For those companies managing corporate travel and entertainment expenses by paper, you are at risk for the following:
• Non compliance and poor visibility to travel policies
• Loss of working capital- material impact on profitability
• Loss to fraud and errors
• Slow processing and repayment
Typically, a manual process will involve an employee completing a paper- or spreadsheet-based expense claim, which they then forward, along with the relevant tax invoices (receipts), to their manager for approval. Once the manager has approved the claim, they forward it to the accounts department for processing. The accounts staff then key each expense item into the company's finance system before filing the claim and receipts away.
According to industry research experts1, processing paper laden expense reports with little to no automation carries a cost per transaction burden as high as $28.21. Best in class will deliver a cost-per-transaction cost as low as $6.19.
The biggest burden for companies working on manual expense report processing:
• Data Entry Costs
• Receipt Submission Process
Fact1: Close to 67% of organizations, still deliver receipts by interoffice mail, email and fax.
The Expense Submission Process
Receipt - The steps required to receive and prepare expense reports, which may be either manual or automated. Gathering receipts to be scanned and emailed along with the submitted expanse form.
Data Capture - The process of converting paper invoices and transaction-related documents, such as proofs of receipt, into digital images and index data. Using technology, scanning, imaging, image enhancement, indexing, validation, and data extraction based on bar-codes, OCR, ICR, or manual data entry.
Workflow Automation- The routing of tasks according to pre-defined business rules and based on individuals’ roles and access rights. Useful features include automatic notifications to users when specific actions are required, reminder messages, and escalation procedures based on approval hierarchies.
Posting to ERP or Accounting Software - The process of taking captured data and uploading it to the accounting application for payment by either check or EFT.
Analytics and Visibility - The process of analyzing key receipt-to-pay metrics for expenses.
Storage and Compliance - Refers to the delivery, storage, management, and disposition of electronic documents and data.
1 Research Sources: Paystream Advisors
Imaging and Workflow Automation can help your organization with the inherent challenges of manual, paper-based expense processing.
Strong Case for Automation and Benefits:
Lower costs by cutting the process of handling paper and engaging in calls that require feedback on the status of an expense claim. Less time will be spent copying, routing and notifying the key stakeholder in the process. Employees and managers are able to spend more time on productive tasks that generate revenue.
Accessing spend data that is on paper is a slow and manual process. Typically the data is only available after the process is complete and into your core systems. Automation and data capture at the beginning of the submission process provides real time data into spending, allowing companies to post accurate data.
Integration with core systems, typically the data capture, coding and posting to the financial applications is done by accounts payable staff. Automation of the data extraction allows data to be effortlessly imported into your payroll and accounting systems after approvals are given.
Increase your employee satisfaction with the removal of slow and painful approval processes, workflow automation leads to streamlined and smoother processes resulting in faster reimbursement of expenses.
To learn more about how Microdea can assist your organization with expense management, contact us at 905.881.6071 ext 244 or marketing@microdea.com