Not sure why you should choose expense reporting software in the first place. Read the first part of this article.
The business expense software market has grown significantly in recent years. However, not all the solutions are suitable for every company. It's important to assess your needs beforehand to choose the right software.
Mobile optimisation
Being able to manage expenses on the go is a key feature of management tools. Mobile access to data can make business flows more optimized, and this is, even more, the case when it comes to managing expense claims.
With a connected and mobile solution, expense claim management is completed in near real-time. Employees can use a dedicated smartphone app to record their expenses in the system as soon as they are incurred. The expense claim is quickly created and sent to accounting before the employee has even returned from their trip.
A software solution with a mobile app would be an essential aspect for the majority of companies wanting to optimize their expense claim management.
Compatibility with the company's existing systems
Another important criteria is being able to integrate the new solution into the company. IT developments over the last 30 years have allowed companies to move most of their tasks onto computer systems.
These systems often form the backbone of companies. A new management solution needs to integrate with this ecosystem, without creating conflicts that would cause headaches for management.
A good solution therefore has native connectors to integrate with ERP and accounting software, CRM software (customer relationship management), productivity software, etc. The new software should synchronize data with the other software, allowing for optimized flows and reporting.
A modular solution
Naturally, the solution needs to be suited to your requirements. A solution with modular elements depending on the plan and options chosen will be more likely to be a good fit.
A solution with various options will be able to adapt more easily to your requirements, whether these needs are fixed or will keep evolving as your business grows.
For the solution to be fully modular and adapted to your needs, efficient customer support is essential. Easily reachable support teams in your area are key for rapid problem resolution. The best solution would offer a personalised support option with a dedicated advisor.
The challenges of going paperless for expense reporting
Adopting specialist expense report management software means moving expense claims into the digital realm. There are now paperless processes available for every kind of business document.
The European drive towards the paperless office
Paperless invoicing is a process that was initiated by the European Union in the early 2000s. In 2001, a directive clarified the applicable standards for digitising invoices, electronic signatures, and electronic storage of invoices.
This directive has been transposed into French law, setting out the processes to guide companies towards a paperless future. Since 2019, paperless expense claims without any requirement to retain the original paper receipts have been officially accepted by the French government.
First of all, paperless accounting is in states' interest from a tax perspective. By moving away from paper files, tax authorities can check invoices and VAT payments more effectively, even at the European level.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked the transition to paperless
Companies' transition to digital and paperless has been spurred even further by the health crisis. The pandemic has paralysed companies which have now been forced to have employees work remotely. Today it's impossible to imagine a company operating without computerising non-manual tasks.
COVID-19 has played an undeniable role in accelerating digitization, as shown by the conclusions of the European Council in October 2020. For expense claims, paperless processing is now essential for companies where employees are no longer allowed to visit the office. With everything now digital, creating and processing expense claims can be done remotely, on the spot.
The government has also embraced this acceleration towards paperless businesses and has set out a roadmap for compulsory digitisation. The 2020 finance law will now force VAT-paying companies to move to electronic invoicing by 1 January 2023. This same law has also established a system which from 1 January 2025 will mean invoice data is sent to the tax authorities automatically.
Digitisation is therefore a short-term challenge imposed by the pandemic, which is set to become a compulsory requirement in the medium term.
Managing expense claims with a mobile app
A powerful SaaS solution needs to have an accompanying mobile app. The app allows for increased mobility, making it possible to manage expense claims in a more fluid manner. The app further increases the potential offered by the SaaS software.
Easy to use
The mobile app is very simple for employees to use, and users can customise its features to their needs, making it even more intuitive. The built-in character recognition (OCR) system can read the text data in the documents to create expense claims based on just a simple photo.
The mobile app also has some of the options from the web interface. This includes the digital archiving system which allows each employee to locate their supporting documents with a few clicks. However, mobility does not mean compromising on security, since the data storage is coupled with enhanced security for each employee's data.
Managing expenses abroad
The mobile app is the ideal companion for managing expense claims abroad. As well as being able to submit claims in real time, the app can process receipts with local currencies and VAT.
The Jenji app can automatically convert foreign currency amounts using the current exchange rate. It's also possible to set the amount of bank charges and configure specific exchange rates.
With all the possibilities offered by the mobile app, employees can completely focus on their business trip.
More advantages of expense reporting software
The business expenses hub
Automated data collection usually goes hand in hand with a management hub for organising the collected data. The hub is the central point where all data is collected, processed, categorised and archived.
The hub acts as a financial advisor with tailored analyses, automatic reports and alert systems if it detects anything unusual. This powerful tool supports financial managers in their monitoring and helps when making strategic decisions.
Getting the most out of data with AI
The data linked to your business expenses is extremely valuable, so it's important to be able to analyse it, synchronise it with the right tools, and visualise it in the most useful way. That's what the data hub of your expense reporting software is there for.
Jenji Studio provides real-time analysis of your expense reporting data, with graphical visualisations to use when monitoring and reporting. During audits, it's possible to export specific data or download macro reports.
Monitoring expenses for financial intelligence
As well as analyses and reports, the expenses hub can also be used to detect fraud. This detection is automatic, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). Auditors are immediately alerted to any abnormal expenses, without having to review each expense individually.
The management hub also enables more efficient cash flow. With its integration with other software and automated re-invoicing, the expenses hub allows accounting practices to be substantially streamlined.
