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Blog post: Empower employees with streamlined expense claims
A GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL REIMBURSEMENTS. If you make expenses for work-related costs, you should be reimbursed. However, managing receipts can be time-consuming for both employees and administrative staff in many companies. This blog post discusses the advantages of smooth, digital expense management, provides tips on simplifying your process, and introduces an effortless parking solution for your company.
What is expense handling, and what expenses can be deducted?
Employee expenses are basically work-related costs. They can range from train tickets, hotel nights, and daily allowances to business lunches, purchasing work materials, and, of course, parking.
Employees are entitled to be reimbursed for work-related expenses. Most employees know this. However, it’s beneficial for management to follow up and remind the staff about it. It shows that you value their contribution. It’s no secret that transparency promotes a more positive working environment, and employees are also more likely to stay with a company that respects their rights.
Make sure your expense handling process is good
Medium and large-sized companies usually have a process for managing expense reporting and reimbursement. Unfortunately, many of these processes are time-consuming and cumbersome.
A typical scenario: An employee makes several expenses per week. She also drives within work, which alone involves several parking expenses daily. The employee has to keep track of all her receipts and submit them to the administration department. The administrative staff, in their turn, processes the employees' expense claims one by one as they come in. Controlling costs proves challenging for the administrative staff, who lack a comprehensive overview of expenditures. Common challenges in the reimbursement process include lost or missing receipts, leading to delays, disputes, and difficulties in maintaining accurate financial records. Receipts must be authentic, originating from the service provider, and contain essential details such as date, description of services, total cost, and taxation. There is also the financial challenge when the expense is not reported in the right category.
Let's face it: this is a nightmare scenario that leads to frustration and discontent.
As you might already have figured out, the expense reporting and reimbursement process should be as smooth as possible. The more you can digitize and automate it, the better. A simple process also frees up time for everyone involved. That is, time the employees can spend on their primary tasks: productive and profitable work. So, let's discuss how medium and large-sized companies can simplify their expense management.
How to simplify the expense management process
To encourage employees to consistently claim expenses, your company needs a system that makes it easy to do the right thing. These tips will help you make expense management much smoother in your workplace.
Expense reporting software system
Get an expense reporting software system. Choose an intuitive platform where employees can submit their expenses with minimal effort. Ensure it's mobile-friendly, allowing employees to report receipts on the go.
Complement your new software
Complement your new software with staff training to streamline its use. Preferably select a supplier that cares about your success and offer a digital onboarding learning program. In addition, offer the employees an FAQ section or a contact person they can reach out to for questions.
Clear guidelines
Establish clear guidelines for expenses. Define eligible costs, approved spending limits, and expected documentation. Clear reimbursement policies prevent misunderstandings and ensure compliance.
Automating administrative work
Simplify the administrative work by automating the validation, approval, and accounting processes. Also, remember to continuously evaluate your new process and implement the improvements you identify.
Reimbursement cycles
Decide on regular reimbursement cycles to ensure that staff don’t have to wait for their reimbursement. This increases trust in the expense process and the company itself.
The parking solution: Simplified expense management and reimbursement
Parking expenses differ slightly from other employee costs. While business trips and official dinners often involve significant lump sums, parking expenses are smaller yet more frequent. If you drive for work, you may need to park several times daily. For a driver or administrative staff to manually handle all these parking tickets is unbearable.
Luckily, EasyPark has a solution that will make things easier for everyone in your company. Let's look at how it works: With EasyPark Business, the company has access to a self-service portal where administrators can easily add new users. Once you have been added, all you have to do is start parking.
For drivers, it’s easy to find and manage parking directly in the app. There are no unnecessary parking costs as parking is managed by the minute. You don't even have to think about spending money or saving and reporting receipts – EasyPark business does it all for you. Additionally, when using EasyPark privately, users can easily switch between their work's payment source and their own. Isn't that great?
Benefits for administrators
EasyPark Business Solution streamlines the work of administrative staff. Instead of receiving your employees' parking receipts individually, administrators get one consolidated invoice once a month with all the company’s parking costs. You can pre-select the cost center and automate the payment.
The self-service portal gives an overview of parking behavior and costs. Administrators can prevent app misuse by setting restrictions, such as regulating when employees can park using the company account. They also get an overview of how much VAT can be deducted. Read more about parking-related VAT here.
With EasyPark Business, administrators save time and money, making expense management effortless for employees. If it's this convenient, the choice is easy. Or, as our existing customers say: “It's a no-brainer.”
Simplify today, make space for your business to grow
In this blog post, we've discussed the benefits of friction-free expense management. At times, it’s so smooth that employees don't even have to spend their own money on work expenses. For medium and large-sized companies, this is definitely something to consider. You will be ahead of your competitors, retain talent, and have happier and less stressed employees.
To learn more about how EasyPark Business works, click here.
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