The five key benefits of mobile expense management
The real game changer that has been able to transform the way businesses control employee costs has been the emergence of mobile apps.
While the switch from paper-based to digital systems paved the way, it has been the pairing of cloud technology and smartphone apps that have been the real breakthrough.
The crucial difference is the ability it unlocks for employees to convert any paper receipt they receive into a digital format by snapping it with their smartphone camera.
It’s this process that allows businesses to virtually eliminate the need for any paper-based or manual processes when managing reimbursement costs. It’s a change which delivers a whole range of business benefits. Here’s a look at how:
Boosting speed and efficiency
With receipts handled in digital form, it removes the slow, clunky and error-prone administrative headache of managing a monthly flood of paperwork. Typically, an expense management system such as Webexpenses will reduce processing times by 25%.
The speed and efficiency savings are felt throughout an organization. For employees, it provides a quick simple way to update their out-of-office expenses. For finance teams, it allows manual tasks to be replaced with fast and efficient automated processes.
Matching workforce mobility
By 2022 it’s predicted that 42.5% of the global workforce will be mobile - not operating from a fixed base. This increased mobility is being driven by digital technology and the ability for employees to remain productive from wherever they have an online connection.
It’s a trend that’s increasingly incompatible with the traditional paper-based ways businesses have used to manage employee expenses. The use of personal devices and smartphone apps provides the scalability and flexibility to cope with today’s mobile workforce.
Accurately tracking road journeys
A 2017 global survey, commissioned by Webexpenses, found that 47% of business travellers admit to having falsified or exaggerated their mileage reimbursements. It’s a form of expense fraud which has been extremely difficult to tackle, relying on employees to provide estimates of journey distances.
Point-to-point recognition and automatic mileage calculations is an area that can be controlled by finance teams with the Webexpenses app.
Real-time checks and notifications
The use of cloud-technology allows smartphone apps to provide users with real-time checks, notifications and warnings. The Webexpenses app allows on-screen messages to be delivered to users, wherever they may be.
These can be used to remind claimants of company policy relating to the reimbursements they’re claiming or warning them if any expenses fall outside of allowed limits. It lets company policy become an active part of the everyday workflow.
Building a strong company culture
Attracting the best employees means creating the kind of attractive workplace environment they want to be a part of. And for a new generation of millennial workers, that’s not one which is managed using outdated methods and paper-based processes.
Providing a fast, flexible way to manage expenses via a smartphone app helps to create an alluring company culture which is attuned to today’s digital world.
So above and beyond the speed and efficiency advantages, there is a diverse range of benefits provided by the combination of digital and mobile expense management.
It has provided the missing piece of the jigsaw, allowing businesses to properly control reimbursement costs and free themselves from the administrative burden of paperwork and manual processes. It’s what makes expense management apps an essential tool for any modern workforce.
Find out how your business can experience the benefits by requesting a demo.