We are reviewing our expenses system to improve efficiency. What is the best way to ensure that all expenses claimed are accurate?

David Vine, chief executive of employee expenses management company GlobalExpense, says the first step to improving efficiency and accuracy is to move away from manual processes and reimbursing expenses from the tills or by cheque. He says: “Retailers that handle expenses in this way are more likely to have problems balancing tills at the end of the day and it is incredibly difficult to see who is spending how much, on what kind of items and how frequently.”

Manual expenses systems (where an employee fills in a form, attaches a receipt and sends it to a supervising manager for approval) have other problems that hamper accuracy. Often the volume of expense claims makes it impossible for the finance team to check each claim.

Vine says: “A rules-based automated system significantly improves overall accuracy and efficiency. It removes the burden for processing individual claims from the finance team, allowing them to spend more time identifying opportunities for cost savings.”

He adds: “Most out-of-policy expenses claims are the result of mistakes, bad habit and a fear of being left out-of-pocket. To improve accuracy, retailers must ensure the policy is fit for purpose and claimants understand the policy.”

Educating claimants and training authorisers on how to deal with claims that breach policy will improve accuracy rates, but to deliver efficiency Vine says checking all claims against corporate policy, ensuring HMRC compliance, speeding-up processing and payments and having timely visibility of spend are essential.