Expense management includes the policies and procedures that govern such spending, as well as the technologies and services utilized to process and analyze the data associated with it.
Expense management automation has two aspects: the process an employee follows in order to complete an expense claim (for example, logging a hotel receipt or submitting mobile phone records) and the activity accounts or finance staff undertake to process the claim within the finance system.
Typically, a manual process will involve an employee completing a paper, spreadsheet, or graphical user interface-based expense report that they then forward, along with the relevant tax invoices (receipts), to a manager or other controller for approval.
The accounts staff then key each expense item into the company's finance system before filing the claim and receipts away.
Organizations may automate their expense management processes for reasons such as compliance, cost reduction, control, and employee productivity.