Managing expenses is crucial in any business. The accountants and managers charged with tracking and controlling expenses are, rightfully, seen as key to effective expense management. It is really important, however, not to overlook the important role each employee in the company can play in effective cost control. How can you harness the staff to contribute effectively to making your job as a cost manager easier?

1. Be Clear And Follow Through

Make sure your strategy for managing expenses is clear and transparent. Set policies and procedures for expense reporting and reimbursement that can be understood and implemented by employees at all levels of the organisation. Make sure that all employees have easy access to the tools they need to carry out your procedures for expense management and that they know how to use them.

2. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

It may seem as if you have to relay the same information over and over again, but even the best laid plans will come to naught, if people do not have the necessary information to carry them out. You also have to keep in mind that expense management is not at the top of most employees’ priority list. They are focused on carrying out their own jobs, and most likely see expense reporting as an annoyance. Use all channels available to you to communicate what you need clearly and effectively and make sure you reach all levels of your organisation, from the junior salesperson to the CEO.

3. Make It Easy

There is no longer any excuse for having cumbersome expense sheets that take ages for employees to complete and involve keeping track of endless bits of paper. If you want effective expense management, look for ways to make it simple, easy and error-free for employees to do what you need them to do. The staff will appreciate your efforts, and this will contribute to timely and correct expense tracking. The goal is to make the entire staff part of your team, even if they don’t realise it.