Say Bye-Bye to Finance Hacks in 3 Simple Steps

Let’s talk about “finance hacks” for a moment. You know, those manual workarounds that companies often use to bridge their disconnected business systems. As spend management experts, we’ve pretty much seen them all. Some of the more common ones include: 

• Stapling receipts to printed expense reports 
• Tracking approvals with sticky notes 
• Printing invoices to re-key them back in 
• Saving employee self-booked travel plans in calendar invites  

Necessary, perhaps, but far from efficient. 

Rather than help control costs, these types of finance hacks can make processes more complex, obscure risks and fraud, decrease employee productivity, and slow your cash flow. 

So, what’s a forward-looking businessperson such as yourself to do? Here are three simple steps you can take today. 

Step 1: Let the ROI of automation be your guide 

A global survey of finance and IT leaders found that the average company processes 252 vendor invoices and 244 travel or expense reports each month1. That’s a lot of paper cuts. But here’s the difference automation can make. 

In the same survey, businesses with SAP Concur solutions reported on average: 

• 47% reduction in missing receipts 
• 32% reduction in the time taken to approve expenses 
• $54K estimated money saved on an annual basis 
• Only 7 months to see positive ROI 

Feel free to share those stats with your colleagues. In fact, we recommend it, because knowing the measurable benefits of automation can help guide a deeper look at your own processes. 

Curious about what your company could possibly save? Use the Concur Expense ROI Calculator to find out in less than a minute. 

Step 2: Show your people what’s possible 

Unless you’re a company of one, you’ll likely want to build a business case for automation that the rest of your team can get behind.  

Building a business case may seem like a daunting task but this guide makes it easy. 

The guide includes easy-to-follow tips and suggested soundbites for addressing the needs of your finance leader, finance team, IT, and company leadership. Once you bring them on board, you can get started with automation in practically no time. 

And speaking of “no time,” if you’re pressed for time, you can also watch this quick summary video for tips on building a business case. 

Step 3: Get started today by updating your policies 

Even companies of one can’t easily automate finance processes overnight. But here’s a way you can boost control over spending starting today: 

Download these tips and guidelines for creating a more effective expense policy. 

With a well written, up-to-date expense policy, you’ll make it easier for your employees and managers to understand what can — and can’t — be expensed. This results in more control over costs and compliance, less frustration for your finance team, and no more reimbursement surprises for (well-meaning) employees. 

So, there you have it. Three steps you can take today to say bye-bye to finance hacks for good. 

Get around your workarounds. Let’s automate that. 

We’ve helped over 51,000 businesses worldwide automate their spend management — for a more efficient, future-ready finance process. We’d be more than happy to show you how. Reach out to us today. 

1 Analysys Mason 2022, Travel, Expense, and Vendor Invoice Management Study.