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"Where's the company credit card?"
"Why are we paying £13.99 a month to Acme Solutions?"
"WHERE'S THE COMPANY CREDIT CARD?!"
Anyone who's ever worked in an office is familiar with the chaos that ensues whenever a company credit card goes astray.
Meanwhile, accounts teams up and down the country are sick of going round in circles trying to figure out who made each little (or big) transaction on a company card.
It's no surprise, then, that a recent survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Soldo Business, found that UK SMEs are wasting a shocking £8.72 billion a year managing expenses.
Thankfully, new technology means that now there's an easy way to avoid the chaos.
The answer lies with two simple tricks. Once you've read them, you'll kick yourself and wonder why you haven't been doing these easy things a long time ago.
1: One card is no longer enough
This is as simple as it is life-changing.
The reason why accounts teams have to spend so long reconciling every transaction is that companies (especially SMEs or start-ups) often use a single card for a wide range of expenses.
It makes no sense at all.
If online software subscriptions are being charged to the same card as office refreshments, GoogleAds and stationery then things can get pretty messy.
So why not have one card for each individual expense?
Each statement will be neat and straightforward. You'll know exactly what category the transactions fall into and, if any transaction should still raise question marks, it will be quick and easy to resolve.
It's just good accounting sense - it's about having the right tool for the job.
2: Ditch the plastic and use virtual cards for online purchases
The days of Purchase Orders, Invoices and Bank Transfers are fading away.
However traditional your company is, the chances are that the suppliers you're using require card payment.
And, if you haven't made the switch to online purchases, your company could be missing out on some serious cost-savings.
In short, the smart money is online when it comes to company expenses.
But if the purchases you're making are online, why are you still using a physical plastic card to pay for them?
Plastic can get lost, especially if more than one person is using the card (see point 1 above).
Virtual cards are constantly at your fingertips (courtesy of your smartphone or other device), and therefore well-nigh impossible to lose.
You can even generate virtual cards instantly, to meet the fast-changing needs of your fast-growing business.
Say goodbye to expense reports and take virtual card technology to the next level
But these two tricks are only the beginning of the corporate card revolution.
Technology has now put an end to expense reports.
If that sounds hard to believe, read on.
You can now get a multi-user business spending account that not only allows you to issue plastic and/or virtual Mastercard cards, but also lets you set bespoke limits, budgets and rules to suit each user (or expense).
When the month is over, you won't need to compile a single expense report.
Two clicks and all your company expenses will be neatly drawn together into a report that integrates with any existing accounts software.
What's more, your employees can have an app that allows them to take photographs of receipts, and upload them to each transaction, together with any notes, comments, tags or categories.
If you've had enough of playing Sherlock Holmes, searching for lost receipts, investigating mystery transactions (or paying for your employees to do so), just have a look at Soldo Business and see how easy your life could be.
