Automated expense management solutions are a must-have for companies, regardless of whether or not they operate globally. However, for a company with a global presence, there can be certain things to keep in mind when choosing expense management software and solutions.
For example, how will global expense tax regulations be handled? This is just one of the many things that are relevant in this decision-making process.
The following are some things to keep in mind and some features to look for if you’re searching for expense management software with appropriate global functionality.
Languages
Global companies often require expense management tools that are available in multiple languages, which makes it easier for employees and the accounts payable department.
When choosing an expense management solution, you want to not only think about the language support options within the interface itself, but also technical support. Will your global team members be able to get support for the software in their native language?
Taxes and Currencies
Taxes and compliance are big issues when it comes to choosing an expense management solution. First, if a business isn’t fully aware and up-to-date on all tax and regulatory issues in the places they do business, it can cost them.
For example, for a U.S.-based company doing business in Europe, an expense management solution needs to be selected that is going to address VAT and other tax regulations. What are the paper receipt storage rules in Europe versus the U.S., and what are invoicing requirements as it pertains to VAT?
Most global organizations have a presence not only in one other area of the world but many. Keeping track of all of these different tax and compliance issues can be extremely difficult without the right expense management tools.
There needs to be thought to not only how tax and regulatory implications affect business travelers, but also how they affect the company on their end in terms of providing reimbursements and their reporting. Tax and other regulatory guidelines change frequently, and an expense management platform needs to be agile enough to keep up with these changes.
Of course, the importance of support for global currencies can go without saying in terms of the priority that should be placed on this when selecting software.
Implementation
Finally, while a global solution for expense management needs to be sophisticated and advanced, employers are going to need to think about its implementation at the same time. Global employees are going to have varying levels of comfort with technology and are going to respond differently to certain types of training.
A new software rollout can be challenging enough, and for a business that’s introducing something to employees all over the world, even more so.
When choosing software think about how intuitive and user-friendly it is. Will global employees need extensive training to use it? How comfortable are employees in different locations going to be with using the software? Will they be able to fully maximize all of the available features?
