Business Prepaid Cards for Employees: Ditch the petty cash

Employee expenses: Quick overview

In expense management, reimbursement and business credit cards don’t cut it anymore when it comes to efficient management of employee expenses. The wait time involved in reimbursing employees for expenses can at times reduce the likelihood that they will make critical business decisions with their own money. In rare cases it could leave individuals in some financial difficulty.

Whilst business credit cards avoid this problem, they have some downsides of their own. Sharing one card amongst a whole team can easily lead to overspending and inefficient tracking of who spent what. Not only this, but the fact that these cards are directly connected to your company’s bank account makes them a security risk. Clearly, these traditional processes are quickly becoming outdated.

company-card-alternative-from-Soldo-mobile-app

With a prepaid system like Soldo’s, employee expenses are much simpler. Our prepaid cards and associated expense management software offer complete control and visibility when it comes to expenses.

Soldo’s cards are prepaid so budgets can never be exceeded. Our desktop management tools and receipt capture via the mobile expense app let you track expenses in real-time, so you always know where the money is.

So with:

complete security,
real-time visibility, and
no connection to the company coffers

Soldo acts as the perfect partner to your business bank account, saving you time and money.

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The problem with employee expenses

No matter the size of your business, you’ll likely have employee expenses to manage. Whether it’s charges incurred during business travel expenses or simply everyday office supplies, your outgoings will need to be tracked, recorded, and reconciled. This isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, but it is necessary if you want your financial plan to stay on track.

There are a number of options out there when it comes to expense management, but a surprising number of these processes aren’t very efficient. You could save time and money by switching to something more streamlined. Let’s explore traditional expense management processes, why they aren’t fit for purpose, and how Soldo could be just the solution your business needs.

Traditional processes can’t keep up

There are some ways of managing business expenses that, whilst popular, don’t actually offer the most efficient route to balanced books. Choosing to either reimburse expenses or rely on business credit cards are both processes that can negatively affect productivity and morale.

Reimbursements

One way of handling employee expenses is to have your employees pay with cash or a personal debit card with the promise of future reimbursement. This system comes with a number of problems. For starters, you may have to regularly sort through expense claims, which can be time-consuming.

On top of this, reimbursing expenses relies on an accurate receipt record, and paper receipts can easily get lost or misplaced, leaving finance teams in the dark as to who is owed what.

And beyond logistical issues, a system of reimbursements is no good for morale, as employees might end up waiting weeks to get their money back, leaving them out of pocket and potentially in financial difficulty. They may think twice about business critical expenses next time and no business leader wants that.

Soldo business expense card and mobile app

Business credit cards

A popular alternative to reimbursements is the use of business credit cards, which allow employees to pay for expenses without dipping into their own funds. This avoids the problem of out of pocket employees, but the fact that the cards linked to your business bank account can lead to overspending.

Businesses often end up sharing one card amongst a whole team, meaning it can be tricky to track down who spent what, and charges might not become evident until statements come through at the end of the month.

With these vulnerabilities, you have to be very selective in who you allow access to the credit card details. But however wise your choices are, there’s still no way to guarantee you won’t have any surprise payments. And much like a policy of reimbursements, the reconciliation of credit card payments relies on the retention of receipts.

Business owners can either control spending with tedious reimbursement processes or keep teams productive with credit cards and risk overspending. No matter what you choose, admin is lengthy and painful. Thankfully, there’s an easier way.

payment receipt in GBP captured using Soldo's mobile expense management app and prepaid card

The Soldo solution for employee expense management

Soldo’s software is designed to make expense management easy. We know the issues with other management systems, which is why our system simplifies every step of the way, from the point of purchase to the reconciliation.

First, managers assign budgets to the prepaid cards they’ve issued, so you always know how much is being spent and by whom. This fund is customisable, so you can choose the expense types the card can be used for, and whether the budget is automatically topped up at the start of a certain period.
As employees make purchases, they simply take a photo of their receipt and upload it to Soldo via the mobile expense app. This way, all of the spend data gets compiled in the same place.
Via the desktop expense management console or the expense app, Soldo’s expense tracker lets you view spending across every card. This allows for incredibly detailed expense analytics, from most-used vendors to biggest spenders. You also have the ability to transfer additional funds remotely, or switch cards off in a click should one go missing.
During reconciliation, Soldo creates expense reports automatically. There’s no need to search through piles of paper receipts, as they’re all stored digitally. All spend data can also be easily transferred to your preferred accounting software. We have seamless integrations with Xero and QuickBooks, but it’s no problem if you use another program, as our reports can be downloaded in an easily exported.

There’s a Soldo plan to suit every business, and each one includes these core functions. Take control of your business finances and switch to smarter spending by signing up to Soldo today.

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