Spend management is the process of calculating and maximizing the amount of money a company spends altogether.
As there are so many expenses a company has, they often look to implement updated or new policies to improve how this money is spent. Therefore, it’s important to stay in control of everything to maintain a positive cash flow.
But how can your business stay in control?
Using spend management software to track business spending and improve visibility is becoming more widespread.
And if you want your business to begin using spend management like a pro, here are some of the best practices to do so:
- Utilize automation software
Automation is one of the biggest game changers when controlling all finances using spend management, as it improves accuracy due to eliminating manual tasks that are open to human error.
Tasks that can be automated include data entry, receipt submission and collection, alongside receipt matching, which can save plenty of time and money.
Instead, your finance team can redistribute their skills to focus on other tasks, like analysis and forecasting.
- Create a company spend policy
This is essential to create transparency for employees, so they know their limitations when it comes to company spending and act accordingly when making purchases.
Your accounting team will first have to create a policy based on the size of your business and your industry, along with other important factors.
Once you have the basis of a policy, putting forward rules will be easy, so you can then train all employees on how they should be following it.
- Regular audits
Within any part of a company, you must always look for ways to better certain processes – they may have worked before, but that doesn’t mean it will always be the best way for the business.
To master spend management like a pro, your finance team should conduct regular audits so you’re aware of what is and isn’t working, so improvements can be made.
Audits are extremely important when it comes to finding areas to save on spending – they can identify everything, including misuse of company funds and redundant subscriptions.
With some of the best practices to use spend management software like a pro, you might now be wondering – how can I choose the right spend management software for my business?
Here are a few helpful tips:
- Go for a cloud-based solution
These solutions offer a seamless flow of data compared to on-premise spend management tools, which are expensive and difficult to scale.
Employees can access cloud-based solutions outside of the office, so they can have clear visibility and upload data on the go.
- Look for mobile compatibility
Similar to cloud-based solutions, mobile capabilities when it comes to spend management solutions can encourage more productivity.
Many modern forms of spend management software are supported by smartphones, allowing employees to upload digital receipts and invoices from their phones and on the move.
- Think about approvals management
Spend management software is used for more than just tracking expenses – it can provide a variety of advanced features, like transaction pre-approvals, which can save an employee’s time.
The finance team, along with managers, will be able to see exactly how much was spent on what and who approved expenses, giving the entire business better visibility.
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Modern spend management software largely improves visibility and productivity with advanced features that you can choose for your specific business.
Mastering the use of spend management within your company will create a more successful business that can track every expense in real-time.
