What is an expense management system?
Expense management systems are tools businesses use to control employee expenses. They allow you to streamline payment processes, monitor costs and keep a better grip on budgets.
Why is expense management important for businesses?
As well as making it simpler to manage expenses, expense management systems also help your wider business to run more efficiently. They allow you to:
Identify cost savings opportunities
Monitor employee spending and company costs to identify and reduce non-essential expenditure.
Lower your fraud risk
Digital tools and prepaid expense cards reduce the risk of fraudulent activity, and let you track and prevent and suspicious spending.
Streamline processes
Expense management solutions can simplify payment, reconciliation, and expense reporting processes.
Improve supplier relationships
Stay in your suppliers' good books by improving your company's payment efficiency.
What does an expense management system do?
Business expense management tools can help you to:
- Track individual employee spending to manage costs and reduce fraud risk.
- Consider projected cash flow, costs, and revenues to plan and optimise your business's budget.
- Explore spending trends in your business to identify savings opportunities.
- Review expenses regularly to eliminate unncessary costs.
- Hire and train employees to manage your company's time and money more efficiently.
Ways to better manage expenses
Want a better way to manage your everyday business costs? There’s a wide range of expense management services to choose from.
Corporate Meeting Card
Gain visibility and control over expense management for your business meetings.
Corporate Purchasing Card
Tighten up your corporate expense management and give your employees greater purchasing flexibility.
Business Travel Expenses
Stay on top of your business travel expenses, manage fluctuations, and identify ways to save.
Business Travel Account
Streamline your travel expenses into one centrally-billed Account.
Need more expense management support?
New to expense management? Or thinking of changing your existing system? Our expert guides will help you get up to speed and make the right choices for your business.
How to manage expenses and boost productivity
Are you spending more time studying spreadsheets than expanding your business? Learn how better expense management can free you up to focus on what you do best.
How your business could benefit from better expense management
What could you do with an extra five hours each week? That’s how much time SMEs could save with better expense management, according to our research.
How to choose your expense management tool
With so many expense management tools available, choosing the right one can be tricky. Find out how to pick the best option for your business and your staff.
Still have questions? We’re here to help.
Request a call back from a Specialist or call us at 0800 085 7732 for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is expense management important?
Expense management allows businesses to better analyse and control expenditures and employee spending by streamlining processes, including payment and expense reports. With automated expense management tools, your company can more easily track expenses and stop fraud should it occur. Expense management tools can also help optimise your budget by identifying spending patterns and find opportunities for cost savings.
Can expense management solutions help me optimise my working capital?
By using expense management solutions, you can support immediate reconciliation of costs, which can help you optimise cash flow and provide clear insight into your working capital. Enabling automated expense management solutions can prevent errors or unclear expense policies from affecting your bottom line.
How can Corporate Cards help my business control employee spending?
American Express® Corporate Cards allow your company to establish what expenses are covered for employees in travel, non-travel, and entertainment categories by establishing guidelines. You can set spending limits for each employee and view all corporate spending online in a simple-to-use platform.
How would my small business benefit from having a Business Credit Card?
A Business Credit Card allows you to separate your business expenses and personal expenses, and can help your company build a strong credit history. With an extended payment period, Business Credit Cards can optimise your cash flow by allowing you to carry a balance and pay off your expenses over time. Your business can also save money by earning rewards that can be redeemed for travel, cash back, and more, depending on the Card.
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