Automated Expense and Timesheet ManagementThe pressure on companies to become ever 'leaner' and optimize business processes is higher than ever. Investors demanding higher profits, customer's demands for lower prices and greater quality and regulators demand for better controls and more transparency force organizations to improve, optimize and streamline their entire business process. The benefit of streamlining these processes has an immediate positive impact on bottom line. The Improvements within manufacturing, including just in time production and material management have dramatically improved bottom line.
While focus on optimizing logistic and production processes remains strong, optimization of administrative costs need similar attention. Companies actually realize productivity levels in their administrative sections today that are lower than before introduction of IT solutions. The higher use of IT systems, while improving amount and availability of information, is not being strategically used to lower costs associated with administrative function.
The vision of a 'Real Time Enterprise' allows companies to instantly utilize available information from within and from outside organization to enable management to act instead of react to changing conditions. To become ever leaner and more flexible, companies need to optimize, streamline and automate business processes throughout organization including their administrative functions. Many organizations today are structured as project offices and use project portfolio management to run their business units. This approach has unleashed unknown resources and optimization capabilities never before realized. Using this project approach allows companies to implement a set of proven controls and best practices to reap benefits of streamlined processes.
One of control mechanisms to be implemented is automated timesheet and expense management. Automated, IT based timesheet and expense management will allow for efficient, optimized and timely reporting of project resource allocation and spending. Additionally, it increases accuracy of collected data. In light of pressure coming from government and regulatory agencies, e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, this would solve an important compliance issue for a company.