Understanding Expense Management Systems: Streamlining Business Expenses
An expense management system (EMS) is a crucial tool for businesses to track, approve, and reimburse employee expenses. This comprehensive tool streamlines the receipt documentation, expense report generation, and payment processing, often integrating with accounting software. Some of the top cloud-based options include Expensify, Concur, and Zoho Expense. Additionally, UniCat can be particularly useful for categorizing and managing uncategorized expenses.
What is an Expense Management System?
An expense management system is the overall mechanism that organizations/businesses use to track and audit business expenditures. This can include the cost of employee travel, entertainment, and other expenses. Expense management solutions offer tools to track these expenses and pay for them. For businesses with many employees, manual tracking can be not only time-consuming but also error-prone and inefficient. A robust expense management solution can save businesses both time and resources.
Why Use an Expense Management System?
Here are some of the primary reasons why businesses should implement an expense management system:
1. Eliminate Manual Processes: Expense tracking can often involve long and tedious manual processes that are prone to errors. An automated system helps reduce these errors and saves a significant amount of time.
2. Shorten Reconciliation Process: Expense management solutions can help shorten the reconciliation and reimbursement process, which is a crucial aspect of financial management for any business.
3. Compliance and Reporting: These systems help businesses stick to compliance policies and provide an overall view of spending, which is essential for financial reporting and audit purposes.
4. Multi-Currency Transactions: For businesses operating in multiple countries or currencies, managing these transactions can be complex. Expense management systems can help streamline these processes.
Top Cloud-Based Expense Management Software
Here is a review of some of the best cloud-based expense tracking software that offer a wide range of features:
Invoicera
Invoicera's expense tracking system is a robust, cloud-based solution. Some key features include:
1. Easy Record Keeping: Invoicera allows you to maintain and keep records of all daily expenses. You can import expense files easily and categorize them along with generating detailed reports.
2. Transparent Communication: The software offers easy communication of expenses with clients, making record-keeping transparent.
3. Collaborative Dashboard: You can assign other members for expense management, allowing easy tracking from a single dashboard.
4. Recurring Expenses: The system lets you manage and allocate periodic expenses as recurring expenses. Automation is a key feature, saving time and ensuring accuracy.
5. Expense Document Management: Invoicera offers a facility to manage expense documents, allowing account admins to approve or decline transactions.
6. Detailed Reports: The tool generates detailed reports, helping you track and analyze your expenses efficiently.
Expensify
Expensify is a user-friendly expense tracking website that does not require any downloads. Some key features include:
1. Receipt Scanning: You can scan your sales receipts and upload them to the website for easy tracking.
2. Mobile Receipt Capture: The tool allows you to make categories of receipts and automatically submit them for approval, payment, and reimbursement.
3. Comprehensive Features: Expensify offers features like corporate card reconciliation, different level approval workflows, and integration with major software like Quickbooks and Zoho Books.
Certify by Emburse
Certify is a versatile web-based expense and invoice management software that includes:
1. Automated Expense Reports: You can create automated and detailed expense reports with mobile receipt capture, making expense reporting straightforward.
2. Employee and Authority Management: The software allows different authorities to create, submit, and approve expense reports, ensuring a smooth workflow.
3. Invoice Management: Certify integrates invoice management and payments, streamlining all processes.
4. Compliance and Control: The tool offers automated process compliance and control, ensuring adherence to policies.
5. Multi-Currency Support: You can pay vendors in their preferred currency, making transactions more flexible.
Zoho Expense
Zoho Expense is designed for easy expense reporting, reimbursement, and payments. Some of its key features are:
1. Auto-Scan Receipts: Zoho Expense allows you to auto-scan receipts and record expenses quickly.
2. Card Statement Tracking: You can track and save expenses from your card statements and email them for proper record-keeping.
3. Employee Spending Monitoring: The software keeps records of employee spending and ensures adherence to company expense policies.
4. Approval Workflow: It provides an approval process that ensures your expense report reaches the correct authorities/approvers after submission.
5. Interoperability: Zoho Expense works well with major applications like Zoho Books, Quickbooks Online/ Desktop, Zoho CRM, Slack, and Office 365, making it highly flexible.
Rydoo
Rydoo is a real-time expense management tool that simplifies the entire process. Some of its key features are:
1. Real-Time Tracking: Employees can book trips via mobile and track expenses in real-time. Real-time data report generation provides an overall view of expenses.
2. Flexibility: Financial controllers get more flexibility with Rydoo, allowing for a pay-per-active-user model.
3. Smart Reporting: The tool provides insightful reports, helping you better understand your expenses.
To Sum Up
These cloud-based expense management systems offer comprehensive solutions for tracking, approving, and paying business expenses. They are essential tools for businesses looking to streamline their financial processes, reduce errors, and support compliance. When evaluating these tools, consider your specific needs and the features that will best serve your organization.