industry solutions

Article Dean Dorton

Repost from our partner, Nexonia

You may be surprised to learn that 49 percent of companies still rely on a manual expense management process. This data point comes from the recently-released 2018 Expense Management Trends Report by Certify, Inc.

Since 2013, the Expense Management Trends Report has helped organizations of all sizes stay informed of industry trends and best practices from their peers across North America. Nexonia is part of the Certify, Inc. Family of Brands—and this year’s report offers valuable insights into the industry.

Manual methods sticking around

Enterprise companies are leading the way in adopting technology according to the report, with 39 percent of companies surveyed using a web-based expense solution, and 32 percent relying on an ERP or accounting package for expense management. These companies are seeing the value in automating timely manual processes—letting their employees focus on other value-added activities.

Surprisingly, 11 percent of enterprise companies surveyed are still using a manual process. (A manual process is defined here as any process that uses Excel spreadsheets, pen and paper, homegrown systems, or any combination thereof.) At a company of this size, the risk and lack of spend visibility would likely make a CFO’s head spin. And without having visibility into expenses, the finance team is left in the dark when strategizing for the years ahead or negotiating better contracts with vendors today.

Biggest pains stay consistent

Expense management pains haven’t evolved much since Certify launched the survey in 2013.  For the 2018 report, Certify collected and analyzed responses from 546 CFOs, controllers, and other finance professionals outside its customer base to offer a snapshot of the industry, and where it may be headed. With technology becoming so ingrained in our lives, some readers may find it shocking that so many moments of struggle persist in the world of finance.

The biggest pain points for finance teams were losing receipts or submitting reports without a receipt, tying employees failing to submit reports on time cited by 50 percent of respondents. It’s easy to see why finance teams would be frustrated with a minor task holding up reimbursements and accurate reporting—yet this pain persists.

Time spent reconciling, reviewing, and approving reports was the second biggest pain, cited by 31 percent of respondents. With the average number of expense reports being 25-50 percent of the full-time employee workforce, manually reviewing and approving expense reports is a business activity that needs a streamlined process.

Another long-standing pressure on finance teams were errors on expense reports, with 30 percent of respondents citing this ongoing issue. Considering that employees should be submitting completed reports on-time and within policy, finance teams certainly want to spend less time “expense policing” and more time on strategy.

Leading pressures and top areas for improvement

Top organizational pressures on finance teams have stayed consistent with previous years. The top pressure driving organizations to improve T&E management was the need to reduce expense reporting costs cited by 27 percent of respondents. Improving the expense management process was cited by 34 percent of respondents as the most critical to improve in 2018.

Poor visibility into travel and expenses was the second biggest pressure (26 percent) driving change with finance teams across North America. Without finance teams having complete visibility into T&E spend, they can’t make informed strategic decisions that will help move the organization towards their goals. With the right integrations, an automated expense solution can provide nearly real-time expense data finance teams can budget against with confidence.

Travel booking was the third biggest area for improvement in 2018. Interestingly, according to the 2018 survey, 90 percent of companies had a travel policy in place, but only two percent of companies used technology to enforce policy—putting the company at a huge risk for overspending with manual policy checks or employee enforcement.

Having business travelers booking itineraries with any number of online services leaves a company at risk for overspending. With a travel book solution that is friendly for employees, travel managers, and everyone in between, you can provide a foundation for self-service bookings that fit within company policy and budget.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about Nexonia, contact us today!

Article Dean Dorton

The accounts payable department has countless daily duties. From managing invoices to making payments, there’s a lot to keep track of. To build a well-oiled AP machine that provides visibility and control over the payments process, finance departments can put these best practices into play.

Don’t let your invoices result in ‘lost files’

As a best practice, electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) has its perks in the payment world. Electronically managing invoices reduces the risk of losing files and missing deadlines. There’s also the bonus of having an automation solution so you can automatically pay vendors without cutting paper checks. Using centralized, cloud-based workflows provides easier cash flow monitoring and real-time visibility into the financial future.

Let your invoices live in the cloud

Moving invoices to the cloud boosts flexibility and earlier visibility into spend. There’s no need to chase down managers who are always on the go. Invoices are available for approvers to review and approve from anywhere, 24/7, 365 days a year. Keeping payables in a centralized hub helps the finance department stay organized and benefit from a streamlined payment process.

Automate approvals to put payments on the fast track

Reduce the headaches and havoc of the approval process. AP automation simplifies approvals while pushing a high volume of invoices. E-invoicing solutions allow you to implement rules and compliance, expediting the approval process with automation for faster payments. Regardless of internal restrictions, automation allows businesses to integrate those rules to save time and costs.

Give suppliers power over their payments

Implementing a “self-service” supplier portal eliminates the frustration of spending the day constantly managing supplier inquiries. A cloud-based portal gives suppliers 24/7 access to check the status of payables and update vendor information. A supplier portal provides your suppliers with the visibility they need, so your AP staff can focus on more strategic aspects of the accounts payable process.

Ease supplier management with a simplified solution

Supplier management can be time-consuming for any AP department. From managing compliance to preferred payment methods, keeping vendors aligned can be a tedious task. With AP automation, you can remove the headache of maintaining supplier data and their preferred payment methods. AvidXchange contacts 100% of your suppliers on your behalf to verify and update their information, identify their accepted payment types, and perform due diligence on any outstanding payments to get them resolved quickly.

The bottom line: Build a case for AP automation

If your AP department is looking to accelerate approvals, reduce processing costs, and virtually eliminate paper while gaining more transparency and control over spending, then AP automation may be the right solution for you. 

avidxchange ROI calculator

AvidXchange has been delivering accounts payable automation solutions to the midmarket for over 16 years. We understand how AP Automation improves controls, creates operational efficiencies, and reduces costs. How much time and money can AP automation with AvidXchange save your company? Find out by using our ROI calculator.

roi calculator

Interested in automating your payables and creating efficiencies for your AP team? Our automation specialists will create a customized demo and walk you through the streamlined workflow of an automated AP process. Schedule a demo!

Article Dean Dorton

Written by: Kristy Kahler, VersaPay

I recently attended a convention keynote where the presenter spoke to the impact the Fourth Industrial Revolution had on all aspects of business. This Fourth builds on the digital revolution, with the fusion of emerging technologies that are growing at an exponential rate. It is disruptive, especially with the recent focus on RPA and AI, with automation leading the charge in all aspects of our lives, professionally and personally.

Yet when we think of one of the most fundamental areas of finance, Accounts Receivable, we still see AR teams taking a traditional approach, full of manual processes, disjointed practices, and segmented core functions, such as presentment, collections and payments.

So how do these AR teams catch up, scale, and maybe even get ahead of the curve? It’s simple – they need to take a holistic approach to their AR process. Most AR departments only solve half of the receivables problem with their current resources. Here are 5 reasons that you need to take a holistic approach to the AR process:

1) Improving the efficiency of your invoice-to-cash cycle will get you paid faster.

As an AR team, DSO is likely one of your strongest – and most feared – metrics. When you don’t take a holistic approach to AR, you will be inundated with inefficiencies, bogged down with manual tasks, and frustrated with the time it takes to get paid. The result? Your DSO grows. What if I told you that you could get paid 5-25 days faster? An end-to-end solution will do that.

2) Collaboration is critical and will strengthen your customer relationships.

How many minutes and hours have you spent managing disputes or going back and forth with a client about an invoice discrepancy? Have you played phone tag for days, only to realize that it was a small human error? And once you get the info from the client, did you spend even more time trying to communicate and resolve with your internal teams? Strong, end-to-end solutions understand the importance of collaboration (both internal and external) and the need to improve the communications process, which will ultimately, strengthen customer relationships. Happy customer, happy business.

3) Real-time analytics and insights will improve your cash flow and increase working capital.

Traditional accounting = Static reports. Static reports = Poor decisions. To keep up and make strong, data-driven decisions you have to leave the “old ways” of AR behind. Taking a holistic view of real-time analytics will give you a true snapshot of your organization’s AR health and customer behavior at any given time, driving operational efficiency. You will have full visibility to monitor key financial metrics and proactively forecast cash flow. Which member of senior leadership would say no to that?!?

4) Adopting an end-to-end mindset will enable greater process agility.

Scale and continuous improvements are difficult if core functions are segmented or if there are gaps in the AR process. For example, organizations may have a great collections process but struggle with cash app. Being agile is no longer a choice for organizations, but an increasing business requirement. If you adopt an end-to-end mindset, you can easily adapt to change, improve decision-making, and ultimately save time and money.

5) Streamlining functions and eliminating manual, siloed processes will refocus your AR team on high-value work to advance business.

When finance departments hear the words automation, streamlining, and increasing efficiencies, they instantly retreat. The misconception is that they will lose headcount. The reality is, the tasks and priorities of the team can shift, rather than result in job loss, and allow the team to refocus on high-value work and time with customers. For organizations with a strong people culture, it will also foster professional development within the team, which can increase job satisfaction and promote high-performance teams.

So we understand the why, but what about the how? What is the easiest way to do this? The answer to taking a holistic approach to your AR process is with end-to-end accounts receivable automated solutions. These platforms are built to scale, seamlessly integrating with ERP and accounting systems. Being progressive as an organization is critical to growth in this fast-paced digital economy.

Article Dean Dorton

Transform how you budget, forecast, analyze, and report with the only platform that delivers smart budgets for mainstream businesses.

Massey Consulting is not only a value-added reseller for Sage Intacct and Microsoft Dynamics GP, but provides efficient resources from our industry solution partners as well.

One of our notable partners is Centage, who provides the industry solution, Budget Maestro. Budget Maestro serves more than 9,000 users worldwide, who vary in diverse industries such as education, healthcare, non-profit, retail, and more.

Budget Maestro is an easy-to-use, scalable, cloud-based budgeting and forecasting solution that eliminates the time-consuming and error-prone activities associated with using spreadsheets. The solution allows users to create and update budgets and forecasts quickly and accurately. It is the only solution that offers synchronized P&L, balance sheet and automatically generated cash flow reporting.

Recently, Massey Consulting participated in a Q & A with Centage for their Partner Spotlight Blog. Some of the things discussed were our industry focuses, notable clients, and what makes Massey Consulting different from other accounting software companies.

Read the full blog HERE.

“As a team, we feel that Centage and the Budget Maestro solutions provide clients and prospects with an affordable, effective solution for their more intricate budget management and reporting needs. We have found our clients want dependable solutions that don’t break the bank, and that is where Budget Maestro fits,” says Philip Massey, President and CEO of Massey Consulting.

If you’re ready to welcome innovation with new budgeting solutions for you and your team, check out this Quick Tour video to learn more about Budget Maestro.

Article Dean Dorton

Repost from Avalara

Auditors are on the move. While most businesses expect (i.e., dread) to be audited by their home department of revenue, it often comes as a surprise to learn that state tax authorities routinely send auditors to, or hire auditors from, other states to capture unreported sales and use tax revenue. Some states go so far as to have remote offices.

For example, the Texas Comptroller has audit offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. California has field audit offices in Chicago, New York, and Houston. There are Missouri Department of Revenue offices near Chicago, Dallas, and New York, while the Florida Department of Revenue has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Pittsburg. The Utah State Tax Commission doesn’t specify where all it has sales and use tax auditors but notes that they “spend a majority of their time at taxpayers’ offices looking at detailed sales and purchase transactions” and “travel to locations all over the United States to perform their work.”

Field auditors employed by the Washington State Department of Revenue may audit businesses in multiple states. The Department divides the country into several sections: an Out-of-State North District (Eastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin), an Out-of-State South District, and so on. Field audit offices develop and implement audit programs to optimize accurate tax reporting and payment by businesses located throughout the target area.

What do auditors in other states do?

Auditors frequently examine sales by companies that are headquartered in other states but have nexus (a connection strong enough to trigger a tax collection obligation) in the auditor’s home state. Yet a company doesn’t have to be registered with a state to be targeted by that state’s audit division. While many audits are selected by a random sampling of registered businesses, auditors knock on the doors of unregistered businesses whenever evidence suggests that they may owe the state tax revenue. This is true both in-state and out.

Many states have increased audits since the Great Recession, hiring new auditors as needed. New Mexico’s Audit and Compliance Division has added approximately 62 FTE employees since economy plummeted. And in 2015, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue announced that it needed 102 additional auditors and 11 additional agents to help uncover what was estimated to be approximately $80 million in unpaid tax revenue. Many of the new hires are focusing on businesses based in other states.

States work together

In addition to sending auditors to other states, state tax administrators frequently work together. Regional information-sharing agreements between states, such as the following, can greatly help facilitate audits:

  • NESTOA, North Eastern States Tax Officials Association (Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
  • SEATA, Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia)
  • MSATA, Midwestern States Association of Tax Administrators (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin)
  • WSATA, Western States Association of Tax Administrators (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming)

There are other sorts of information-sharing agreements as well. New Mexico shares information with — and receives information from — three tribal governments. And the Multistate Tax Commission Joint Audit Program for member states “provides obvious economies of scale to the states” and “relieves the taxpayer of the burden on multiple ongoing audits.”

Oklahoma to base auditors in other states

Oklahoma doesn’t currently base auditors in other states. Like Utah, it sends auditors to various out-of-state locations as needed, and between 2014 and 2017, it conducted more than 460 audits of remotely based businesses. But a recently enacted law will soon enable the Tax Commission to develop a stronger presence out of state.

HB 1427 authorizes the Oklahoma Tax Commission to create and maintain an Out-of-State Tax Collections Enforcement Division. It enables the Commission to “employ full-time, unclassified, out-of-state tax auditors or full-time-equivalent contracted auditors” to enhance the following:

  • “Sales and use tax collections related to sales or transactions involving residents of Oklahoma and out-of-state vendors with a nexus to the State of Oklahoma”
  • “Collections of any other unpaid taxes owed the State of Oklahoma by out-of-state individuals, firms, and corporations”

The Tax Commission may audit any individual or business it believes may owe tax revenue to Oklahoma. The law takes effect November 1, 2017.

How would your business fare during an audit?

Get your free copy of the Sales and Use Tax Audits Uncovered report to learn more about audit triggers, how to avoid them, and how to protect your business against unnecessary tax compliance risk.

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