Expense management tips for SMEs

In a survey conducted by Certify on Expense Management Trends, it was shown that 55% of small business owners used Microsoft Excel/spreadsheets as their current expense management system, and 7% even used pen and paper.^[1]

We use technology to make our lives easier in so many different ways these days, why should it be different for taxes? It’s time to embrace change and move toward a more forward thinking way of managing them. With everything you need to organise, managing your finances and expenses is one of the most time-consuming pieces, but hopefully with our tips below we can make that process a little easier for you.  

What do you need

An expense management solution can bring many different benefits, but you should make sure that you know exactly what you need it for before you start to look for one. What do you require from it? What issues have arisen that the management solution could make easier? Once you’ve narrowed it down and specifically know what you need from it, that’s when you’ll be able to pick the ideal solution for you and your business.

Pay by plastic

Paying using your card will make recording expenses a lot easier. Some banks & other financial services providers offer real time transaction data and a historical view of all your statements. If you find yourself using cash a lot, it can be hard to keep track of your expenditures.

Centralise

If you centralise your expense management solution, that means it’ll be much easier to manage overall, and that everyone falls under the same policy. The entire budget of the company is taken into consideration so that better decisions can be made on a bigger scale from the people managing the expense account.

Separate personal & corporate

Managing your finances is a lot easier if you separate your personal expenses from business. If you were to be audited, think of the number of hours you’d have to put in sifting through and separating out your expenses. Keeping track of your employment expenses as your company grows is essential, and if you can separate them out from personal and business then it’ll make it much easier in the long run. It’s not a legal requirement to separate them, but it is a legal requirement to keep financial records safe. Calculations to file accounts and tax returns include records of money spent by company receipts, petty cash, orders, delivery notes.

Be analytical

Monitoring your company’s finances, creating a budget and checking your performance against previous years is important. Make sure to keep track of all your spending, including creating expense reports and look at anywhere you can save or even invest

Did you know that 52% said that employees losing paper receipts/submitting without receipts is their biggest pain point related to expense management?^[1]

Save Receipts

Receipts can be a pain to keep hold of but they’re very important when it comes to keeping track of your expenses. They may be requested if you’re audited and if you have them organised then it’ll make the process a lot easier. There are many different apps out there that can help you store them online, or as a last resort you can organise them in a chronological physical folder.

There are many different ways to manage your expenses but, as long as you’re organised, efficient, and follow a strict policy, then it should be successful. If you’re interested in acquiring a new expense account, you can register your interest today at https://www.cashplus.com/expense-card/ 

Sources

[1] Certify 2017 Expense Management Trends Annual T&E Outlook and Benchmarks

This content was created on 7th June 2018

​