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It¡¯s not easy running a small business in today¡¯s ever-changing marketplace. As more and more manual financial tasks go the way of automation, the availability of cloud-based expense management solutions is becoming?overwhelming. It¡¯s hard to know which, if any, you should implement, but?the answer can often be found?in your current situation. Start by answering these questions to figure out where you can benefit the most from automated, cloud-based software.

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Do You Need to Address Employee Fraud?

It¡¯s not an easy one to admit, but employee fraud does happen. Regardless of how small the amount, these false expenditures add up over time, impacting the bottom line. If you are experiencing issues with fraud, you can mitigate the risks by moving to an automated expense management system that captures and processes expenses automatically. This makes auditing expense reports more efficient and spotting discrepancies easier.

Insider tip: Look for a solution that is not only cloud-based but mobile-enabled. This will allow your employees to submit expenses on the road. Not only will your employees be happy to not have to deal with a stack of receipts at the end of a trip, but you will also have near real-time access to spending data.

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Are You Reactively or Proactively Managing Spend?

If the thought of month-end and year-end reporting makes you queasy, then it is definitely time for a change. Expenses are more often than not the largest category in a business financial plan, and having control over spending means not playing catch-up at the end of each month. ?Moving to an automated process gives you everything you need at your fingertips, and eliminates scrambling to get the information you need.

Insider tip: Successful implementation of automated software only works when there is a current process in place. Automation can¡¯t fix what is already broken. Before integrating any new software, take time to review all your processes to ensure they are accurate and up-to-date for your business needs.

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Do You Have the Visibility You Need Into Cash Flow and Expenses?

Having no visibility into your cash flow and expenses is like walking around blindfolded ¨C it¡¯s just not smart. You should be able to pull the financial data you need for strategic planning and analysis at a moment¡¯s notice. If you are finding that getting the insights you need means hours, if not days, of gathering and analyzing data, then moving to an automated solution will give you the access you need to maintain competitiveness.

Insider tip: Choose software that lets you set up personalized dashboards. This way, you can get the data you need at a glance. Again, look for a cloud-based solution that allows you to access the information you need from anywhere, at anytime.

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Learn From Your Peers

While reading product brochures and talking with sales representatives is helpful when looking for new spend management solutions, hearing from other businesses like yours has more impact. Attend our webinar to hear success stories from other small businesses, and learn how they both navigated and implemented cloud-bases solutions to help their company thrive.

(And yes, there¡¯s free coffee involved ¨C to find out more!)