Smarter Business Spending: 5 Ways Expense Cards Help You Stay in Control

Controlling expense spending is a challenge for many businesses, particularly those with a large workforce who require money as part of their daily roles. This article will highlight five ways UK businesses can use expense cards as a way to control company spending and why they are such a smart solution to traditional reimbursement and expense claim issues. Keep reading to find out more.

Monitor Employee Spending in Real Time

Traditional expense management often leaves finance teams in the dark until the end of the month, which can create challenges and unexpected issues. With expense cards, you get instant visibility into transactions, helping to detect unusual spending and keep budgets on track in real-time. Real-time data can empower decision-makers with financial planning and team accountability.

Remove the Need for Reimbursement

Outdated reimbursement systems create delays and extra admin for your finance team. By giving employees access to expense cards, businesses empower teams to spend within pre-set limits without needing to dip into personal funds or submit manual claims. Solutions like expense cards allow businesses to streamline purchasing while maintaining control over who spends what. 

Set Custom Spending Limits for Different Roles

Not all teams need the same level of access to company funds. With expense cards, you can assign specific budgets, categories, or merchant types based on job roles, ensuring that each transaction aligns with your policies and goals. This can also help avoid overspending and improve decision-making at every level. 

Improve Receipt Capture & Goals

Missing receipts and vague claims about expenses can cost a business a lot of money and cause frustration for finance teams. Receipt capture is an outdated practice now, thanks to expense cards. Expense cards have platforms that allow users to upload receipts instantly, tag purchases, and export data for bookkeeping. This can make VAT reclaims much faster and audits less stressful.

Reduce the Risk of Fraud & Unauthorised Spending

Finally, you will find that expense cards are an effective way to reduce the risk of fraud and unauthorised spending. Sharing company credit cards or reimbursing in cash can expose your business to fraud, but expense cards reduce this threat with advanced controls like card locking, usage limits, and detailed audit trails. This helps to build trust across teams, provides peace of mind at all levels, and ensures that finance teams are in the driver’s seat. 

As you can see, expense cards are a smart solution to expense management that can bring a wide range of benefits to modern organisations. By embracing expense cards, businesses can simplify expense management and maintain tight control over spending while also reducing financial risk. These cards are a modern solution to traditional reimbursement and expense claim issues, so now is a smart time to utilise this solution if you have not already.