Why traditional expense management is holding your business back—and how to fix it

Expense management isn't just a time-drain—it’s an annual thief of thousands of productive hours. Instead of focusing on leadership, innovation, and business growth, finance teams are bogged down by outdated processes. From the C-suite to new hires, everyone feels the inefficiency of manual expense management, which has increasingly become a barrier to achieving business goals.

What is expense management, really?

Expense management is more than just tracking spending; it’s the entire system of handling a company’s financial transactions and employee reimbursements. It starts from expense submissions, moves through approvals, and ends with reconciliation. For many organisations, this involves a mix of receipts, spreadsheets, and manual approvals. The problem? Each step in this process is burdened by inefficiencies that add up over time.

The complexity of traditional expense management can turn a simple business task into a week-long ordeal. Take, for instance, a field sales rep who incurs expenses while travelling. They need to keep every receipt, fill out reimbursement forms, and wait for approvals, which can take weeks. This time-consuming process not only delays reimbursements but also takes valuable hours away from the rep's primary focus: driving revenue.

Business leaders or admins? Why expense management often hinders strategy

Companies hire executives and team leads to innovate and grow the business, not to get mired in administrative tasks. Yet, without a streamlined expense management system, CFOs, finance teams, and department heads often find themselves tied up in a cycle of approvals, processing, and reconciling expenses rather than focusing on strategic priorities. For example:

• CFOs end up double-checking expense reports rather than focusing on financial forecasting and investment planning.
• Sales Leaders spend hours processing reports and receipts, taking them away from revenue-generating activities and team management.
• Finance Teams end up in a constant support role, manually entering data and checking receipts instead of analysing financial health and driving strategic decisions.

With traditional expense management, strategic roles are forced into a support capacity, ultimately limiting their contributions to high-impact projects.

The consequences of inefficient expense management

Inefficient expense management has ripple effects across the entire organisation. It creates delays, limits visibility, and makes it difficult to maintain control over company spending. Here are some common challenges organisations face:

1. Time wasted on manual processes: Manual data entry and review processes eat up countless hours that could be spent on strategic projects.
2. Limited visibility into spending: Without real-time expense data, it’s hard to see where the money is going, which makes it challenging to make timely financial decisions.
3. Increased risk of errors and fraud: Paper receipts and manual approvals make it easy for mistakes to slip through, increasing the risk of fraud and non-compliance.
4. Delayed reimbursements: Employees often have to wait weeks for reimbursements, leading to frustration and reduced morale.

The benefits of a modern expense management system

Imagine automated expense management—real-time visibility into spending, automated transaction coding, and digital receipts, which not only streamline the process but can also reduce administrative time by up to 90%.

Here are some of the core benefits that businesses can expect with a modernised system:

• Digital receipt collection: Gone are the days of paper receipts piling up. Digital receipt collection allows employees to snap a photo and upload it instantly, making the process smoother for everyone involved.
• Customised reporting: With modern tools, finance teams can generate customised reports to analyse spending by department, team, or project. This level of insight helps with better budgeting and forecasting.
• Timely reminders: Automated reminders ensure that employees submit their expenses on time and that approvers are prompted when a report is waiting for their review. This keeps the process moving and prevents backlogs.

Unlock efficiency with virtual corporate cards

Virtual corporate cards are quickly becoming the gold standard for businesses looking to streamline their expenses. Unlike traditional physical cards, virtual cards can be issued instantly, allow real-time monitoring, and eliminate the need for receipts and paperwork.

Here’s how virtual corporate cards work in a modern expense management process:

1. Instant issuance: CFOs or finance teams can create and issue virtual cards in seconds, meaning new team members or project leads don’t have to wait days or weeks for a physical card to arrive.
2. Digital wallet integration: Virtual cards can be added directly to employees' smartphones and used for purchases instantly, offering the same level of convenience as a physical card but with added security.
3. Real-time reconciliation: Transactions made with virtual cards are automatically reconciled, providing finance teams with real-time visibility into expenses without needing to chase down receipts.
4. Enhanced visibility and control: With virtual cards, finance teams have a direct line of sight into spending as it happens, which helps prevent budget overruns and unauthorised expenses.

How streamlined expense management empowers your team

When you automate and optimise expense management, the entire team benefits. Here’s how it impacts key departments:

• Finance teams: With automation, finance teams can shift from a reactive role to a proactive one. They no longer have to spend hours checking receipts and coding expenses, allowing them to focus on strategic projects like budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis.
• Sales teams: By reducing the time and hassle associated with submitting expenses, salespeople can focus on what they do best—selling. Expense management no longer becomes a roadblock in their workflow.
• Operations and HR: Simplified expense management contributes to better onboarding experiences for new hires and helps HR teams focus on strategic planning rather than administrative tasks.

Real-life success stories: how businesses thrive with modern expense management

Take companies like Michael Hill and Uniting Agewell, both of which trust Weel’s expense management software. These organisations have freed up significant time for their finance teams, eliminated cumbersome paperwork, and enabled faster, more efficient reporting.

For example, Michael Hill’s finance team reported a reduction in time spent on expense management by 80%, freeing them to focus on high-level financial analysis. Uniting Agewell experienced similar benefits, with improved compliance and streamlined workflows that contributed to faster decision-making.

Weel: Your partner in productive expense management

Weel’s platform is designed with the modern organisation in mind, offering a full suite of tools to simplify every aspect of expense management. Here’s what sets Weel apart:

• Seamless integrations: Weel integrates with popular accounting software like Xero, making it easy to sync data and ensure accuracy across systems.
• Real-time insights: Weel provides a dashboard with real-time data, allowing finance teams to monitor spending and adjust budgets instantly.
• Dedicated support: Weel’s team is committed to helping businesses streamline their processes, offering dedicated support to ensure every customer can maximise their productivity.

With Weel’s tools, your organisation can break free from the outdated, time-consuming processes of traditional expense management and embrace a solution that supports growth, agility, and efficiency.

Ready to transform your expense management?

Say goodbye to hours lost on administrative tasks and hello to a streamlined, efficient process. Weel’s platform empowers your team to focus on the work that drives success, leaving behind the hassle of manual expense management.

Discover how Weel can help your organisation reclaim productivity, unlock insights, and focus on growth. Take a product tour or book a demo today.