Now that you have a company credit card, it’s time to implement a system to oversee it. The two big players in the industry are Abacus and Expensify, and both would meet the needs of most businesses. These accounting applications are designed to solve three problems: (1) data entry and efficiency, (2) recordkeeping, and (3) oversight.
Like most cloud-based systems these days, the vendors each have a phone app and online portal which can be used interchangeably by all users. Each time a purchase is made, the purchaser takes a photo of the receipt through the app, classifies the transaction to the appropriate account, and leaves a note about the purpose of the purchase. A manager then has the option to review and approve the purchases made to confirm that appropriate purchases were made on the company card and that they were classified to the right account. The final step is the approval by the accounting staff. When the accounting staff approves the purchase, it is automatically sync’d to the accounting system with all the relevant information from the app (vendor, amount, date, description, purchaser, GL account). The charges are recorded with the click of a button!
No longer is the accounting staff required to enter each credit card charge, which we all know can be a tedious process. The accounting staff saves time and becomes much more efficient with this process. Next, recordkeeping is more accurate with multiple levels of review and the support for every charge is now saved in one location. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the oversight the owner so desperately needs is now at his or her fingertips. Every purchaser is responsible for the purchases made on their card and the owner can review those purchases and ensure everyone is following company policy.
What used to be a pain point can now become a strength!