Wolters Kluwer delivers CCH OneClick
Wolters Kluwer, Tax & Accounting UK has launched CCH OneClick, which enables tax advisers to embrace digitalisation and delivers the open integration that practices need to connect digital data.
CCH OneClick provides a set of cloud tools that are delivered through two new connected workspaces; the adviser workspace, which provides new features for advisers, and the client workspace, which delivers an area for secure document exchange, document approval and messaging.
Tax advisers realise that digitalisation is inevitable. They will need to support multiple accounting packages as well as data from HMRC.
They will have to ensure GDPR compliance, meet Making Tax Digital requirements and, ideally, have access to information in a single place and while on the move.
Valued by clients
CCH OneClick has been created to become the single place from which tax advisers can obtain and process data while delivering services that are valued by clients.
CCH OneClick introduces customers to cloud tools that open up connectivity of the software with other systems.
Open Integration Programme – introduced in May 2016, it enables permanent connection between a client’s business in an online bookkeeping product, and allows CCH OneClick seamless access to live transactional data. This data can then be consumed for the clients’ other accounting activities such as producing final accounts and, when MTD goes live, for quarterly reporting. It also enables the Tax Advisor to then post back adjustments into the online accounting product.
Variety of features
Making Tax Digital – This toolset already has a variety of features even ahead of the MTD go-live date. Features include the Digital Tax Account and Quarterly Reporting. The Digital Tax Account is fully connected with HMRC through its APIs, enabling CCH OneClick to access HMRC data held for the tax adviser’s clients.
This will save a significant amount of time as it removes the need to key any data held by HMRC. Quarterly Reporting includes features including identifying the MTD client, reporting dashboards monitoring deadlines and the ability to consume data from open integration, and quarterly report. VAT filing is the next enhancement to the MTD toolset and is due for release in autumn 2018.
Client Workspace – this not only connects with the adviser workplace which allows the secure exchange of documents and messages with a tax adviser’s clients, but also enables secure document approval thereby helping to support GDPR requirements.
Important practice data
Practice Mobile – this is a mobile app (for Android and iOS) which allows access to important practice data when employees of a practice are working on the move.
Digital Data Request – this toolset solves the pain points associated with data collection and includes a mobile app as well as a web browser app coming soon. Data can be digitally provided to the tax adviser throughout the tax year making the process more efficient and also enabling the tax adviser to automatically capture data and populate the compliance systems with ease.
Claire Carter, managing director, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK, says: “Today is an exciting day for the accountancy profession in the UK. At Wolters Kluwer, we’ve always been proud to put customers at the heart of all that we do and have been working alongside our customers to obtain critical insights and feedback to build into our product roadmap.
Delivers tangible impact
"Our cloud suite will go far beyond the provision of tools to deliver compliance services. As compliance becomes more and more commoditised, we will automate processes, and focus on innovative technology that really makes a difference, delivers tangible impact and continues to delight our customers.”
Customers can control who in their organisation has access to the data in the CCH OneClick platform and associated applications with access driven from the client list within CCH Central.
To find out more about CCH OneClick, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at [email protected] or visit us on stand 960 at Accountex from 23-24 May.
One click and the payroll’s done!
Processing payrolls can be labour-intensive. So, what would the world look like if we could process payrolls with one click?
Today, payroll bureau operations can install a one click solution. Here's how...
Say a bureau practice runs over 300 client payrolls. Half of those payrolls are classed as standard or threshold payrolls (paid up the threshold of NIC). In other words, there is no change from one pay period to another, and let’s assume they are all monthly payrolls.
Monthly process
Using a well-known payroll software, we start the monthly process. The first step is getting in touch with 150 clients to confirm there are no changes for this month. We then must open each payroll one by one and run a series of tasks such as update tax codes from HMRC, run auto-enrolment, process the payroll, print the reports and payslips, back up the payroll, send payments to BACS and submit monthly returns to pension companies and HMRC.
Running this process for each payroll in turn has been estimated by one accountant to take 20 minutes per payroll. (I’ll let you do the calculation). All this even though about 95 per cent of those payrolls have no change from one pay period to another.
Systems automatically sends an email
Now imagine a process where the system automatically sends an email to the client asking them to reply to the email with any changes within a given timeframe. For the 5 per cent who do reply, the system takes their payroll out of the automated process.
The remaining payrolls are processed running all the necessary checks, uploading or printing reports and payslips to your ePayslips solutions, submits payments such as net pays, court orders, pensions automatically and returns to HMRC.
Apart from significant cost savings, productivity would increase because automated operations ensure that tasks are not forgotten or run out of sequence.
Automated processes
This is possible through open APIs that provide accountants and bureaus with development resources to build out their own automated processes. APIs (Application Programming Interface) have been around for some time. However, the payroll software market has only scratched the surface of APIs and those who do claim API offerings are very limited.
In 2015, HMRC launched its API strategy. David Gauke the then financial secretary to the Treasury said, “The API strategy recognises that it is important to work collaboratively with developers of software”. And HMRC are not alone, in 2016, the UK Treasury supported the use of increased APIs in the banking sector too.
Payroll APIs are not the future ... they are here now.
Payrun.io will be on stand 398 at Accountex.
What does the prepaid expenses card mean for accountants?
Prepaid cards aren’t what they used to be. They have come a long way from their humble beginnings. A long time ago they were just a way for consumers to gift money to friends and family or could buy themselves a present from their favourite store. They became useful with the advent of Oyster cards for travel on the London rail network. You might even be familiar with the new generation of prepaid card products that can reduce the costs of converting currency on your foreign travels.
So why are prepaid cards relevant for Accountants? Because prepaid cards have now crossed over from being a consumer payment product to something that an increasing number of companies across sectors are using to eliminate manual cash management, reduce bank fees and increase efficiency.
Why have prepaid cards suddenly become so popular?
Companies have woken up to the fact that prepaid cards tend to have lower fees than other banking and cash transfer services and they are incredibly flexible in how they can be used. According to Allied Market Research, the projected global market for prepaid cards is expected to grow by 22.7 per cent by 2022. At B4B Payments, we have seen over 100 per cent growth in corporate use of prepaid cards and a 129 per cent increase in the amount of money loaded on to our cards. This clearly suggests that the increasing number of corporates using prepaid cards is strong driver of the overall growth of prepaid products.
What are companies using prepaid cards for?
Prepaid cards are replacing old expenditure management systems and being used as an alternative to cash. They can be part of a solution that eliminates many of the most inefficient, risky and frustrating aspects of cash based systems.
Prepaid cards can give companies control of expenses and visibility of what is being spent by whom. Expense pots are predefined and capped when cards are issued, minimising the opportunity for employees to get carried away with their spending. Also, employees have immediate access to expense funds so they don’t need to claim back their expenditure at a later date. The reliance on traditional and time consuming reconciliation tasks such as petty cash is reduced along with limiting the need to hand over the company credit card for business expense purposes. The instances of poor financial record-keeping are greatly reduced so companies are much better able to reclaim VAT.
Companies are also taking advantage of the fact that they can brand prepaid cards with company logos. This is useful for creating a strong brand identity both internally with employees and externally with customers. Prepaid cards can also be issued as a convenient and low cost means of rewarding staff and customers for their loyalty. According to the Prepaid International Forum (PIF) bonuses paid to employees on prepaid cards, especially more junior members of staff have a positive effect on staff retention rates and result in increased productivity.
The prepaid opportunity for accountants
Accountants can view the trend towards prepaid use by companies as an opportunity in two ways. You can either use a prepaid solution to take control of expenditure management for your own business, or you may be able to enter a partnership agreement where you can generate a new revenue stream by selling a prepaid solution to your clients. Accounting giant Sage Spain has recognised this opportunity and recently announced its partnership with B4B Payments to offer prepaid expenditure management solution to its 300,000 clients in Europe.
The trend towards corporate use of prepaid cards is strong and the scale of the market size is beginning to emerge. Corporates are joining the consumer trend of looking outside traditional banking services to reduce costs and realise better value. Prepaid cards are at the centre of many of those innovations and accountants are well placed to capitalise on the opportunity.
B4B Payments will be on stand 243 at Accountex.
Why accountants can't afford to ignore wellbeing
I'm always finding stories in the media about wellbeing in the workplace, or the lack of it. As a nation, we are under more strain than ever – both physically and mentally. We’re tired, stressed and overweight, and, as a result, we’re lagging behind our G7 peers when it comes to productivity... another issue we’re reminded about on a near-constant basis.
The workplace has not helped this situation, and has changed dramatically in recent years, making the situation increasingly untenable. It used to be the case that, once the workday finished, leaving work meant switching off until you got back into the office the next day. This is, sadly, no longer the case. Technology enables us to keep an eye on work whenever, wherever. According to CV Library, the first and last thing a quarter of accountants do is check their emails – this connection to work must stop.
It intrudes on our evenings, our weekends and our holidays – no wonder our research has shown that 58 per cent of 2,000 employees have experienced reduced mental wellbeing, due to poor personal wellbeing at work.
Wellbeing and the ability to connect with ourselves
As technology has connected us to the workplace, the trade-off has been the loss of our ability to connect with ourselves. The result is that the working population’s health is deteriorating rapidly, with rising levels of obesity and mental illness. To rectify this situation we need to take action now, to reclaim our work-life balance and prioritise our wellbeing. This means changing less progressive attitudes towards wellbeing and encouraging the industry to open up about pressure.
I don’t underestimate how hard this will be. It takes a lot of courage to push back on workload, especially for those wishing for career progression or wanting to make a good impression. However, if we are to improve our physical and mental wellbeing by reclaiming our free time, this is a necessary first step. These conversations can be very difficult at first, as no one wants to be seen as a shirker. However, the rationale that taking the time to recover and relax boosts the next day’s productivity has been proven over and over, and I would urge anyone at work to take steps – big or small – to enhance their wellbeing.
Life-blood of our economy
Accountancy is the life-blood of our economy, and its success is vital in keeping this country on track. However, it’s also time to acknowledge that the industry has evolved, and therefore attitudes on work-life blend need to too. Careers are now expected to last longer than ever, so we need to treat the period as a marathon, not a sprint.
Whether it’s taking the time to visit the gym three times a week or going for a lunchtime walk, we must not forget the benefits of getting away from our desks. The irony is, the more time we spend at work, the more our performance will suffer, as we can’t operate at our optimum when tired, anxious or demotivated. A small amount of pressure is good for us – continuous, peak levels are not. If we are to become more productive and help keep Britain as one of the premier international financial powerhouses we must accept the important role personal wellbeing has to play, otherwise we’ll soon discover the dire results.
For more information and tips on wellbeing, see here. CABA, on stand 1146 at Accountex next week, provides free independent support for past and present ICAEW members and their families.
Why Accountex 2018 is a financial feast
The 2018 MasterChef champion has just been crowned ... and this got us thinking. In some ways, a great exhibition and conference is like a great meal. You need the right ingredients, equipment and technique to produce the perfect balance of flavours. You also need the right chef(s).
And that’s exactly what we’ve seen every year at Accountex. The team has created a unique exhibition that’s become, for most, a permanent date in the diary. We’ve written lots of Accountex blogs on previous years but what’s going to happen at Accountex 2018? What is going to be new, different, bigger or just better that makes it a must attend this year?
Accountex 2018 – A unique recipe, great chefs – expect Michelin star results
At MyFirmsApp, the app support for the event, we have had the privilege of being involved in the planning and preparation for months. We’ve been watching the team at Diversified Communications (the exhibition organisers) get everything in order.
We’ve seen their strategic goals, and their desire to ensure every Accountex event is better than the last. With such engaged exhibitors and visitors, they have thousands of ideas and improvements from Accountex 2017 that they are putting into place. And if you’ve never been before – Accountex 2018 is going to blow you away.
1. Independent with no hidden agenda
We’ve been working in the profession for over 35 years, and we attend or exhibit at almost all the events in the accounting diary. And there are similarities with all of them, they almost all have an agenda (open or hidden) and contain ‘pitch after pitch’, and in many ways that’s expected. Advice from many of the speakers leans towards recommending providers or solutions that pay the greatest kickback or sponsorship fees. And, in part, that’s business.
At Accountex it’s different. One of the things we love about working with the chefs at Accountex is that they are independent. They have no ulterior motive, nothing to ‘sell’... their goal is to give you, the visitor, an incredible experience that you can’t get at any other event. In achieving this, they get your loyalty, they know you will return, and the event will get better and better.
That means, that you as the visitor, are not forced to listen to anything that’s not relevant to you and your practice or business, you pick the experience that you want, you visit the talks and stands you want, and you win.
2. Re-energise at Accountex
Being an account or running a practice can be incredibly demanding and it can take its toll. Dealing with accounting challenges, client problems, changes in the profession and compliance (MTD and GDPR recently) can sap away positivity, and enthusiasm. Most also face a regular barrage of negativity, government agencies, professional bodies, often other colleagues and also customers.
For those running smaller practices there is a lot of alone-time, working unsociable hours and putting everything into the practice. It can be very tough, and finding people to relate to, that can offer helpful advice, is also a challenge.
It’s this combination of challenges that can ultimately start to sap away energy levels and for us – one of the big wins at Accountex is to soak up the atmosphere – it’s alive, eclectic, and it will re-energise you. You can network, share challenges, get new ideas and the latest thinking. You can hear amazing content, see the new tech and see what’s going to make your life or your clients' lives easier.
And leave physically tired, with sore feet but totally re-energised with a new perspective and scores of new ideas to take your business forward.
3. A unique speaker line-up with world-class content free
You get to choose who to listen to and why. Accountex 2018 has a great line-up, from trusted well known presenters, to the new kids on the block and rising stars including some big names outside of the profession. Accountex 2018 has more content than ever before.
And to avoid disappointment theatres have changed and improved. At Accountex 2018 you will see two Keynote theatres to ensure everyone gets to hear the presenter of their choice (standing room only last year!).
You can see the introduction of some brand new theatres including a tech demonstration session running every 45 minutes. Plus, this year there are going to be some fabulous new round table discussions debating the hot industry topics of the day. You can hear from leading industry speakers about the issues which are important to you and will make the most difference to the future of your practice, including MTD and GDPR.
Stay up to date while enjoying yourself
By attending Accountex in 2018 you will meet new people, hear new ideas, discover the latest thinking and perhaps come away with that one thing which will transform your practice. You can’t cook up a storm if you don’t get into the kitchen!
We are all very busy people, but that is why Accountex 2018 is such a great idea! It’s like a one-pot gourmet meal with the chance to meet suppliers (over 200 of them), gather CPD points, sit in on a seminar (in one of 19 theatres) and network with your peers.
Planning is key so make sure you visit the Accountex website to see which exhibitors and seminars you want to get in your diary. You can also download this FREE Accountex 2018 Guide which will help you get the most out of this year’s show.
Practice progress workshops
At MyFirmsApp we have put together a series of super tasty workshops covering an array of challenging and proven strategies to help firms grow and prosper in this changing digital world.
Designed for accountants in practice, these seven workshops sessions are packed with new material. From how to make sense of MTD, to winning new clients, profitability and practice growth.
Accountex places are limited so it’s best to reserve your seat to avoid disappointment!
Five signs your accounting firm is ready to outsource
At some point, you'll have met people trying to convince you to go through with outsourcing some of your accounting work. The benefits are tempting, and you have heard of outsourcing stories that have gone both ways.
However, there is a lot to consider when taking such a huge step. Here are five signs that will help you to determine if outsourcing is the way to go:
- You barely make it to deadlines: Your accounting team is working on different tasks to ensure business continuity. However, unforeseen overhead growth and business developments can complicate these tasks. Having more people and businesses on board means having more paper and books to manage. Your team might not be able to handle all these tasks properly and deliver before their due dates. Outsourcing time-consuming work will help you regain control of these tasks and ensure the quality of work.
- You have been focusing on repetitive tasks: A rapidly growing business may also limit your accounting team to keeping the books and ensure business continuity. Your team may not be able to explore or concentrate on other important tasks such as business intelligence, data analytics, and more, that can help you increase the value of the work of your team and improve the outcome of your operations.
- There is not enough talent in your area: When your business grows, it is important to increase the people in your team to accommodate the additional tasks in maintaining books and improving the finance and accounting processes. But desirable talent isn’t something you come across every day. Complex and demanding tasks require competencies that are hard to find, and accounting technology also demands additional skills from professionals. Tapping talents in other areas might prove to be costly and difficult, especially if you don’t have the time to study the people and their culture. Working with an outsourcing firm with specialisation in accounting will help you get the talent you need.
- You’re passing out too many opportunities: Passing on business opportunities is never a good sign for any company. You may not have enough people to work on your books or provide finance and accounting assistance to your operations. Outsourcing can be a viable solution to augment the needed manpower to help you with your activities. The expertise from outsourcing firms and the cost-benefits can help you achieve your goals and capitalise on business opportunities more.
- You don’t have the time to do your real work: Managing your finance and accounting team is no easy task. It adds up to your role as a CFO to oversee the financial standing of your company and provide relevant information to the company’s management and help steer the company’s direction. But when you are busy addressing issues such as the insufficient number of employees on your team, rising overhead costs, or difficulty in finding the right talent, you will lack time in executing your function as a CFO. Specialised accounting outsourcing firms offer scaleable solutions that are formulated to address your different requirements. These services are crafted to take time-consuming tasks off your hands and provide the right support to help you deliver your roles properly.
Watching out for these signs will help you determine whether outsourcing is the right solution for you. Keep in mind that when done with the qualified partner at the proper time, accounting outsourcing can help you achieve your goals faster and help your business grow.
D&V Philippines Outsourcing are on stand 683 at Accountex 23-24 May.
Is it time for a change?
Over the past year or so, you’ve likely dealt with a lot of change. And, with our sights set on the future, more is on its way.
First, cloud accounting software companies started targeting customers and your compliance revenues were threatened. So, you got the new software and put the processes in place. (Tick).
Then…. came the fuss about Making Tax Digital, and your frustrations hit an all-time high.
More, new processes in place. (Tick).
Can you see the pattern emerging?
But yesterday can no longer act as a guide for tomorrow.
The landscape for accountants has changed. Yet it is possible to thrive in this disruptive environment. And, as you have experienced, embracing technology is imperative to keep your firm moving forward.
But what about tax advice?
I don’t need to throw numbers and figures at you about how small businesses make up 99.9 per cent of businesses in the UK, allowing our economy to thrive. And that in 2016, a new business was founded in the UK every minute. That’s more than 525,600 businesses that may have had the opportunity to cut their tax bill.
But, have you ever thought about what it would take to service all these businesses with a holistic tax advisory service?
In the UK, there is only one Chartered Tax Adviser for every 20 Accountants?
And, even more astonishing, there is only one Chartered Tax Adviser for every 6,666 corporate tax payers.
How can advisers be expected to keep up with the demand?
Last year, tax legislation grew by two pages each day. It’s no surprise that 87 per cent of tax advisers think tax is too complex. The 2017 Finance Bill published early last year was the longest ever, at an unbelievable 762 pages.
It’s crazy right? I suppose the first thing you need to recognise here is, there are no shortcuts. Expertise is a necessary part of any tax function, and you can’t simply employ all the tax advisers in the UK.
So, is it time for change?
Maybe? If you think about it, the current tax advisory model in almost every accountancy firm is fragile. Advisers are drowning in legislation; doing everything they can to keep their head above water and service clients' tax advisory needs. They are often only able to discuss tax with clients after transactions have taken place.
This isn’t sustainable or good enough.
And the solution?
We at Diagnostax think change is the answer. We're convinced that those who adapt and move with the technology will thrive.
Diagnostax will be at Accountex, stand 182.
Can technology win clients?
Attracting and winning clients is a key part of a firm’s growth strategy – and, according research, it’s a number one priority for firms in 2018:
- 41 per cent of accountants say acquiring new clients is their top priority this year.
- A further 23 per cent see increasing their use of technology as a key goal.
There is clearly some synergy between these two aims. Marketing technology like email automation software and business development tools can help you find, reach and convert new clients for example. But technology has a broader role to play in client acquisition. It can help you service more clients in a scalable way and help you attract the right clients.
Financial technology sets the foundations for scaling up
Embracing technology isn’t just about moving to a cloud-based accounting platform. Using the right software will certainly increase efficiency, but tech also has a big role to play in growth.
By setting up the right systems and software, you create the foundations for scaleability and enable your firm to take on more clients without increasing staff and/or overheads.
It’s an opportunity to refine your key processes, upgrade and revitalise the underlying workflows of the practice and embrace the latest plug-in apps and fintech solutions.
- Firms with more online accounting clients grow faster and have an easier time signing up new clients, according to recent research by Xero. With all the tech now available, accounting firms are serving more clients than ever. Smaller online firms with two to four employees add more than four times as many clients as other similarly-sized practices. And in our new GoCardless Accountants Benchmarking Survey, 36 per cent of firms serviced more than 150 clients in the past 12 months (with many of these firms having only 1-5 staff).
With apps such as Receipt Bank automating client’s bookkeeping (saving about one hour per client per week), Chaser and Fluidly automating debtor tracking and GoCardless automating cash collection, the time taken to service each client is reduced – and that reduction in time allows more clients to be serviced, and larger revenues brought in.
Technology led services attract the right clients
What businesses want from their accountant has changed. Modern business owners are increasingly tech-savvy and will look for a business adviser who understands technology, knows how to set up efficient systems and can use this tech to offer the best possible advice.
Key advantages of putting tech at the heart of your services include:
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- Working in the cloud improves productivity for both you and your client – the basics of bookkeeping, bank reconciliation and accounting are all done faster, allowing your clients to focus on their business and work more closely with you and your team.
- Online working improves client communication – you and your clients have access to their key numbers at any time, making it easier to answer queries, flag up issues and deliver an increased level of client service.
- Automating payments improves cash flow for clients – using payment technology to automatically collect clients’ invoice payments improves the stability of their cash flow – providing the liquid cash they need to fund investment and growth plans.
- Deeper relationships bring increased value – with tech covering the basic compliance duties, you have more free time to spend with clients. So you know more about their business, can offer better advice and can offer value-add services more easily.
Drive your growth through smart use of tech
Adopting technology successfully is key to winning clients, and creating the basis for your firm’s growth.
Come and hear more about how technology and automation support your firm at our 'Cloud Lifestyle' panel chat – 11am, Wednesday 23 May, How To Theatre.
GoCardless will be at Accountex next week on stand 740.
How GDPR affects payroll processors
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which will be implemented in the UK in May 2018, updates the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The changes place greater obligations on organisations, with potential fines for breaches as high as €20 million or 4 per cent of global turnover. Organisations need to act now to prepare for the potential changes to their systems and procedures.
Fortunately, a good payroll software can help with simple and basic procedures to stay compliant:
Privacy by Design
Privacy and data security should be at the core of your software and payroll procedures. A processor might have the permission to view the data, however the default configuration of the system should be to restrict the visibility of the personal data.
The processor must make explicit request to view the data if necessary. The request can be considered, if there is a valid justification to see the confidential data, the processor should be able to lease the data from controller or data protection officer.
Moreover, logs of who viewed what confidential data and when must be logged by the software to make data leak investigation easy. This mechanism prevents the data leaks, but should it happen, these logs make it easy to investigate. Organisations will be able to prove “Privacy by Design” to investigating authority.
Masking of personal data
Masking is an intelligent way of hiding any personal data of an individual that is being processed by the processor. Processor can do the processing and use the information however he should not be able to see the data. For an example they can email the payslip to an employee of the processor however they cannot see payslip or the email address of the employee.
Data Encryption
Transfer essential information through the system by encrypting the data in such a way which can be accessed only through the decryption keys or password. Over and above encryption, the sensitive data must be automatically archived or destroyed. This reduces the risk of data loss. Personal data should also be stored in the secure or encrypted format.
Right to information. Right to be forgotten.
Employees have the right to access their information, being processed. Through the employee portal, an employee can easily view all their personal data, request for data change, view documents or even request deletion of personal information, with ease.
Protect vital documents
A system, where essential documents should be password protected and auto destroyed after it has served its purpose. Processor/controller should be able to upload any documents and store the information only for the required period and later destroy automatically. Employee can view essential documents sent by the employer without getting the processor in-between. The controller can control what information can be shared with the processors and the processors can release data which they no longer need.
Restrict rights
In order to maintain privacy, processors should be restricted to view any confidential data. There should be a granular roles and permissions. Means everyone sees what they need to see, without compromising the data security and confidentiality. For an example timesheet processor does not need to see payroll data. A software with such roles and permission feature can reduce the data breach risks at the source.
Capture information transparently
A software should be able to capture a starter’s information electronically from controller and/or employees. This increases GDPR compliance because processor only sees the relevant data and at the same time the payroll processing errors are reduced.
Brain Payroll will be at Accountex on stand 131 on 23-24 May.
Budget solution provides real-time visibility and spend control
Oxford Economics says strong profitability and revenue growth are tied to effective cost control. However, managing spend is increasingly complicated. In the past 15 years, travel spend alone has doubled to more than $1.2 trillion. Employee-initiated spend is today the second-largest expense in many organisations.
These are spending categories, ranging from entertainment, consulting, mobile roaming charges, home office expenses, and more, shifting to employee control. When this spend data is incomplete, inaccurate or late, budgets mean little more than a number. Managers can’t be held accountable and poor visibility inevitably leads to poor business decisions, including the dreaded company-wide “budget freeze.”
To help budget owners effectively manage resources and make better decisions, SAP Concur has launched Budget, a new solution that makes budget data visible, near real-time, and actionable. Budget connects data from SAP Concur solutions including Expense, Invoice, Purchase Request and Travel Request, creating a comprehensive dashboard for spend – before and after it occurs. As a result, finance leaders, sales leaders, and project managers alike can see spending events unfold. Collectively, each employee making better decisions leads to better overall financials and strengthens the bottom line.
Anticipate risks around the corner
Budget empowers everyone to see what’s happening, anticipate risks around the corner, and take action – before it’s too late. It allows companies to move beyond one-size-fits all, after-the-fact monthly budget spreadsheets. It’s holistic and flexible, whether companies map budgets to employee hierarchies or to projects. Employees can finally be held accountable to eliminate overspending, while gaining autonomy to proactively adjust spend to seize unexpected opportunities. Key features include:
- Easy-to-consume data: Regular budgetary discipline is easy when you can see performance dashboards on both mobile and web, and budget insights embedded directly at the point of expense or invoice approval.
- Tailored to individual employee needs: For example, set your own predetermined limits on budget buckets, or auto-email alerts when budget thresholds are reached. Set up personalized budget sub-categories to track more granularly.
- Gain corporate control: Customisable budget approval workflows, user permissions, and audit rules help maintain policy decisions across the organisation.
- Connect deeper into the organisation by integrating with financial systems via a public API.
Gartner reckons CFOs need better technology to facilitate timely analysis and decision making, monitor performance, and inform business decisions using quality data. Traditional budget solutions lack the flexibility, organisational scale, and ease-of-use necessary to meet these business needs. These solutions focus solely on planning, doing little to help finance leaders empower budget owners to make informed decisions based on quality data in near real-time. With Budget, line managers now have access to timely, actionable insights that were traditionally available only to the C-suite. Appropriate for companies large and small, optimising budgets is a universal opportunity.
For more information, visit SAP Concur's Budget Management page.
SAP Concur will be on stand 240 at Accountex.