How Can Your Business Find Certainty in Uncertain Times?

Few things can better prepare a business for both tough times and good times than having solid control of spending and the compliance that supports it.

By gaining the ability to better see and allocate spending – and do so in nearly real time – your company can achieve moments of confidence and clarity instead of moments of uncertainty. In other words, you can make better decisions and improve stability, whether you’re navigating a storm or sailing clear and calm waters.

OK, let’s step ashore and see what you can do to weather change and uncertainty. Both are regular concerns in business, but the past few years of pandemic, hybrid work, travel stops-and-starts, global turbulence, supply chain disruptions, and inflation have made it more vital to prepare for and manage that change and uncertainty.

As mentioned, taking control of company spending is a key. So, too is corralling compliance – with spending policies, regulations, and more. To successfully tackle those two complementary steps, your company can consider enlisting connected automation solutions across its travel and expense functions, from request to purchase to expense submittal and approval to, finally, payment.

How can we better control of spending?

Information – data – is at the center of many of the specific areas you can focus upon. Fully automating functions now done  by hand – a method with excess costs itself – or performed through processes only partially automated can supply that information. And do so in nearly real time.

Let’s consider some good targets.

Put data in one place. Whether from travel or other purchases, employees spend in many ways and locations, and hybrid work has shifted and complicated the picture. A solution that can thoroughly gather information from travel suppliers, credit card companies, vendors, and a variety of other sources can give a fuller view of that information. With data in a central location, it can inform decision-making, strategy, and responses when change comes your way.

Stick to budgets. Many businesses find it hard to keep to the budgets they create, whether the cause is overspending or underspending. This, of course, creates difficulties at the moment but also makes it harder to accurately draft future budgets. By keeping to budget – or at least knowing the reasons you haven’t – your company can likely do a better job of handling disruptions or growth when they come.

Fine-tune invoice process. By taking a close look at the process from purchase order to payment, you can adjust such points as invoice matching to make sure you got what you paid for before the check goes out. The scrutiny can help identify inefficiencies and discrepancies that affect the bottom line. An automation solution can streamline the process, allowing you to get early-pay discounts and bundle payments.

How can we improve compliance and how it’s seen?

Compliance doesn’t have to be a dirty word. Handled well, it can be viewed as something we have to follow in so many areas of life: a set of rules (for employees and companies alike). Getting to that more acceptable view can require steps that make it easier for employees to do the right thing.

Make the purpose clear. When employees understand a policy, they’re more likely to follow it. So explain the implications, such as tax penalties. Or that policies are intended to streamline spending decisions. As they book travel or weigh other purchases, an automation solution can make them aware of policies and notify them of changes. It can simplify the process, guiding them to right choices, collecting receipts and expenses, and making forms easier to fill out. Make it simpler and compliance is more likely to follow.

Consider audits. For companies, auditing expenses can be seen as process improvement instead of the tax collector descending. The role can be performed both by humans and intelligent automation solutions. Target a percentage of reports and then check such things as whether all required receipts are attached and match the line items. Check expense classifications and purchases made in cash or deemed “miscellaneous.” With the results, you can spot persistent out-of-policy expenses, seek the cause, and even compile a list of employees who should always – or never need be -- audited. And with improved processes, the company can satisfy tax and other regulations and avoid fines or other penalties that can affect profitability and how you operate.

Handling Change, Gaining Certainty

By addressing those areas and more, you can get the information and clarity you need to better run your business. You’ll find yourself having moments of confidence when you’re making spending decisions instead of moments of doubt.

Get our white paper, Creating Certainty in Uncertain Times, to further explore cost controls and compliance and learn how SAP Concur solutions fit into the picture.