Manage Employee Expenses

Managing employee expenses manually can be costly and inefficient. According to industry data, manual expense reports average $58 per report, significantly higher than electronic reports, which cost about $20. Additionally, 19% of expense reports contain errors, each costing an average of $52 and taking 18 minutes to correct. These inefficiencies can lead to substantial administrative friction, as evidenced by 78% of rejected claims being due to vague or incomplete information.

Harvest addresses these challenges by providing a streamlined solution for managing expenses. By allowing teams to track expenses by date, project, and category, Harvest helps reduce errors and the time spent on processing. This approach can notably decrease administrative friction, enhancing both accuracy and efficiency in expense management.

Efficient expense management demands streamlined approval workflows. Delays in approvals can lead to dissatisfaction and inefficiencies, especially when low-value expenses get bogged down in unnecessary bureaucracy. Companies are advised to automate approvals for minor expenses and implement randomized secondary reviews to maintain thoroughness without causing unnecessary delays.

Harvest aids in streamlining these processes through its project-based expense tracking. Administrators can set up clear spending processes and budget limits for different expense categories, reducing the need for manual intervention. This not only speeds up the approval process but also ensures compliance with company policies, ultimately leading to faster reimbursements and happier employees.

Real-time visibility into expenses is a top priority for 70% of finance teams. Without it, managing and forecasting budgets becomes a guessing game. Harvest provides an effective way to enhance visibility through its comprehensive expense tracking features. By allowing administrators to create custom expense categories and track spending by project, Harvest offers a clear overview of where funds are going and how they align with set budgets.

For example, companies like Centric Infrastructure Group have achieved a 90% reduction in errors by enabling employees to code expenses at the source. Harvest’s integration capabilities with accounting software further streamline this process, providing a seamless flow of data that aids in accurate financial reporting and strategic decision-making.

Compliance with legal and regulatory standards is a critical aspect of managing employee expenses. In the US, various state laws mandate the reimbursement of necessary business expenses. Effective policies are essential not only for compliance but also for reducing the risk of audit issues. Companies should define all terms in their expense policy clearly, with hard cutoffs and mandatory receipts for all expenses.

While Harvest does not automate policy enforcement, it facilitates compliance by enabling detailed expense tracking and reporting. This allows businesses to easily monitor adherence to policies and ensure that all expenses are documented accurately, reducing the risk of legal complications and financial discrepancies.

Creating a comprehensive employee expense management plan is essential for guiding spending and preventing overages. Best practices include establishing clear spending limits, using separate payment methods for business transactions, and encouraging the use of expense apps to capture receipts immediately after purchase.

Harvest supports these practices by allowing businesses to create detailed expense management plans. With features that track expenses by date, project, and category, Harvest offers a structured approach to managing employee expenses. This ensures that spending aligns with budgets and that all expenditures are accounted for, providing peace of mind to both employees and management.