Managing Business Expenses in the Cloud

It’s only a matter of time before paperless offices become the norm rather than the unusual. With technology and software the way it is these days, it’s easier than ever to do away with the administrative headache a paper trail can bring.

Recent research found that 35% of the businesses surveyed had adopted paperless policies and were consuming less paper and increasing productivity as a result
And consider how we work these days. So many of us have ‘mobile’ offices or work remotely. Hard copies of business expense material whether it be invoices, receipts or payslips is just not a practical solution anymore.

There’s a really interesting theory we read about recently called ‘The Theory of Constraints’ (TOC). TOC says that a system is controlled by a number of constraints and the secret to improved productivity is to identify the major constraint and then focus resources on fixing that constraint.

When we speak to our clients, one of the big constraints they identify is managing expenses because of the paper trail they create. Especially at this time of year (tax time!) when people are scrambling around for copies of receipts, bank statements and invoices they’ve paid.

Here are the benefits of creating a paperless office and managing business expenses in the cloud:

• Less spend on storing archives and records through saving money on offsite storage costs or even on archiving material such as filing cabinets, storerooms, folders and binders
• Save on office stationery costs with less copy or printing paper required
• Easy access to real time information for the accounts payable team
• More space in your office and less clutter
• Higher productivity levels amongst employees
• Digital copies of receipts stored in accounting software and transferred to the profit and loss statement with less data entry requirements
• Minimise human error by automating expense payments and bank reconciliation capture

That’s a pretty convincing list of benefits. And of course you’re helping the environment too.

So get yourself out from under that pile of paperwork and streamline the productivity of yourself and your business.

Xero and Intuit QBO have some user-friendly expense management software that will make the transition to a paperless office painless. Or use smart apps such as Hubdoc and Receipt Bank will change the way you capture business expenses.

Chat to us or your accountant about ways you can go paperless. Starting with streamlining your financials will not only de-clutter your office, it will de-clutter your business process which means more space for growth, development and a healthy bottom line.