How to Free Up Time So You Can Focus on the Important Things

How much of your day do you spend doing financial admin? Entering data, chasing invoices, remedying incorrect expenses, tracking down missing paperwork, and all the other things you need to do to? Every task is essential but it’s also time-consuming and, often, tedious.

How much of it is up to the standard you’d like it to be? You wouldn’t be alone in thinking it isn't. According to research carried out for us by Vanson Bourne among 500 finance leaders in the UK:

• 46% believe that errors and mistakes are their greatest challenges
• 68% aren’t completely confident that employees comply with company T&E policies.

And what about the strategic thinking, the planning, and the analysis that’s consistently squeezed out because the day-to-day admin gets in the way?

Finance automation offers a way to free up time

Research carried out with AMI-Partners among key financial decision makers in 420 SMBs revealed some startling results about the effectiveness of finance automation in giving you the time you need to focus on the bigger picture.

The average accounting/finance team implementing an invoice management solution reduced time spent on their tasks by 16%. This translates to about 40 hours a week for a team of five. The time saving is similar (15%) for companies using an expense and travel solution. Think about all of the strategic business tasks you and your team can take on in that additional time.

Finance automation allows you to add value to the business

A Head of Finance at a London charity sums it up perfectly:

“Accountants generally have a reputation for being backward-looking because that’s our role. But just having a system that works and takes advantage of technology… gives us self-confidence and a standing in the organisation we didn’t have before.”

More than half (54%) of the companies surveyed by AMI reported that improved analytics was an important benefit of an automated solution. With finance automation you get more reliable data, as well as greater visibility into your spend, meaning you'll be better equipped to make informed business decisions.

You can also be confident in the rate of user adoption and employee compliance. Users of expense, travel, and invoice solutions found that with automation, employees were less likely to submit non-compliant expenses. If they did, automation allowed finance managers to flag expenses that were out of policy and better prepare for audits.

With automation, you’ll be able to do more with less, which is an important ability in today’s business landscape. A key decision maker within a large technology firm using SAP Concur said: “As we continued to grow, the system just absorbed new employees. The accounting team has remained stable as the company has grown over the last three years.”

You’ll also have more time to be more human because there will be less pressure to process paperwork before it gets on top of you. It means you’ll be in a position to be more proactive, more visible, and to build relationships both in the business as well as with clients and other stakeholders.

In other words, automation lets you do the job you want to do and add even more value to business planning conversations and board-level discussions.

Download the full report to learn more about elevating business performance with automation.