Spreadsheets Vs. Expense Report Software

It’s been around 50 years since spreadsheets were invented but they are still being used by many companies to track their employee expenses. Despite the emergence of cloud-based solutions, companies continue to work with spreadsheets. But, spreadsheets cannot offer the efficiency that automated expense software does. Here’s a look at some areas where spreadsheets are starting to show their age:

Manual vs. Automatic

When you are relying on spreadsheets, the data-entering process becomes painstaking and error-prone. However, an automated solution updates the expense report as soon as the claims are submitted. The data can be accessed by the finance team, thereby reducing the processing time by 25 percent and expense costs by 10 percent.

Paper vs. paperless

Usage of smart phone applications is one of the reasons for making expense management process paperless. Automated systems will convert any paper receipt into a digital form through which paperwork will be virtually eliminated from the entire process. On the other hand, a spreadsheet has to process and store a number of paper receipts and forms.

Reactive vs. real-time

Not just speed and efficiency, an automated system can unlock the power of monitoring and accessing information in real-time as claims are made. An automated solution will check that each claim is complying with the company’s policy and doesn’t breach any pre-defined rules. Whenever there is a problem, the right employee will be notified with on-screen messages.

Limited vs. scalable

Spreadsheets work best for small companies with a handful of employees. But as the business grows and the amount of manual work increases, it becomes extremely difficult for businesses to work with a paper-based system. In contrast, an automated solution is highly scalable and fits best for SME’s to large enterprises.

Mileage estimates Vs. Journey tracking

Integrating mobile application with expense report software would track the mileage accurately. The applications use GPS technology to track the number of miles and time. On the other hand, a spreadsheet will rely on employees to provide the estimates of distance traveled. Businesses that rely on spreadsheet to handle expenses will find themselves with an edge. When spreadsheets are combined with an automated solution, all the data can be easily exported into a spreadsheet so that it can be used to generate custom reports.