Expense Approval Process: Add Additional Approvers with Multi-Level Approval Flows
Making the most of the company dime goes beyond cutting costs. It’s a delicate balance between smart investments, spend controls, and efficient use of time.
That’s where automation comes in. New technology developments can drastically improve not only the bottom line, but also the expense management processes your team experiences between charging an expense and reconciling that spend.
TravelBank is always looking to improve the expense management process, which is why in this latest release we’re unveiling multi-level approval flows. Your team can now add additional approvers to your expense policies governed by the expense category and expense amount.
Table of Contents
What Is the Basic Expense Approval Process?
When your employees submit an expense report, the basic approval flow that we automate pushes that report to their assigned manager for approval, and then on to finance for final approval. Finance gives the blessing and any reimbursement amounts are sent off to the employee’s bank account.
We know there are scenarios when you want to go beyond the basic approval process. Maybe a certain travel manager needs to be the one reviewing airline and hotel expenses. Perhaps your company wants to have managers review expenses below $100 but prefers to have a company administrator review expenses above that amount.
How to Automate Multi-Level Expense Approvals?
With this latest update, your team administrators can now automate nuanced approval flows.
They can add additional approvers to each expense policy in your organization based on rules that the admin can create within the settings tab.
These rules can be based on the expense category and the expense amount, and will govern which members of their organization will have to approve an expense report.
Learn more about multi-level approvals >
What Are the Benefits of an Automated Expense Approval Process?
The automated expense approval process introduces several benefits that streamline company operations and enhance employee experience.
Accelerated approval workflows: Key among these is the acceleration of approval workflows, which significantly reduces the time from expense submission to reimbursement, directly impacting employee satisfaction and morale.
Decreased likelihood of fraud: Automation also diminishes the likelihood of fraudulent claims by implementing strict controls and validation checks against company policies, thereby safeguarding company finances.
Improved visibility: Additionally, it offers managers and finance teams real-time visibility into expense claims and approvals, enabling better financial planning and control. This level of transparency and accountability improves compliance with both internal policies and external regulatory requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS THE EXPENSE APPROVAL PROCESS?
The expense approval process is the formal workflow that determines how expense reports are submitted, reviewed, and authorized within an organization. It involves the submission of expense reports by employees, review by managers, and approval for reimbursement.
WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE EXPENSE APPROVAL PROCESS?
The key stakeholders in the expense approval process typically include employees who incur expenses, managers who review and approve/reject expenses, finance teams responsible for processing payments, and sometimes upper management for final authorization.
HOW DOES THE EXPENSE APPROVAL PROCESS WORK?
The expense approval process usually begins with employees submitting their expense reports detailing the expenses they have incurred. These reports are then reviewed by their managers, who assess the validity and
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A WELL-DEFINED EXPENSE APPROVAL PROCESS?
A well-defined expense approval process helps ensure transparency, compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements, accurate financial reporting, timely reimbursement for employees, and effective cost control for the organization.
HOW CAN ORGANIZATIONS STREAMLINE THEIR EXPENSE APPROVAL PROCESS?
Organizations can streamline their expense approval process by implementing automated expense management systems, setting clear guidelines and policies, providing training to employees on expense submission, leveraging digital receipts, and enforcing regular audits.