- TRAVEL AND EXPENSE APPROVALS
Overview of Pre-Approval for Corporate Travel Expenses
Travel costs for employees exceed those of expenditure categories in terms of both frequency and amount spent. Companies that continue to depend on outdated methods for reporting and endorsing these expenses run the risk of lagging behind in today’s fast-paced business environment. Implementing Automated Travel Expense Reporting Systems is a more effective solution.
By getting approval from the authorities at work before they go on trips, Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement Automation helps employees skip the hassle of writing reports after the trip ends. This automation makes everything more efficient and smooth sailing for everyone involved, not just cutting down on bureaucracy for the finance folks but also making life easier for the employees themselves.
Travel Request Process
Employees usually request reimbursement for their travel expenses after getting approval through a process but with pre-spend expense approvals, in place this step is skipped.
This doesn't imply that the costs are overlooked, they are pre-approved for handling in the future.
Before any pre-approved expenses can be made by employees, at the company they work for or the organization they are part of the employees must first seek permission and approval from their managers or supervisors in charge of overseeing their work and responsibilities within the company or organization once this request is submitted it will be carefully reviewed and assessed by the managers to confirm that it complies with all rules regulations and guidelines outlined in the company’s travel and expense policies which are put in place to ensure proper financial oversight and accountability, within the organization
Employees sometimes forget the rules in place - pre-spend approvals act as a reminder, in such situations.
Requestor & Booking Info
Travel Details
Flight Details
Expense Estimate
Attachements
Hotel Details
Review and Approvals
Looking to establish approval processes for pre-expenses in your organization? Don't forget to review these guidelines.
Request List
Request Summary
Approval
1. Utilizing an expense management solution
2. Streamline expense approval through automation
3. Create hierarchical workflows
4. Enable Alerts for Real-Time Expense Policy Violations
5. Perform Regular Audits and Reviews
6. Optimize Expense Reports for Analysis and Forecasting
Tech Stack
Power Apps
Power Automate
SharePoint
Advantages of adhering to the expense approval process
In every organization expenses go through an approval system. How it's done can differ based on the setup. An organized expense approval process brings advantages.
1. Reduces fraudulent expenses
In the era we live in nowadays, it’s quite simple to tamper with receipts. Although not all employees participate in such actions, some individuals might turn in receipts to get more money than what they actually deserve. Others could inflate the amounts on receipts or request reimbursements for expenses that are not covered by company rules and policies.
The finance team needs to stay alert to spot these discrepancies since they can be overlooked easily. Leveraging Travel Expense Data Analytics for Cost Control helps companies monitor expenses in real time, identify irregularities, and ensure compliance with company policies. It’s common for expense reports to happen in settings with supervision and relaxed monitoring protocols, making analytics a vital solution for cost control.
2. Speeds up the reimbursement process
Reimbursing employees can take up a lot of time since it involves dealing with paperwork and collecting documents before seeking approval.
Unfortunately it gets more complicated when employees encounter delays in getting approvals, from managers who are tied up with tasks and can’t respond immediately. Typically it takes about 25 to 30 days for employees to get reimbursed.
Pre-approved spending options provide a solution where requests are pre-approved to allow employees instant access to funds even if their submissions are delayed.
3. Ensuring adherence to expense policy
The finance department is in charge of making sure that all policies are adhered to and keeping track of their implementation.
One breach could throw off the system and lead to a thorough investigation and necessary fixes needed in the process flow. Those, in charge of approving expenses should carefully assess and give the green light only to items that meet the criteria.
To enhance spending oversight measures effectively in place limits. Request approval, for surpassing those boundaries this strong framework aids in upholding policy conformity and promotes commitment among staff members.
4. Access to company funds
Pre-approved spending allows employees to go for business trips even when they have limited funds to them. It provides them with guaranteed access to company finances, after following the expense approval procedure.
These funds can be used to help with travel expenses so that employees can plan their trips and account for any costs they may have to take care of themselves without having to wait a long time, for reimbursement.
5. Manages expenses and minimizes overspending
In a system where expenses are reimbursed post approval, by the company to employees upon submission of their expense reports.
This method doesn’t give employees autonomy over their spending habits as they have to shoulder any expenses that go beyond the limits, for each category.
This approach is not very successful since it doesn’t stop overspending, on the hand having a pre-approved spending system offers improved oversight, for both the company and its employees.
When given approval, by the finance departments team members are allowed to sign off on expenses long as they are, within the established limits this system enables employees to organize their spending based on the agreed upon sum.
6. Optimize travel expenses for work.
Finance departments frequently face challenges in assessing the expenses incurred during business travel because of the inconsistent nature of employee reports on the matter. Excelling in managing travel and expenditure necessitates an understanding of these outlays.
Teams can enhance their budgeting and forecasting processes by utilizing data to speed up expense approvals before spending.
Through an analysis of the variance between approved budget allocations and the final expenses incurred after a trip, the conclusion allows teams to gain insights into the costs associated with travel.
In the coming years or ahead of us they could set spending boundaries enabling workers to organize their travel plans while staying within those specific limits
Why is it crucial to get expenses pre-approved?
Employees often find it inconvenient to cover out-of-pocket expenses since they have to front the costs. Then wait to be reimbursed on. Not to mention the added headache of potential claim denials if the expenses don't meet company guidelines.
To steer clear of unpredictability and ensure stability, funding availability beforehand is essential by obtaining pre-approval for expenses before a trip, by submitting an expenditure plan report.
Employees have the option to access company funds directly of having to undergo lengthy reimbursement procedures.
Streamline your pre-spend expense approval process with Appmocx.
The guidelines highlight the significance of utilizing an automated system, for managing expenses.
These systems make expense reporting easier, by automating the process of approval while also providing features such as virtual cards. Appmocx is a standout solution for automated approval of expenses, as managing virtual cards.
Appmocx provides user reimbursement systems with approval processes that can be customized according to specific needs allowing employees to effortlessly submit expense reports, from any location while keeping track of their status instantly.
Employees who have been given approval for spending can access cards that are personalized to their names and work similarly to regular credit cards, for making purchases online.
Employees using Appmocx can rely on the reimbursement cards while allowing finance teams to effectively manage travel expenses, with full control.
