Why you still need to automate, even when people aren’t flying around

“Travel has been put on hold, so we don’t have any expenses right now” – does this sound familiar? We all know that travelling to the local shopping centre is the biggest trip of the year, but if staff aren’t travelling around, why do we need to automate? Since working from home came into play, we have seen a rise in small-businesses take advantage of an automated expense platform to set themselves up for the future, control cashflow and let business stay as close to “business-as-usual” as possible.

Right now, most businesses are trying to eliminate operational inefficiencies and avoidable expenses to reduce costs. Employee travel expenses are also currently on hold, which can give a false impression of lower spending that may lead to a shock when normal business activities resume. This momentary lull can dupe businesses into neglecting expense management. However, by relying on manual expense processes, small businesses lack visibility into and control over their cashflow, which can create significant problems in an uncertain landscape.

Expense automation is the key to helping small businesses become more resilient, scalable and agile in the new business environment. An automated system ensures business leaders see spend in real time, reduces the risk of human error and fraud, and improves employee satisfaction by making the expense process simpler and easier for them. Staff members can submit and approve expenses anywhere, anytime, using any device, helping them remain productive while working remotely. 

Automated expense management solutions can ease pressure for business owners and their staff, allowing them to increase efficiency and focus more on income-generating activities. Small businesses are usually hit the hardest during economic turbulence, and financial management is a crucial part of business survival. An automated expense management system gives small business owners access to accurate, real-time financial data that helps them prioritise business strategies. They can then use this data to forecast budget, spend and revenue, and identify ways of improving efficiencies to position their business for future success.

Learn more about how you can automate your expense processes with our express set up, try our self-guided expense demo or take our free trial of Concur Expense today.