexpenses, the expenses management software provider, argues that the latter constitutes the most advanced type of system being offered at present. He said: “The whole process of recording expenses has come a long way with the dawn of cloud technology. Instead of wasting
44 PayrollProfessional
time with the often fiddly processes of tracking and storing receipts, employees can now simply take pictures of them on hand-held devices and upload them to a central expenses system. The ability to do this has taken a lot of the headache out of expenses processing for both employees and their finance teams.” Some of the other benefits of expenses management software are its cost-effectiveness, decreased processing times as well as increased functionality, especially when dealing with complex data. Michael continued: “Nearly all expenses systems now incorporate elements of smart technology, which allow data to be processed in a matter of seconds. Compared to how reporting was conducted even just five years ago we’ve seen some major steps forward by all of the major expenses software providers.” On top of this, newer systems also give the employer the ability to condense years of data into an accessible and very secure virtual space.
Payroll processes and procedures These days, modern expense management systems contain a number of impressive features that can help organisations improve upon their payroll processes and procedures. Firstly, these software solutions can simplify the expenses claim process by detecting discrepancies and ensuring that everything is above-board. Darren elaborates: “Fully functional systems are not only about policy compliance, they also have great transparency of the claim process and allow excellent reporting at
...EXPENSE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IS WIDELY PERCEIVED AS THE WAY FORWARD
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