How to Save Money on Employee Expenses

Are you spending way too much on employee expenses? If yes, you are far from alone. While you know that your team needs access to funds if they are going to be able to carry out their jobs to the best of their abilities, what do you do when your employee spending becomes untenable?

Read on to discover 5 simple ways that you can save money on employee expenses without it having a negative effect on your business and workplace morale.

1. 
   

     Put clear spend processes in place

If you are making it difficult for your employees to manage both their spending and their expenses, then you are already setting them up to fail. It is not enough to just set a budget and then allow your team to utilize it however they want.

Instead, you need to put clear spending processes in place so that your team can easily control their spending and so that they know exactly what they have to do to spend your company money.

2. 
   

     Provide better payment methods

Giving your employees cash or a company credit card is not always the best way to allow them to pay for their expenses, especially if you currently have an issue with overspending or tracking expenses.

A better solution is business expense cards which can be loaded with a specific amount in advance. For example, fuel cards offer a highly efficient way to pay for your employees' fuel and can be used at multiple gas stations. You can even compare the best prices in your area for even greater savings.

3. 
   

     Be vigilant of expense fraud

Although you may not like to think about it, expense fraud is actually a lot more common than you might think. In fact, as many as 85% of employees admit to lying on their expense claims.

Of course, this is not always malicious, and, more often than not, employees add false information because they have not tracked their expenses, not because they are trying to scam their employers. That being said, this does mean that you need to be vigilant and look out for signs of expense fraud.

4. 
   

     Invest in expense automation

If you are spending too much time sorting out employee expenses, chasing up invoices, and managing expense reports, then expense automation software is just what you need. Enabling you to automate all the key expense processes at a click of a button, you can use your time more efficiently and take the stress out of tracking and approving employee spending.

5. 
   

     Cut unnecessary expenses

Do you really look at what your employees are spending money on, or do you simply check that they are staying within budget? If it is the latter, then you could potentially be spending a lot of money on unnecessary expenses. For example, travel is often one of the largest expenses companies have to pay out, but could your employees travel more efficiently? Do they always have to use a taxi service, or could they sometimes use public transport?

If you travel by air, are you booking as early as possible, and are you utilizing flight comparison websites? This could really help you cut back.