Minimizing business travel costs is a challenging task in an organization that requires several employees to undertake business travel as part of their job. Companies reimburse travel expenses after the employee submits an expense report with relevant receipts.
The activity of expense management involves line managers and finance teams for approvals, analysis, tracking, monitoring, and remittance of travel expenses. An automated corporate travel management reporting for finance teams can be a game changer to saving travel costs.
Travel expense management is a complex and time-consuming process requiring an in-depth understanding of data analytics with access to advanced tools. Using a SaaS-based travel management solution can make the life of finance teams easy, with seamless visibility into expenses and budgets through a centralized and user-friendly dashboard. Understand the significance of a corporate travel booking tool for finance teams by learning how it improves different performance criteria. Best corporate TMC’s use such booking tools for smooth and efficient business transactions and expense tracking.
How a corporate travel reporting platform can help the finance team
Using the legacy methods of travel expense management involves multiple challenges. Keep reading to know the type of roadblocks. Automated corporate travel management reporting for finance teams can effectively improve multiple aspects of their performance.
1. Improves productivity
The manual travel expense management process relies on using paper reports and receipts. The finance teams must handle hundreds of receipts besides preparing several spreadsheets. The approval process of such reports is complex. It involves a lot of back and forth in case of any errors. It results in an extra workload for employees, diluting their focus on core job functions. It reduces employee productivity.
Using an automated travel and expense management solution eliminates paperwork and simplifies expense approval and checking. The online expense management tool helps finance teams to expedite the reconciliation of expense claims, improving productivity.
2. Effective tracking and monitoring expenses
The lack of advanced data analytics reduces the effectiveness of the finance team in tracking and monitoring the travel spending of different employees. Missing out on key travel performance indicators results in poor decision-making. Finance teams cannot design policies for curtailing travel cost without advanced analytics. Automating expense management empowers the finance team with real-time analytics to view spending trends. They can draw data-based conclusions to fine-tune travel policies or travel budgets. Travel analytics can provide helpful information for cost reduction. Travel managers can use the information to design new cost-cutting measures.
3. Ensures travel policy implementation
Most employees cannot comply with the company’s travel policy because of a lack of proper understanding and communication. Out-of-policy expenses cause delays in approvals and reimbursements. It can lead to frustration and unnecessary email communications. A minuscule proportion of employees commit expense fraud by duplicating receipts or forgery of travel documents.
Finance teams can prevent travel policy deviations and expense fraud by integrating the policy into a SaaS-based travel and expense management platform.
It automatically prevents out-of-policy expenses and flags duplication of expenses. Prevention of expense fraud and travel policy deviation helps finance teams save travel costs effectively.
4. Expedites expense report submission
Finance teams using the traditional travel and expense management method may spend a lot of time checking and correcting expense statements manually. Employees may commit totaling mistakes or attach wrong receipts, resulting in bottlenecks in the expense management process.
Automated corporate travel booking tool for finance teams improves the accuracy of expense reporting facilitating finance teams to process reimbursements faster. The automated expense management software allows quick uploading of receipts and single-click report submission. Reduction of manual reporting and checking improves accuracy and speeds up the expense management process.
5. Integrates travel and expense management
Integrating travel and expense management software and processes is crucial for the smooth functioning of the business. It enables seamless data synching across departments and avoids inconsistencies. Lack of integration leads to difficulty in proper monitoring and understanding of corporate travel activities.
Paxes is a SaaS-based travel management solution with the ability to get integrate with expense, and HR seamlessly. The trip data can flow smoothly between departments, improving the efficiency of travel and expense management.
Conclusion
Advanced corporate travel management reporting for finance teams ensures seamless approval management and expense tracking for faster processing of expense reports and reimbursement. Travel managers can easily integrate travel policies into the software to improve the implementation of policy guidelines. The automated platform allows complete visibility of travel expenses and budget for cost optimization.
Automated corporate travel management reporting for finance teams provides access to meaningful data for improving decision-making. Finance managers can easily track travel costs by drilling down the information into employees, destinations, projects, and departments. The overview is helpful for mitigating costs and saving time.
Investing in automated travel management solutions like Paxes streamlines travel and expense management by ensuring ease of expense reporting, tracking, and monitoring. It enforces travel policy compliances to prevent deviations and expense fraud. Finance teams can access advanced analytics to reduce costs.
Corporate Travel Reporting For Finance Team FAQs
What is a conventional method to reduce travel costs?
Negotiating with travel suppliers to get better rates for transportation and accommodation is a traditional method to reduce travel costs.
Can a self-booking option help curtail travel costs?
A self-booking option can help reduce travel costs if the employees comply with travel policy guidelines for travel booking.
How can an organization ensure travel policy implementation?
Creating a simple and easy-to-understand travel policy, communicating it effectively, and monitoring its implementation are ways to ensure the adoption of travel policy. An automated travel management platform can help seamless travel policy integration for 100 percent compliance.
Why should organizations adopt measures to control travel costs?
Travel expenses contribute significantly to the overall controllable business expenditure. These can impact the profitability of the company. These are the main reasons for implementing ways to control travel expenses.
How does an automated travel management solution simplify receipt management?
The advanced travel and expense management platform enables the storage of receipts in the cloud for round-the-clock accessibility. Employees can scan and upload receipts through the app while on the move.
