Imagine: the office of the company's finance department resembles a battlefield. Piles of paper documents fall to the floor, managers click on cells in spreadsheets, inboxes fill up with notifications, and the manager is desperately trying to find an explanation for the 1.750 euros in excess expenses from last month. Pause. How did we end up in this situation? It's simple: this is the office of a company that still doesn't use corporate expense cards. Let's figure out what led to such financial problems and how to get rid of them.
The Roots of Expense Management Chaos
Of course, this kind of chaos doesn’t happen overnight. It’s preceded by months or even years of using traditional expense accounting, analysis, and control systems. Employees take the money they need from petty cash boxes or make purchases at their own expense and wait patiently for reimbursement. If they need larger amounts, they write requests to their managers, which can take several days or weeks to process.
There are no winners in this situation: documents pile up, payments are delayed, and the company's work suffers an inevitable slowdown. Now, imagine that the company grows, opens new structural units, hires freelancers, and uses remote work. We have already seen the result: a critical situation that threatens to create a real bureaucratic explosion.
Spending Cards as Unsung Heroes of Finance
Is it possible to say “enough” and put an end to this confusion? Yes! Expense cards give employees a new level of freedom in purchasing and increase the efficiency of workflows in the company. They also greatly simplify the work of financial departments by transferring data to cloud-based platforms such as Wallester Business, which have advanced tools for controlling and analyzing expenses.
Yes, chaos cannot be gotten rid of by a single voluntary effort. However, as new technology is integrated, its scale will begin to shrink, first to the controlled disorder familiar to large corporations and then to complete order.
What will the same office look like a month after activating and connecting corporate expense cards? Desks will be absolutely clean and free of paperwork because all documents have been processed electronically. Employees have been able to digitize receipts using mobile applications. Managers can closely examine all detailed reports and assess the current situation at a glance to identify unauthorized expenses and highlight priority purchasing categories. The manager works with an interactive dashboard and creates presentations for the C-Suite in just a few minutes.
The Magic of Shopping Cards
How does it work? How did our fictional office overcome chaos and bring order with the help of simple payment tools? Let's dig into the details:
- The use of complex solutions, such as the platform Wallester, allows you to abandon paper accounting. All transactions are recorded online in the cloud service and do not require duplication of journals, books and registers.
- Digitalization opens up opportunities for automation. Instead of manually selecting the desired expense category, the manager can simply click to confirm the check processing. The system will find the necessary section based on the transaction code and counterparty details.
- Using spending cards eliminates the need to pay in cash. Each payment instrument is linked to a common company account. Everything is under control and no transaction goes through the accounting and finance department.
- Modern solutions allow you to use preventive control tools: instead of dealing with the consequences, you can anticipate them and block a suspicious transaction. For example, the Wallester Business platform allows you to set limits on the amount and direction of spending for each individual card.
- Cloud platforms process information in real time. This provides two benefits at once. First, the manager sees the effect of his management decisions within seconds of the transaction. Second, particularly important and critical transactions can be approved online, by clicking a button in the web interface or tapping a mobile application.
- As your business grows, your accounting and control system automatically adjusts. Yes, you may need to switch to another pricing plan, but you can do it online, without having to submit paper applications and other paperwork. When it comes to high-end solutions like Wallester, the platform can expand internationally, allowing you to choose other currencies for payments.
Take back control of your spending with business cards
Most people imagine that modern companies are highly dynamic and adaptable to any market fluctuation. But the hard truth is that many companies remain tied to tradition, even when it comes to accounting, expense management, and analytics. This slows operations and causes widespread dissatisfaction at every level, from cashiers to sales managers to CEOs.
But expense management doesn’t have to be old-fashioned and chaotic. With business expense cards, you can leave the stress of lost receipts, endless reimbursements, and budget mysteries behind. Whether you’re a startup or a large enterprise, platforms like Wallester Business provide the tools you need to streamline your finances and take back control.
So, what’s holding you back? Maybe it’s time to say goodbye to chaos and hello to simpler, smarter spending? Your team and your sanity will appreciate it.
