Retail Management: How ProSpend Expense Management Can Help

If you’re wondering how expense management systems help retail companies, read along! Contrary to what some may think, expense management doesn’t only help enterprises, but it can help various industries, of all sizes, as well: education organisations, events companies and—yup—retail companies. Let’s dive into these two case studies on how ProSpend has helped its Australia retail company clients with better expense and retail finance management.

How ProSpend Has Helped Billini Shoes

Last year, we published a case study featuring Billini Shoes and how our services helped their retail expenses.

Billini Shoes, a women’s fashion footwear and accessory brand, was looking for a system that is user-friendly and would increase the efficiency of its finance staff in terms of how to manage expenses. They share that ProSpend has exceeded their expectations and provided a functional solution.

Wendy Small, the financial controller at Billini Shoes, shares that it was easy to integrate ProSpend’s expense management tool into their finance system, Apparel21. “The whole process was completed in under 6 weeks,” says Wendy.

Features That Helped Billini Shoes

What exactly does ProSpend have that helped Billini Shoes become the efficient company that it is today? Here are four features:

1. Intuitive user interface

ProSpend’s user interface is easy to understand and implement. The intentional process design ensures that it’s easily accessible by anyone. After a quick user training session, the staff of Billini Shoes easily understood the procedure of capturing receipts and submitting claims.

2. Efficient customer service

The interface may already be easy to understand, but ProSpend still won’t leave you hanging. A dedicated implementation consultant will thoroughly walk you through the overall schedule while keeping your requirements and requests in mind.

ProSpend also provides both pre- and post-go-live support where you can easily reach the customer success team.

3. Receipt capture

With ProSpend, Billini Shoes was able to do receipt captures in a snap. You simply have to scan a receipt, and the software reads the data for you. Below is a step-by-step guide on how receipt scanning works:

1. 1. 1. An employee makes an out-of-pocket business expense.
      2. They keep the receipt to make a claim later.
      3. They use the expense management software, which is also an app, to “create” a new expense.
      4. This feature allows them to upload a photo of the receipt.
      5. Once the app gets the upload, it automatically detects and collects relevant information from the receipt. This includes the vendor name and the amount the employee spent.
      6. When the app has gotten all the information it needs, the employee can then submit the expense report.

4. Expense claim submission

Thanks to ProSpend’s quick user training sessions, the staff of Billini Shoes easily understood the process of submitting claims. 

The expense report that an employee submits right after receipt capture goes to the company’s admin or finance team who can either accept or reject the claim. They may also ask for more info if needed.

How ProSpend Has Helped Baskin Robbins

A recently published case study talks about how ProSpend has helped Baskin Robbins with the latter’s business spend management. Not only did ProSpend improve Baskin Robbins’s purchase order process. It also promoted better visibility, allowing employees to have more clarity on company procedures.

“We found our previous cash claim system very complex and hard to manage. Our aim with joining ProSpend was to simplify the process as we acknowledge that many of the teams were on the move,” said a senior financial accountant at Baskin Robbins.

Features That Helped Baskin-Robbins

As you can probably already tell, ProSpend features do not only help a specific industry. From clothing companies to food companies, ProSpend helps a wide range of retail businesses. Here are the specific features that helped Baskin-Robbins.

1. Purchase orders

ProSpend has given Baskin-Robbins the ability to seamlessly track and raise purchase orders and approvals. Users of the platform can make purchase orders quickly and conveniently, with the platform being available on both desktop and mobile.

2. Visibility

ProSpend has given them a greater understanding of the purchase order process. They get to see time stamps which are great for accountability as well.

3. Quicker process

ProSpend takes pride in the way it makes processes quicker and easier. The customer mentioned that they now spend less time on cash claims, approvals, and reimbursement—all thanks to ProSpend’s easy process.

4. Integrations

ProSpend’s integration with accounting software allows businesses to quickly track transactions and supporting documents related to payments.

How ProSpend Can Help Your Retail Business

Apart from the awesome features mentioned above, ProSpend also has several other aspects that can help your retail business.

1. Compliance and audit

With ProSpend, you can be sure of compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements. This lessens your company’s risk of fraud and overspending. Plus, you get to easily do audits with checks and flags, which can spot if expenses are out of the ordinary.

2. Tracking budgets

ProSpend’s budget module gives your company visibility so they can make sensible and smart decisions. You get to assign different budgets across different entities with flexible approval workflows.

3. Virtual cards for employees

Virtual cards give you complete control of business spending with real-time visibility. Employees no longer need to use personal cards for business expenses, and you can see what they’re spending in real time.

ProSpend’s tools and features are not limited to just one industry or business. They are flexible to the needs of your company. If you’re thinking of how to improve your retail business spend management and have better control of retail store costs, you can be sure that ProSpend has all that you need!