When it comes to choosing an enterprise expense management solution for your company, it can be a time-consuming process. However, it is important for managers to understand the benefits of automating global expense management and be prepared to find the right solution that meets the needs and goals of the company.
To begin evaluating vendors, it is crucial to have a set of questions that will aid in determining the best solution for your company. To assist you in this endeavour, we have compiled a list of essential questions that you may find helpful when selecting an enterprise expense management solution.
To find the right global expense management solution for your company, it's important to determine your needs and goals. By identifying the essential features that align with your objectives, you can streamline processes and achieve faster, error-free results. Here are some key questions to consider when evaluating global expense features:
Integrating your global expense management solution with other automated systems in your company helps you overcome many challenges that your managers face when trying to keep costs under control. You need a flexible expense management software provider that understands your needs and is able to support you with the integrations your company really needs to start obtaining results. To help with this, you need to ask questions such as:
A user-friendly solution is essential for positive user experience and your key to new sources of savings. You must ensure that the user interface has everything your company needs to encourage employees to use it regularly to manage expenses in your company. Here are some user-related questions you could ask:
Mobile expense applications are designed for the needs of modern companies and their business travellers. A solution that allows your employees to manage their travel expenses on the go is exactly what you need to obtain real-time information on their spending behavior and to facilitate the automated approval process. Mobile apps make everything easier during business trips, meaning you will want to ask questions regarding mobile features such as:
Integration with travel booking tools is one of the most important features you might need for your global expense management software to decrease the costs related to business trips. Look for flexible expense management software suppliers and ask them questions such as:
With Optical Character Recognition (OCR), receipt submission and checking for your employees can be done automatically. For frequent travellers, an OCR-enabled app allows them to scan receipts immediately and avoid spending time manually processing receipts. However, OCR features may also benefit other categories of users. To find out exactly who, ask the following:
Submitting reports on time and generating insightful reports are probably two of your biggest pain points when it comes to manually processed travel expenses and two of the reasons why you are so determined to invest in a corporate expense management tool. Pay attention to the reporting features and ask the right questions:
You have now defined your problems and identified the features that you need to achieve your goals regarding corporate expense management. When searching for the right software provider, be sure to collaborate with your IT department to ensure a smooth implementation process. Delaying the implementation of a global expense management solution only generates higher costs. Be sure to obtain answers to the following questions:
You should involve all critical stakeholders in the evaluation process and add questions to our suggested list based on the feedback from you colleagues. Consider including members from IT, finance, accounting, training and performance management.
Ultimately, you want a solution that will help you minimise expenses while keeping employees happy. Choosing an enterprise expense management solution is a team effort, and we hope that our list of questions is helpful for your project committee.