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From controlling costs to ensuring compliance, the procurement function is crucial to an organization’s financial health. But despite procurement’s importance, many companies struggle to implement processes with the right balance between control and efficiency. This balance is especially challenging for companies who don’t have a dedicated procurement team, but still need strong control over and clear visibility into all spending.
Business expense reports play a pivotal role in shaping the fiscal health and success of an enterprise. This blog explores the critical importance of these reports, delving into how they contribute to financial transparency, regulatory compliance, and the overall efficiency of business operations. As businesses navigate the complexities of modern finance, the role of expense reports is an integral component essential to informed decision-making and sustainable growth.
Accounts payable (AP) refers to the series of steps that companies take to pay their bills. It requires the safe handling and recording of funds transferring from the company’s bank account to suppliers and vendors. Automation replaces the manual accounts payable process with software that can make everyone more efficient and lead to cost savings.
Implementing accounts payable best practices can help your organization reduce risk, save time and money, foster strong vendor relationships, and create a better spend culture. You can better identify the best AP automation solution for your organization by following accounts payable best practices. Table of Contents FirstHeading Finding a system to support accounts payable.
In a tumultuous economy, effective expense management is more important than ever. To maintain financial stability and drive strategic growth, organizations must optimize spending and have accurate financial data to inform decisions. Effective expense management is often challenging due to the complexity and diversity of employee spending. With numerous cost categories, complex approval processes, and the need for accurate recordkeeping, it’s often difficult to maintain control and visibility ov
It’s been just seven months since we launched our groundbreaking Guided Procurement module, which represents a new milestone for spend management. Guided Procurement closes the loop on the multi-stakeholder compliance requirements that must be met in the procurement process. The result is being able to offer a full procure-pay-close platform that has earned rave reviews.
If any finance process is overdue for innovation, it’s procurement. For decades, the many steps and stakeholders in large enterprise purchasing meant procurement teams had to rely on heavyweight, expensive solutions, while mid-market companies either had to adopt one of those overly cumbersome solutions or throw some ad-hoc procedures together to try to control spend.
Vendor management is an integral part of financial management, enabling companies to control costs, mitigate risks, streamline operations, and maintain a healthy supply chain. Finance teams play a crucial role in vendor management, providing expertise in contract negotiation, payment processing, performance evaluation, and relationship building. By effectively managing vendors, finance teams can significantly contribute to the overall financial success of their organizations.
In this guide, we delve into the core of P2P, exploring its benefits for organizations, the software solutions that streamline the process, and best practices to overcome challenges. From simplified procurement processes to better control over spending and timely payment processing, each step offers insights into a system designed for efficiency and transparency.
Virtual cards are a game-changer for accounts payable departments. They’re an efficient solution for any business looking to streamline their expense management and procurement processes. In addition to greater control, security, and flexibility, virtual card payments can save finance teams hours of tedious work. David Coffman, VP Finance at Doximity, says Airbase virtual cards play an integral role in cutting the company’s time-to-close in half.
In a tumultuous economy, effective expense management is more important than ever. To maintain financial stability and drive strategic growth, organizations must optimize spending and have accurate financial data to inform decisions. Effective expense management is often challenging due to the complexity and diversity of employee spending. With numerous cost categories, complex approval processes, and the need for accurate recordkeeping, it’s often difficult to maintain control and visibility ov
Boring. Tedious. Finicky. Something to put off … indefinitely. That’s how many people think of expense reporting. One survey found a majority would rather do their taxes than file expense reports! Our collective distaste for this necessary evil even costs us money, as many people end up paying for business expenses because they can’t be bothered to request reimbursement.
AI was a constant presence at SuiteWorld this year, whether it was the focus of the presentation itself or folded into the topic. AI even featured in the high-octane opening session with a spoof about hallucinations from Evan — NetSuite’s not-quite-ready-for-prime-time AI assistant. There were at least three sessions specifically on AI-powered solutions, plus NetSuite had an AI Center on the floor in case you wanted more information.
In the world of finance and procurement, accuracy and accountability are paramount. Every organization strives to maintain a meticulous record of its financial transactions while safeguarding itself against errors and fraud. Three-way match has long been an important control measure practiced by accountants to make sure that what was purchased, what was received, and what was paid are fully aligned.
Procurement plays a pivotal role in cost management, risk mitigation, and financial performance. But until recently, many organizations struggled to define their processes and find the right tools to manage procurement. Let’s take a look at the basic elements of procurement, and how different organizations and systems approach this vital function. What is procurement?
Unicorn companies all have different origin stories, but most growth paths share a similar landscape, one that is covered with obstacles and navigated at a breakneck pace — straining people, processes, and systems. Things get done reactively, with ad hoc procedures developed to keep moving. Even after reaching unicorn status, the resulting chaos isn’t sustainable, can easily lead to burnout, and may not support continued growth.
Your single source of truth needs good data to live up to its title. As companies increasingly rely on transaction software to handle certain operations outside of the ERP, strong integrations from these systems to the ERP are essential for efficient and accurate ledger bookings. However, finance teams are inevitably plagued by errors as data fails to flow accurately, completely, or from one system to another.
SuiteWorld has massive potential for new connections, growth, and learning. But, it’s also just HUGE. With some research, you don’t have to waste time trying to figure it all out once you arrive. A conference pass isn’t cheap, so you don’t want a lack of planning to keep you from getting the best experience possible. In a digital age, you can’t beat these opportunities to physically connect with relevant vendors and other professionals in your field.
Not long ago, the entrepreneurial landscape was filled with the sparkling allure of unicorn companies — those who reached an impressive $1B valuation. But in 2023, the unicorn narrative feels a bit more like a fairy tale, and the once-vibrant “unicorn economy” has shifted its focus on to emphasizing resilience and runway preservation. As conditions for funding grow stricter, the old adage of “hold on to what you’ve got” has never felt more relevant.
The COVID-19 pandemic, an economic slowdown, more restricted access to capital — for many organizations, the last few years have been marked by quick pivots and continual re-forecasting. This uncertainty and fast pace of change have laid bare the limitations of the traditional monthly close. Fast responses demand accurate and up-to-date data. As a result, more and more finance teams now realize the advantages of a continuous close, sometimes called a “rolling close.
Prospective unicorns focus on rapidly scaling their business to reach the elusive $1B valuation. However, in that rush, their infrastructure typically progresses in a painfully inadequate and often disorganized manner. Systems and processes are continually straining and require updating to respond to the ever-shifting demands created by growth. Effective change management recognizes that these changes, even positive ones, can be disruptive for employees.
For many mid-market companies, it’s a little early to staff a procurement department. At Airbase, I’m the controller of a 300-person tech company without a dedicated procurement professional, so the responsibility to ensure that the procurement function is being fulfilled (policy compliance and vendor management) falls to me. Even in the absence of full procurement teams and legacy solutions, there are still steps that can help us controllers adhere to procurement best practices.
In our recent Path to Becoming a CFO session, former Drift CFO, Jim Kelliher, repeatedly touched on the delicate art of negotiation. Perhaps the most striking example was when host Jeff Epstein, Partner at Bessemer Ventures, asked what it was like to take LogMeIn public shortly after the banking crisis of 2008. After a long delay due to the tumult in the financial world, the company was one of only four technology IPOs in 2009.
For most unicorns, the average time from initial concept to the coveted $1B+ valuation is about seven years. Over that time, these companies go through many rapid stages of evolution. In this often chaotic push for growth, the prime focus is on obvious revenue drivers, like product development and creating a scaled go-to-market motion. Unless they are a hardware company, having an optimum procurement system is not a typical priority in those early growth stages.
A recent survey of global CFOs identified risk controls and compliance as top concerns for 2023 — right behind cash flow. So, here’s the dilemma: finding the right balance to enforce compliant spending without slowing down or frustrating employees. It’s a difficult balance to achieve. Consider this scenario: A procurement executive wants to improve company-wide compliance with purchasing policies, so they invest in a highly engineered, sophisticated procurement solution.
Although personal travel is taking off this summer, business travel is having a more challenging time gaining altitude. Some industry analysts say that it could be well into 2025 before demand returns to pre-pandemic levels. Continued economic uncertainty has organizations carefully balancing budgets and benefits when it comes to corporate travel. But the cost of travel’s carbon footprint is an increasingly important factor in assessing corporate travel cost benefit.
Optimizing your financial systems to meet your company’s evolving needs is not just a matter of implementing new software. “People and processes need updating as well when it comes to processes evolving,” Reuben Cook of Squire told Airbase CFO Aneal Vallurupalli at a recent What I Wish Knew session, The value of consolidating systems and processes. As Partner, CFO Services at Squire, Reuben works with companies through their transformative growth phases to establish best practices.
Calculating a return on investment for new software purchases is a good way to make decisions about where to spend your time and capital. It quantifies the benefits resulting from the software’s use and can therefore serve as a metric to compare the relative value of different projects. To use it for comparison purposes, however, requires consistency of measurement across solutions, even when measurement can be difficult.
As companies grow, the number of stakeholders in the purchasing process increases, which makes approval workflows and oversight responsibilities more complex. At the same time, because compliance, audit, and security requirements can become more stringent, more information is required to ensure requests to spend company money are compliant. Airbase’s Guided Procurement module solves these problems by adding greater visibility into, and control over, all purchasing requests.
You’ve made certain that every operating unit has clear policies to control the risks that are created when employees engage a vendor and agree to pay for products and services. Some examples of these policies might include: Finance has clear expense policies in place, including what documentation is required and who needs to approve new purchases. IT requires SOC reports for new software vendors.
If you’re like most finance professionals right now, you’re keeping a close eye on spending. But at the same time, you’re aware of research that shows companies that invest in technology to improve efficiency and productivity are more likely to survive economic downturns. You’re also busy adjusting budgets and forecasts in response to ever-changing market conditions.
The rapidly evolving spend management market is once again experiencing a breakout moment. As the category leader and pioneer, Airbase is the first and only spend management platform to now offer Guided Procurement — intake functionality for all purchasing. This innovation expands the capabilities of spend management to include the beginning of the purchasing lifecycle, as employees first enter a request to spend company money.
Are you still getting value from the expense management or bill payment software you purchased a few years ago? Do your users actually use the software? Do they find it intuitive, pleasant to use, and efficient? Is your original business case holding up in this new era of high interest rates and a competitive labor market? If your answer is no to any or all of these questions, I have some very good news for you.
TL;DR: In the wake of a banking crisis, cyberattacks are on the rise, especially relating to change of accounts. Vigilance and careful practices are the first and most important lines of defense. The transaction software you use for payables is key to identifying and thwarting attacks. Airbase provides additional levels of security that can be especially helpful in this environment.
Airbase is the highest-ranked mid-market spend management platform on G2 for the fourth quarter in a row! We hold the coveted top position on the Mid-Market Grid ® Report for Spend Management, Spring 2023. G2 classifies mid-market companies as those with 51 to 1,000 employees. And we hold the number two position overall for spend management, right behind Navan, who sits in the #1 spot for the Enterprise Grid.
Michael Scarpelli’s career path has been as unique as the snowflakes his company is named for. From a stint in Italy, to uncovering extensive fraud, and taking three prominent companies public — including the biggest SaaS IPO in history — his wide range of experiences made for a fascinating Path to Becoming a CFO session. Launching a career. The possibility of travel was initially what drew Michael to finance.
Is your finance team getting the love and attention they deserve? Typically overworked and underappreciated, finance teams are a serious flight risk. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reports that more than 300,000 accountants and auditors quit over the last two years, and the effects of those losses can be significant. Staffing problems in the finance department can impact an entire company.
Invoice automation is the process of automating the creation, management, and processing of invoices. The goal of invoice automation is to streamline and automate the invoice process, reducing the time and resources required to manage invoices manually. Benefits of invoice automation. There are several benefits to using invoice automation software, including: Increased efficiency.
According to the Global Corporate Treasury Survey , treasury departments increasingly recognize the strategic nature of their role. The survey revealed that the majority of participants consider “managing liquidity risk and overseeing financial risk management” to be crucial priorities. Additionally, improving cash forecasting and streamlining operations are significant concerns.
Airbase’s webinar, “Balancing cash flow and growth in an uncertain environment,” began with a telling stat. When asked how many times they’d revised their forecast in the last 12 months, 44% of attendees said they’d had to do it more than three times. Speakers Alex Clayton of Meritech Capital and Airbase CFO, Aneal Vallurupalli, weren’t at all surprised.
Kelly Hicks and Robin Sharma share advice after Airbase successfully completes its first external audit. Few milestones in a company’s lifecycle demand a more focused response from finance and accounting than the first external audit. As Airbase recently secured its first, we were curious about the experience and caught up with our frontline players for some insights.
If you’re like most mid-market to early-enterprise companies, you’ve probably built up — or inherited — a number of systems in your financial tech stack to manage spending. The legacy ones include Expensify, bill.com, and Concur. You’ll have a card program like AMEX or SVB, or maybe a software-enabled one like Ramp or Brex. But, in this new era of cost savings and efficiency, the limitations and expense of these point solutions are increasingly clear.
Throughout her career, Gina Mastantuono, CFO at ServiceNow, has consistently sought out opportunities to grow, both as a leader and as a person. “I’m always thinking: how can I add to my resume and beef up my skill set,” she told Jeff Epstein at our recent Path to Becoming a CFO webinar. Her desire to learn has led her across many industries and around the world.
Procure-to-pay (P2P) software originated from the need to oversee the process of acquiring supplies for manufacturing and other industries, and to manage inventory in the retail sector. Procurement has faced numerous challenges in recent years: transportation issues, inflation, labor shortfalls along the supply chain. But organizations can overcome those difficulties and position themselves to grow and thrive — with the help of the right technology.
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