The management of expenses is an important piece of a company’s profitability and efficiency, honesty, and accuracy are the core of every business’s finance department. With hard copy paperwork, accuracy and speed are often hard to achieve and fraud can occur when it comes to employees reporting expenses. This is where automated management of a business’ expenses comes in.

An expense management application is not only fast and accurate but is also an instant source of expense data when needed. With so many versions of expense management software available, choosing the right application could be overwhelming. Below are five things to look for in an expense management application for your company.

1. Problems it solves

Before making a choice on the expense management application to use in your company, ask yourself about the problems you need it to solve. Is it fraud in costs and reimbursements, insufficient resources in the finance department, or inaccuracies in the final reports? Identifying problems before purchasing expense management software will help you to choose the right application with features that specifically provide solutions to these problems.

2. System requirements and compatibility 

As in many programs, different applications require different systems to run. Before you commit to purchasing an expense management application, be certain it is compatible with the technology that your company already uses. You may be required to perform system upgrades in order to run the program so be mindful of this and whether any constraints will prevent you from doing this.

Some applications will need your staff to be trained on how to use them. To decrease this extra cost, look for an application that is not difficult to learn and use on a regular basis. By doing this, your staff will be able to use the software with ease and few mistakes will be made that could lead to complications in finances.

3. Price 

All expense applications will be priced differently. Most will have more or less the same features, so it would be advisable to compare the different applications, see which one you need, and seek out the best price. Prices that are too high does not guarantee you are purchasing the best software and the cheapest one does not equal inferiority either. Reviews of customers who have used such applications can point to the best option available for you. Look for these online when determining which application to buy.

Be cautious of hidden fees such as license renewals. While licenses for renewing your copy of the software is common in some instances, they should not be too much of a financial burden. The price you are willing to pay for the software will depend on your set budget, but you may have to be a little flexible to ensure you get the software you need.

4. Availability and cost of customer support 

Every software should come with a user manual to guide the user on how to operate it. However, there are times when you will run into problems which the user guide may not be able to help you solve. The expense management application you choose should come with customer support in the form of email, telephone, and live chat. You may want to consider an application that offers assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Expenses and finances are an important aspect of a business so getting the help that you need when you need it is very important. Make sure that the application does not charge you for using their customer support department. This should be included in the initial fee.