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11 Features To Look For In An Expense Tracking Software!
11 Features To Look For In An Expense Tracking Software!

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What is the most challenging part of your organisation's manual expense management process? Is that on the lines of managing physical bills and tons of spreadsheets? And all this while struggling with erroneous data entries, duplicate entries, and a lot of time wasted, right? But expense tracking software nowadays is putting an end to all these miseries!

They automate everything, and you no more need to do manual data entry or process any reimbursements.

Here are a few features that you should look for in your ideal expense tracker. Pick up those that you need.

Let's start!

 

11 Features Of The Best Expense Tracking Software

#1: Allows Multiple Users

The best software allows the administrator to assign different authorisation levels to different users.

For example, the sales representatives only need the expense bill updation facility. On the other hand, the sales head needs the analytics associated with staff expense data.

#2: Flexible Enough To Implement Travel Policies

The best software implements your travel policies down to the last detail. This includes mileage expenses, approval workflows, how much expense can be done under each category in every country, etc.

Moreover, all these policies should be department specific, as the sales department usually needs more limits than the operations department.

#3: Automatic Receipt Scanning

Wrong data entry and lost receipts are huge problems in expense management. 

But new-age expense tracking software has Optical Character Recognition (OCR) inbuilt. You just need to click a photo of the bill with the mobile app, and the necessary details like vendor name, amount, date, etc., are auto-extracted.

Now, these details are safe in the cloud or on-premises system and can be kept for as long as needed.

#4: E-Receipt Acceptance

You don't always get a hard copy receipt these days. Instead, you have a receipt on your email or an app. 

There is no need to get into the hassles of printing the hard copy and safekeeping it.

Instead, email the e-receipt to the email address provided by the software, and the transaction would be auto-recorded.

#5: Auto-Categorise Expenses

Since the entire expense management is automated, you only need to click the bill's picture. The bill is auto-categorised in the correct category- meal, accommodation, travel, etc.

The administrator has already pre-categorised the vendor's name in a category. When the OCR scans the vendor name, it auto-categorises the bill in the correct type.

#6: Allows You To Itemise The Expenses

Itemisation means arranging multiple expenses in a line. On checking out of a hotel, you would be handed a bill for parking, accommodation rent, food, etc. Now, itemisation will separate all these expenses into separate lines. 

This helps in the correct tax calculation as tax calculates differently for different expenses.

The software helps you do just that, but automatically!

#7: Automate Manual Report Creation And Submission

Manual report creation and submission are very cumbersome. But automation can help keep the pains out of it.

An excellent example of how automatic report creation helps in expense management is that all the unreported expenses are grouped in a single report forwarded to the approving manager, who then accepts or rejects them.

#8: Detect And Weed Out Expense Frauds

An essential feature of the best expense management software is fraud detection.

All the entries of expense that do not have a supporting receipt are notified to the concerned employee and the approver.

Duplicate entries are usually flagged based on dates and amounts. The software flags them and reports the concerned people so that the employee can either merge or delete the duplicate entry.

#9: Set Automated Workflows

A good expense tracking software allows you to set workflows, i.e., how the expense bill would proceed from the employee to the first approver to the next.

For example, expenses ranging toward the higher end often go to the finance manager.

So, you need to define where the request would go and when.

Also, these approvers would be different for different departments. So the software must be able to accommodate various departments.

#10: Expense Analytics

Analytical insights like how much you are spending per employee, per category, etc., help you analyse where you are spending more and where you can be a little more lenient.

Moreover, you can also collect data on violations. So that you know which are the major policy violations and you can do required policy optimisations to seal the gaps.

#11: Seamless Integration

The digitalisation of data has its biggest benefits in not having to input data again and again. This not only saves time and effort but prevents errors.


Also Read: Why should Every Company Invest in Expense Management Software?

So, take care that your expense tracking software can integrate with third-party software like accounting software, payroll software, payment systems, CRM system, etc. Integrations ensure that all software types commonly use data and that no repetitive data entry is required.


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Amit Kumar is an experienced tech enthusiast, digital marketer and blogger who is well known for his ability to predict market trends. Check out his blog at Digital Drona

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