Every expense management software requires an automated receipt scanning system to reduce the dependence on accountants and bookkeepers for simple, manual tasks. Whether it is to manage finances or file taxes, small to large businesses need to have a tab on where their money is going.
Most of your purchase receipts and other printed documents are likely to get lost in a sea of records and miscellaneous papers. Not to mention, physical documents carry the risk of getting damaged or destroyed.
With receipt scanning software however, businesses can consolidate documentation processes such that it streamlines expense management and improves operational efficiency, accuracy, and speed.
In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of receipt scanning software to help you fathom the importance of streamlined expense tracking processes for your business.
Pros of receipt scanning software
Speeds up expense tracking processes
This is one of the most obvious advantages of using an automation-backed technology like receipt scanning. In today’s date, every aspect of business stands to benefit from being fast-paced.
Your employees expect their expenses to be approved faster so they can receive reimbursement quicker. Your clients expect payment processes to be more streamlined and less time-confusing.
During the time of taxes, as business owners, you want all your records to be easily accessible so as to speed up tax-filing processes.
The solution is receipt scanning technology in expense management software—which reduces turnaround times.
Top receipt scanning software like Dext perform data extraction in a matter of seconds. That translates to a major difference.
This way, your employees don’t have to wait out time-consuming approvals from administration for their travel expenses to be reimbursed. Your clients are satisfied with your payment processes, and your expense management drives maximum growth for your business.
Promotes accounting accuracy
Human bookkeeping practices are prone to mistakes. The rate of error when you undertake manual data entry is somewhere between 0.55% to 26.9% —and there’s nothing that can be done about it.
Fortunately, with the help of receipt scanning technology, accountants and bookkeepers can significantly decrease mistakes in data entry by eradicating any keystroke errors, duplication mistakes, errors caused due to distraction, and so on. This results in more accurate records—which also empowers businesses to make accurate data-driven business decisions.
Saves time and costs
Accounting and bookkeeping teams spend a huge chunk of their time tracking receipts, invoices, and other financial documents to get a clear picture of their company’s financial health. Your employees are also required to track expenses and submit them to administration for approvals and reimbursements. This affects their productivity since unnecessary time is spent on manual tasks that are time-consuming and frustrating.
A receipt scanning software allows employees and bookkeeping teams to direct their towards core operations and be freed from tedious data entry tasks.
With intelligent automation, you can process receipts—capture and upload them, have the data be extracted, and sorted—at significantly faster rates. This saves companies money that would otherwise be spent on overhead costs.
Access receipts easily since they are searchable
Once your receipts are uploaded to your expense systems using receipt scanning software, they automatically get sorted and organized by date, type of transaction (debit/credit), payment mode, etc. This way, you use search to locate and access whatever records you require in a jiffy.
Efficient tracking helps you stay within budget
In order to stick to a budget, you need to have a tab on all of your expenses and other accounting data—which can be too much of a hassle doing so manually, and you may not be consistent about it. This way, you are likely to miss your goals. With receipt scanning software making it easier to input and store every printed document.
You give access to these records at all times and are better-positioned to use financial insight to steer your company’s finances in a rewarding direction.
Cons of receipt scanning software
Sorting expenses requires human intervention
You can’t blindly rely on your receipt scanning software’s ability to automatically sort and organize data based on different parameters. So, for receipt scanning software to work to its full potential, make sure you also manually review the categories after uploading your documents instead of completely relying on its predictive categorizations. This will improve accuracy and promote efficiency.
Limited reporting capabilities
Not all expense management software comes with advanced reporting features. They cannot be integrated with major third-party platforms that you regularly use. Always make sure you have uninterrupted access to accounting software and payment apps to have a comprehensive insight into your finances.
Bottom Line
With receipt scanning software however, businesses can consolidate documentation processes such that it streamlines expense management and improves operational efficiency, accuracy, and speed. With intelligent automation, you can process receipts—capture and upload them, have the data be extracted, and sorted—at significantly faster rates.
Dext can be integrated with the majority of accounting software and features advanced reporting capabilities for best results. It has built-in receipt scanning software with OCR technology to improve expense tracking processes and ensure accuracy.