One of the most cumbersome processes in running a company is dealing with the never-ending reimbursement claims. Manual application processes, difficult-to-understand policies, and long approval timelines all build up to a slow and confusing expense reimbursement process. This will not only frustrate your employees but will annoy you as well. But the good news is that by implementing just a few simple steps, you can easily turn your boring and frustrating employee reimbursement claim process into a quick and efficient one.
Here are some top techniques that you can implement to significantly enhance your reimbursement process:
Make Use Of A Digital Reimbursement System:
We live in a world where every tiny detail is digitized to a great extent, so why not do the same to your reimbursement process? Manual claims using spreadsheets and application forms tend to take a long time to process. These are highly inefficient and are easily subject to numerous errors. Therefore, it may be a good idea to invest in a digital reimbursement tool that will enable you to centralise all the processes that fall under the reimbursement claims, such as submissions, approval, payouts, etc. The use of a digital reimbursement tool will allow achieving faster claim approvals, fewer mistakes in documentation, and a real-time tracker of the employees.
Devise Clear Reimbursement Policies:
Lack of clarity in yourreimbursement claim policies may lead to confusion among the employees regarding them. They might also face delays, ending in rejection of employees’ claims, because they don’t match the requirements stated in the policy. To tackle this issue, you must create a reimbursement policy that very efficiently outlines which expenses are eligible for a claim, spending limits for each category, and the timelines for claim submissions. Circulate this policy in your company to make every employee aware of it.
Implement Automated Approval Workflows:
Implementing automated approval for reimbursement claims can actually help you save a lot of time and manual effort. You only need to place some pre-determined rules and parameters, and in case the claim falls within those, then this will be fully automated, and you will not have to sit down and compare the information with each other several times. This may appear to be a very minute change, but it will go a long way in reducing your financial workload. It will do away with the long manual approvals.
Enable On-The-Go Submissions:
Having to start their laptop all the time while wanting to file for an employee reimbursement claim can get a bit frustrating at times. That is why enabling mobile reimbursement claim submissions can prove to be a win-win situation for everyone. Mobile-friendly platforms can allow employees to instantly upload any receipt of a specific purchase and put thereimbursement claim into the pipeline. This would prove to be extremely beneficial to the employees who are mainly responsible for the groundwork.
See also: How to Qualify for a Business Line of Credit
Analyse And Monitor Claims Data:
Consistently analyzing and tracking the claims can help companies identify and gain insights into the spending patterns of their employees. This consistent process of measuring will also allow the team in charge to identify areas or categories where there might be potential overspending or misuse of company funds. All of this will help the finance team make more informed budget decisions in the future.
Always ensure that you are incorporating a tool that will allow you to generate both in-depth reports and short summaries of the data you will need. This makes the process of identifying trends and any issues that might arise easier and simpler.
The financial process, in particular the reimbursement claims, does not always have to be difficult and frustrating to handle. Only by taking a couple of small measures, including but not limited to the provision of clear reimbursement policies, the digital financial system, automated approvals, and analysis and monitoring of claims data, will your company be able to streamline its financial operations in a much more efficient and effective manner. This is, however, not possible to achieve at once. It is an ongoing procedure of frequent reviews and updates, which are in line with the requirements of the company as well as the employee. There are several tools on the internet that can help you digitize, automate, and simplify every step of the process. An efficient reimbursement process is more than just a financial function; it’s a sign of a company that values its employees’ time and trust.
