The four biggest challenges with manual processes

There are a number of suggestions as to what challenges a company may encounter when they manage their expense management processes manually. To give you a quick overview, we have collected the biggest problems for you here:

1. Manual keying and handling

The biggest and most commonly encountered problem when you have not yet automated your processes is manual keying and handling.

It is not necessarily a problem itself but the consequences are often comprehensive, as manual work is extremely time-consuming, and it usually entails that more employees are becoming involved in the process. This means that a number of employees must focus on tasks that are not a part of their core competencies.

The process costs can therefore suddenly get out of control if a highly paid employee must spend time filling in and forwarding envelopes with completed schemes and receipts.

2. Lack of data insight

Insight into real time data is crucial for a company’s administration or management to stay on top of everything and maintain the overview.

Without the option to gain real time data insight on e.g. the amount of time spent on a given project, the management will also not have the possibility to be automatically notified if more time has been spent on the project than the company can be reimbursed for.

Therefore, it can quickly lead to a conflict between customer and company, if the lack of data insight into an employee’s time or money consumption is not in accordance with company policy or what has been agreed with the customer.

3. Company policies are not incorporated

The previous point is completely in line with the next major challenge of manual handling of expenses. If a company has automated its processes around expense management, then company policies can set up limitations to ensure that no more money than agreed can be used.

At the same time, it is possible to dispatch two things: fraudulent overspending and cheating with expenses and the settlement hereof. Incorporation of company policies are therefore a good idea.

4. Missing reports

It may seem quite absurd, but one of the biggest challenges of managing expenses is by far that reports are often lost before handled or disappear somewhere in the process.

With a manual process handling the expense reports the error margin will always be greater than if the process had been automated. This way the expenses can be reported right away and you will not have to worry about keeping track of your receipts.

There is almost always room for improvements and that is also a part of the journey towards developing your business, and yourself.