EXPENSE MANAGEMENT BY MARK FRARY
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EXPENSE MANAGEMENT CAN BE A CHORE FOR ALL INVOLVED, BUT RECENT INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS ARE HELPING TO IMPROVE THE USER EXPERIENCE
RARELY IS THERE SUCH AGREEMENT BETWEEN EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYERS as is the case with expenses: employees hate submitting them and employers hate processing them. Yet timely submission of expenses and efficient handling of them can make a huge difference to the financial well- being of both parties. And it’s for this reason that expense management system providers are increasingly focusing on the user experience – whether that is the person incurring the expenses, the line manager who signs them off, or the finance/travel manager who checks them against policy and approves them for payment. Olivier Mindren, vice-president of marketing at Traveldoo, says the focus on user experience has its roots in the
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consumerisation of enterprise appli- cations – that is, those working with business technology want a similar ex- perience to that which they receive from consumer-facing technology. “Everyone in the market is supplying basic features, so you have to work on something else and, because of this consumerisation, expectations are getting higher,” he says. “If you want user satisfaction you have to deliver those type of consumer features.” Alan Gillies, vice-president of sales
in the UK for American Express Global Corporate Payments says: “There has certainly been a lot of innovation recently that has helped to improve the user ex- perience, and takes the hassle out of expense management. This can increase employee productivity, reduce service
interruptions and drive programme compliance, which will ultimately deliver savings for the organisation.” Automation of the expense process
helps the user make claims more easily – and encourages users to follow correct procedures, says David Vine, manag- ing director of Concur’s UK small- to medium-sized business division. “For example, companies typically tell travel- lers to make sure they get a receipt,” he says. “But it doesn’t matter how often you say it, they still persist in not getting them. If, through the use of technol- ogy, their life is made easier if they get a receipt, then they will do it.” Seen from the other side, better user experience means the company gets greater compli- ance and more VAT back.
BBT SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 85
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