Managing expense reports can be a real ordeal! But it is essential to the smooth running of every business. No one can afford to ignore it. You recognize this situation and would like to find a way to improve it? Don’t panic, there are solutions to the problem!
N2F, an expense report management application, has 5 tips to help make your life easier. Off we go!
1. Define a travel expense policy
Auditing your expenses and comparing them with the averages for your sector will help you to identify possible inconsistencies and define a suitable reimbursement policy.
For example, you may decide to cap meal expenses and mileage allowances to encourage your employees to be mindful of their expenses when travelling. It is better if your policies deter rather than repress to give each employee a natural sense of responsibility.
2. Do not exceed 2 levels of validation
To avoid creating a convoluted system, limit yourself to two levels of approval so that you don’t waste a lot of time.
For example, appoint a line manager responsible for ensuring that the expense is in line with the engagement and a management controller in the accounting department. The management controller will ensure that the expense in question complies with the reimbursement policy and that all the necessary supporting documents have been provided.
3. Perform spot checks
No self-respecting accountant would reveal that expense claims are not always controlled in the most rigorous way. In fact, nearly 4 out of 10 expense reports are not subject to thorough control.
Having a clearly defined expense policy makes it easier to identify expenses that do not comply with the rules. And it’s even easier with the help of an adapted tool like N2F!
By analyzing and comparing data, also try to identify and notify employees who have a tendency to abuse the system. Don’t hesitate to monitor new recruits more closely and tell them about the company’s internal procedures.
Duplicates, missing documents, expenses declared on a day off… Manual management remains prone to too many errors, whether intentional or not. The best solution is to rely on an automatic fraud detection system, found in expense report management software.
4. Say goodbye to paper receipts
Using a digital tool to manage expense reports helps to avoid many errors and costs less than paper filing. A paperless system enables you to optimize traceability and readability and to conserve documents for longer. The law now allows digital archiving, so why do without it?
5. Automate VAT recovery
Compliance with tax rules could allow companies to reduce the cost of expenses by around 2.5% alone! One out of every two expenses involves VAT recovery at an average rate of 7%, whereas it is possible to recover 13%. Result: 40% of the VAT relating to the expense is left with the State.
The case of meals is the most blatant: 6% of the price is recovered in the form of VAT; the rest is taxed at 10%. It’s high time to make sure that VAT is recovered on all expenses and not only on the most important ones!
To easily apply these various tips, the best option is undoubtedly to use expense report software. With a monthly investment of just a few euros, you can save precious time on a daily basis, avoid errors and fraud, simplify the collection of information thanks to real-time scanning, and track expenses. In short, you can reduce the cost of your expense report management by 75%! So, are you interested?- Contact us.
