Why expense data analysis matters?

Is your travel and entertainment expenses are difficult to manage because of the data inconsistency? Do you often face challenges to make business decisions? Whatever may be the issue, all these will definitely affect your company’s culture and bottom line. This article gives you some best ways to take advantage of your expense data and leverage it for business impact.

Get Accurate And Integrated Data

Some businesses opt for expense process cost reduction while some consider overall process automation. If you want to control expenses, then expense process automation is where you should start. With the help of data, you will get to understand where to cut back, figure out cost saving opportunities and find areas where you should invest.

Following Steps Should Be Implemented

• Set your expense policies and make your employees understand the policy

• Define your business process for how you want your employees to complete, submit, approve or reimburse expense reports

However, you should make sure that your procedures are in line with the business objectives. Although technology enhances efficiencies, ultimately it is you who should create a process that work.

Expense management software would help you enforce polices for your business expenses and lets you integrate transaction information into your expense reports to avoid human errors. Also, you can integrate your accounting system with expense solution to get a real-time insight on your finances.

Analyzing Data

Data analysis is the most important thing you should do to align your people, process and technology. The following are a few ways through which you can analyze the expense data:

Actual Spend vs. Budget Set

Monitor employees spending such that you can make changes as and when required to stay within the budget.

Actual Spend vs. Benchmark

Compare spending department wise and project wise. It is better to compare the data in terms of industry or competitor.

Actual Spend vs. Profits

Make sure your business spend is generating profits. Set priorities to clients and understand where you can justify travel spend.

Actual Spend vs. Trends

Get to know the emerging trend in data. See if there is an opportunity for cost saving with a travel vendor. This comparison would help you make better deals by negotiating with vendors.

All these would help you analyze and leverage the expense data to generate good profits for the enterprise.