What are the benefits of AI in expense management?
What are the benefits of AI in expense management?
Expense management is a part of every finance team. Ask anyone who’s managed it, and they’ll tell you it can be resource-intensive and costly, especially using traditional expense tracking methods that rely on manual data entry and have long processing times, ultimately leading to errors.
Enter Artificial Intelligence (AI) — and things get much easier, faster and more accurate. AI is revolutionizing expense management, benefiting both employees and employers.
Technological advancements such as optical character recognition (OCR) and machine learning have revolutionized expense tracking. With AI in the mix, finance professionals can now tackle tedious manual tasks with precision and efficiency, freeing up their time for more strategic activities and lightening their workload.
Five ways AI helps finance manage expenses
Employees no longer manually input expense data into their system or mobile app. Advanced algorithms automatically classify expenses correctly, catch errors and spot discrepancies –reducing errors and increasing financial reporting accuracy. (93% accuracy with Expensya)
AI doesn't just simplify the expense management process; it supercharges it. By automating repetitive tasks like data entry, receipt scanning and expense approval workflows, AI frees up valuable time for employees and finance teams.
AI helps monitor and analyze expense data instantly, giving actionable tips on spending patterns, trends and where to save costs. This lets organizations make quick, informed decisions and adapt effectively to changes.
Expense tools with AI can spot questionable items like double charges, exaggerated receipts and rule-breaking. By catching these transactions immediately, companies can cut financial risks and stop losses.
AI keeps company expense policies in check by flagging rule-breakers and suggesting how to fix them, helping you and your employees stay on top of regulations and internal rules.
AI applications: empowering employees and employers
For employees:
Simplified expense reporting: AI simplifies the process of capturing and submitting expenses. Simply scan your receipt, and AI will automatically categorize expenses and create expense reports.
Faster reimbursements: AI accelerates the reimbursement process by automating expense approval workflows and facilitating direct deposit payments, ensuring that employees get paid quickly.
Personalized insights: AI-powered expense tools can provide personalized spending insights and recommendations to help employees manage their expenses more effectively, such as identifying opportunities for cost savings or budget optimization.
For employers:
Streamlined approval workflows: AI automates expense approval workflows by routing expenses based on predefined rules and thresholds, reducing manual intervention and making the approval process faster and easier.
Cost control and optimization: AI gives you visibility into spending patterns and identifies cost control and optimization opportunities, such as negotiating better vendor contracts or eliminating unnecessary expenses.
Compliance monitoring: AI continuously monitors expense data for compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements, flagging potential violations and providing policy enforcement and optimization insights.
The mechanics of AI in expense management
How does AI actually work within expense management solutions? AI applications, such as machine learning algorithms, dive into tons of data and handle different tasks, like:
- Receipt recognition
AI algorithms can extract relevant information from scanned receipts, including vendor details, transaction amounts and dates, using techniques like optical character recognition (OCR).
- Expense categorization
AI automatically categorizes expenses based on predefined rules and machine learning models, eliminating the need for employees to manually categorize expenses.
- Anomaly detection
AI detects anomalies in expense data by comparing current transactions to historical patterns and flagging deviations that may indicate fraudulent activities or errors.
- Predictive analytics
AI enables predictive analytics by analyzing historical expense data to forecast future spending trends, identify potential cost-saving opportunities and optimize budget allocation.
There’s more, too. Check out 10 AI Advancements in Expense Management for an extended list.
It’s safe to say AI is a staple consideration when evaluating expense management tools. Without AI applications, you risk missing valuable insights and cost-saving opportunities. Simply put, AI saves tons of time and money. We can only expect AI to do bigger and better things as technology advances. Keep learning and investing in solutions that keep up with your business needs.
Why Expensya? Because we get AI.
Expensya stands out with its comprehensive AI integration. Our solution, from expense capture on the go with our mobile app to approvals and payments, is powered by AI at every step. This unique approach, coupled with our team's dedication to staying at the forefront of developments and innovations, ensures you get the best of intelligent technology and smart design. That’s the Expensya difference.
