A young, fledgling business is a delicate thing. Its chances of survival increase the longer it remains active. However, in the early years there are many things that can derail your ambitions. One of the main reasons businesses fail is expenditure control (or a lack of it). 29 percent of small businesses fail due to running out of money and 18 percent fail due to costing issues.
The lesson should be clear: how you handle your expenditure can make or break your business.
Thankfully, there are ways you can take control of your spending by tracking your expenses online. We live in a technological world; allow it to help your business.
Reason 1: You can reduce your paperwork
Traditionally, admin means paperwork. Shifting your expenses procedure online means a reduction in the paperwork associated with it. You can replace the reams of paper filled out by employees with a single, simple online form. This form should include:
- The cost without tax of the product/service
- The number of the product/service bought
- The applicable tax percentage for the product/service
- The total cost, including tax
The reduction of paperwork is also good in terms of storage. You won’t have to keep expenses forms and receipts in folders on site so misplacing or losing expense paperwork becomes a thing of the past. This also reduces business waste as you don’t have to throw out old expense documentation.
Reason 2: You can save time, and therefore money
In business, time is money. When you run a manual system, this can involve hundreds of paper forms. No one has the time to look through all that paperwork but someone has to do it.
For example, in a manual system an employee might have to give a paper expense request form to their manager or accounting department. They then check it for accuracy, maybe sending it back to the employee if something is wrong, and the bookkeeper files the expense on the company accounting software. The company must then store the physical copy of the expense, with receipt, for safekeeping.
An online platform reduces these steps: simply fill in the form online, upload the receipt and the approval is just one click away. Don’t have employees waste billable hours on a convoluted expense process. Save time, and money, by processing expenses online.
Reason 3: You can budget more effectively
One of the best ways to take control of your expenditure is to understand it. Tracking your expenses online means you can budget more effectively. You can bring up any expense you want to examine. Every piece of data, every pound and penny spent, is at your fingertips.
The software you use can give you all the insights you need to get to grips with your spending, which can help form the basis of your budget for the next financial year. If you have clarity on your past behaviour, you can anticipate your future.
Reason 4: It provides peace of mind for both employee and employer
It’s not fair to keep an employee waiting weeks before paying their expenses. But, at the same time, businesses shouldn’t lose out on money due to a misfiling. One of the biggest reasons to track expenses online is that it’s easier. Really. When you use a purpose-built product for expenses it should be intuitive and easy for everyone to use.
Online expenses forms are easy to fill out, reducing the likelihood of potential mistakes and keeping management happy. And the act of approving expenses is easier, too, meaning employees get their money back in a timely manner. So tracking your expenses online is the literal definition of a ‘win-win’.
Make your expenses process as painless as possible
Expenses don’t need to be a hassle. With a simple, clear and painless process, tracking your expenses online can reduce administration, provide analysis that helps with budgeting and make the whole process more streamlined.
For a small business, it really can be the difference between success and failure.
