Chrome River CURRENTS

An employee has received approval to attend an important conference — her first trip on the company’s dime. “Just email me the flight details, and I’ll pay for it with a company credit card,” her supervisor says. Knowing the travel budget is tight, the employee submits the lowest fare. But her supervisor ultimately books a slightly more expensive ticket after identifying a better flight that avoids a long layover on an airline that offers the company a volume discount.

To reveal hidden trends and opportunities, companies can use analytics software to sift enormous amounts of data, looking for an edge. As businesses seek to benefit from “big data,” managers increasingly rely on analytics-based reports to guide their decision-making, according to a post on the Big Fat Finance Blog. A great way for your company to benefit from big-data analytics is by using expense management software.

With the exception of the New Year, spring is the time of year when we have more motivation for positive change than any other time. Many of us are often motivated to start self-improvements like a new diet, getting in better shape, cutting out processed foods, and getting more sleep. But those of us involved with the world of accounting and corporate finance struggle with an additional factor this time of year. You guessed it, “busy season!” Whether you’re a tax accountant slugging your way toward April 15 or you’re in corporate finance and working to finalize Q1 reporting for your organization, you probably don’t seem to have a spare second for even the most basic routines, let alone time for a new health kick! But by not taking care of ourselves, aren’t we actually hurting our productivity? There are reams of health statistics and studies that show we are.

While packing for your morning flight out of Austin, you triple-check your briefcase for the receipts you’ve collected while visiting a client. This time, you hope, it won’t take quite so long to fill out your expense report. One receipt turns out to be a formidable bill from the first night — a business dinner with your team of four, plus eight guests. Or was it nine guests? The week-old receipt already seems faded and hard to read.

It’s tempting to think of many business expenses as an investment: You buy a tool and use it to create a valuable product or service, and it generates revenue. But a whole lot tends to happen between that initial purchase and your return on the investment. Tracking business expenses is the best way to gain an accurate understanding of the total costs and really know whether you’re making money or not.

As the economy recovers, companies may find vendors increasingly reluctant to accept long payment terms that stretch out 45, 60, or 90 days. And when one of your oldest, most trusted vendors requests 30-day terms, it’s important to keep the peace rather than risk disruptions. Instead, organizations can save by using automated invoice management to increase efficiency, prevent costly errors, and secure favorable terms from vendors.

Depending on your company’s policy, you might find expense reimbursement for mobile phone bills to be one of the most contentious topics for expense approval.  Most companies have a cap on what they will reimburse each month, and it’s not unusual for employees to accidentally get hit with a bill that is way beyond what they expected. 

The increasing cost of college education isn’t lost on parents of students nor on the recent graduates themselves as they enter a less-than-promising job market burdened with student debt. But the recession also has created financial pressures for colleges and universities, according to a recent article on CFO.com, the online home of CFO Magazine.

There isn’t a business out there that isn’t looking to find a way to operate more efficiently. After all, in the current economic climate, keeping a close eye on the bottom line is more important than ever. You can’t afford to let any efficiency-maintaining opportunity to cut costs slip past. Whether you’re the CEO of a major corporation or operating your own small business, you’re probably looking for ways to streamline your expense management.

One of the best ways to do this is to make sure that you have control over who gets to use an expense account and which items are permissible. Too often, companies neglect to ensure that only authorized expenses are reimbursed. It might not seem like much when the costs are only a couple of dollars, but when those dollars are multiplied by various individuals over the course of a year, it can mean a substantial loss. By making sure that you’re controlling what is allowed, you’ll help ensure your bottom line stays strong. If you find that employees are failing to comply, you can provide them with concrete information on reimbursable vs. out-of-pocket expenses.

Another way to streamline expense management is setting up an expense overview schedule. Every quarter, take some time to go over the year-to-date expenses, find out which areas are costing the most, and make adjustments accordingly. For example, if you find that lodging is costing more each quarter due to price increases on the hotel end, you can research comparable lodgings at a lower cost. By reviewing expenses on a regular basis, you’ll make sure that you’re not caught off-guard by cost overruns.

One of the most effective ways to cut costs and save time is to automate your travel and expense reporting system with a product like Chrome River EXPENSE. Your company might be spending too much time and creating too many problems by using outdated expense reporting procedures. Chrome River EXPENSE shows employees precisely how much they can spend, which expenses will be covered, and when an expense falls outside the guidelines for reimbursement. Having an automated expense system allows you to easily submit expense reports, analyze spending data, and produce proper documentation when it comes time to submit annual budgets and file tax returns.

Welcome to the first Chrome River Currents monthly digest! Each month we’ll highlight the latest news and analysis on business travel, expense management and online expense reporting. This time, we’re focusing on the benefits of automating your expense policy. We’ll show you how new cloud-based technologies can help your company in a variety of contexts: working on the go, preventing fraud and increasing efficiency.