Managing business expenses in a contactless CoVid world

The pandemic continues to unfold and evolve in unpredictable directions. With work from home and social isolation still being enforced, business leaders need to come up with novel protocols and policies for the business to run smoothly with complete visibility and control.

With several key industries such as travel and aviation being reconfigured, business operations need to be redesigned to function optimally in the new socially distanced, contactless world. 

Business Experience in the Pandemic

Small to medium sized companies account for a significant share of international job creation and economic development.

Research shows that the pandemic has only served to accelerate digital transformation in the payments sector. Companies are choosing to meet their customers through safe platforms and channels to sustain relationships. Going cashless and contactless is an important part of this transformation. 

Prior to the pandemic having an omnichannel presence was considered nice-to-have. Today, it is non-negotiable to have a presence whether online, offline, or on preferred social media channels. Studies show that omnichannel presence of several businesses has developed over the last several volumes to accounting for a major portion of their engagement and traffic.

In the midst of the current situation, it is imperative to maintain trust, speed, and transparency. Within the current context, this translates to clarity about fees, policies, and values.

Changes in the payments market

The acceleration in the payments market is heralded by the growth in two major sectors. Artificial Intelligence [AI] and Machine Learning [ML], and the other is Cryptocurrency and Blockchain.

AI and ML, will enable higher efficiency and productivity. This will further allow automation of tasks that would have historically required physical touchpoints. For instance, physical receipts can now be handled in a simpler, faster manner reducing the risk of transmission from both ends. 

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency bring with them an added level of authentication and transparency. Both of these technologies also offer a great base for further innovations. 

Why choose the Contactless Experience?

Usually, travel and expense management and reimbursement in the form of physical receipts and invoices involve a minimum of six to eight physical contact points. This could well prove to be fatal to the health of the employees and by extension, to the organization.

The manual bill submission process needs to evolve. 

With social distancing and working from home becoming the new normal, contactless data capture is essential to curb the spread of the virus and reduce the risk of transmission. 

With the number of work-from-home employees increasing every day, expense management solutions need to be contextually relevant. Activities that are typically done on-premise such as claiming bills, preparing vouchers, getting reimbursements or managerial approval need to be modified to suit the current eco-system. 

How does it work?

The pandemic has spurred financial leaders to find new ways to work and collaborate. This has resulted in new-age automated expense capturing features based on processes and tools that enable the business to progress faster, and are future-ready for any new products launched or entry into new markets. 

Systems equipped with Optical Character Recognition [OCR] are becoming increasingly prevalent. Adoption of superior technologies such as direct import of data from email inboxes/SMS, seamless integrations with travel apps, streamlines the entire reimbursement process, reducing the time taken to  two weeks at the most. This improves employee morale and satisfaction leading to high performance and productivity. 

Zaggle Save

Nearly 82% of the companies have a manual or semi-automated expense management system. In the midst of a pandemic with social isolation and work-from-home contributing to a new normal, physical bills cannot be shared. 

This is an area where technology has immense scope.

Zaggle Save is an all-in-one expense management software that helps track business spends, submit expenses instantly, manage compliance and find opportunities to save money.

1. Submit expense reports on-the-go with the Zaggle mobile app
2. Differential access and control with intuitive dashboards
3. Seamless integrations with existing accounting software
4. Capture accurate expense data from employees
5. Automate your expense policy and approvals
6. Instant visibility into spending and budgets
7. Cut off dates & Reminders for reports & approvals
8. Continuous Sync to your Accounting Software

Reach out to us to transform your organization’s employee engagement.