5 Ways to Accurately Make Spending Decisions

Gaining Accuracy and Confidence in Every Spending Decision 

Whether your precious budget is generous or tight, business expenses can get out of control quickly. The easier – and faster – you can access accurate information, the better you can manage costs and make more strategic choices. 

Work from home and the return to travel shifted spending and made policy compliance – already challenging – even more difficult.  Look at how excessive personal expenses jumped 21.8% in 2021, as our Spend Insights Report found. Or that the average questionable travel expense ran $3,397, as our Pulse Survey revealed. 

Now, inflation is pummeling budgets and certainty. All these factors make transparency, coordination, collaboration, and communication across budgeting, planning, and spending even more important.  

Our new tip sheet, Turning Spending Decisions into Moments of Accuracy, examines five ways to gain greater clarity. They are areas that SAP Concur solutions can help bring visibility so your company can move forward while managing cash, costs, and compliance. That’s no small accomplishment as spending and requirements evolve. 

Improve spend visibility across the business 

Bringing travel, expense, and invoice data together in one location is a first step that allows you to capture and review spending. Next, by integrating employee spend data with your ERP or financial system, you can provide boardroom members better spending visibility across the business. To more effectively track trouble areas, you might consider a way to capture supplier-direct bookings or use a mobile app with GPS-enabled technology that collects employee mileage with pinpoint accuracy. 

Make your budgets work for you 

Your budget is likely different than that of another company or department. What you have in common is needing to see precisely where the company stands with spending, so you can spot problems and opportunities. An intuitive, cloud-based platform can let you see spending when or before it happens – no matter where you are –  and deliver alerts when problems arise. Gathering real-time information about travel and other expenses can give a truly comprehensive view of spending that provides actionable insights and confidence as well. 

Govern budgets with greater precision 

Budget forecasting is truly effective – and trusted by you and colleagues – when built upon accurate, timely data. With interactive dashboards and customized reports of a business intelligence system, every part of your organization can achieve a fuller understanding of their spending and how it aligns with company goals. Smoothly connecting expense, travel, and accounts payable data allows managers to effectively monitor trends, update allocations, enforce policies, and head off problems. That kind of insight guides better decisions. 

Gain valuable insight for better, more-informed decisions 

If your company is among the 98% whose finance managers saw more noncompliant expenses last year, you might need new approaches. Budget reports help but a more targeted approach may provide additional oversight and mitigate risks. An outside expert can help hone your approach by taking an extensive look at your reporting needs, challenges, and overall goals. With expert advice, you can configure reports and dashboards to deliver insights to the right decision-makers at the right times. 

Guide employees toward greener options 

Paperless booking, fuel-efficient flights, and electric ground transportation are the kinds of green options employees and companies seek. Leaders, though, are often unsure how to embed sustainability into their systems. With the right travel solution, your company can set policy parameters that guide travelers to the right choices while letting you analyze your carbon footprint along with travel and spending patterns. 

Learn more 

• Get a copy of our tip sheet for a more extensive look at those five areas where you can improve accuracy and gain the insight for better spending decisions. 

• Read this brief brochure to learn about how the comprehensive SAP Concur solution portfolio can improve visibility into spending and help ensure compliance with both company policy and regulatory requirements.