Expense Management Statistics Every Business Owner Should Know

As a business owner, understanding expense management trends and statistics is crucial for making informed decisions and optimising your financial processes.

From tracking travel expenses to combating employee fraud, keeping up with the latest statistics can provide valuable insights into industry practices and challenges.

In this blog post, we compile and present essential expense management statistics that every business owner should know.

Average Annual Spend on Travel Expenses ✈️

Travel expenses can significantly impact a business's bottom line, especially for companies that frequently send employees on business trips.

According to a survey conducted by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), UK businesses spend an average of £1,074 per employee per year on travel expenses [1]. This includes costs associated with flights, accommodations, ground transportation, meals, and incidentals.

Understanding this average spend can help businesses set realistic budgets and identify potential areas for cost-saving measures.

Percentage of Businesses That Experience Employee Fraud 😫

Employee fraud can pose a significant threat to a company's financial health.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), occupational fraud accounts for an estimated 5% of a company's annual revenue[2]. This statistic highlights the importance of implementing robust internal controls and regularly monitoring expenses to detect and prevent fraudulent activities.

By utilising expense management tools like Expend, businesses can enforce expense policies, track expenses in real-time, and identify suspicious transactions.

Time Spent on Manual Expense Reporting ✍️

Manual expense reporting processes can be time-consuming and prone to errors. A survey conducted by Certify found that employees spend an average of 20 minutes per expense report[3].

Multiply this by the number of reports submitted each month, and it becomes clear that businesses can benefit significantly from streamlining and automating their expense management processes.

By leveraging digital expense management tools, such as Expend, businesses can reduce the time spent on reporting and increase overall efficiency.

Percentage of Companies That Lack Visibility into Spending 🔎

Maintaining visibility into spending is crucial for financial control and decision-making.

However, a study conducted by the Aberdeen Group revealed that 34% of businesses lack visibility into their overall spending[4]. This lack of visibility can lead to overspending, missed savings opportunities, and difficulty in tracking expenses against budgets.

Implementing a comprehensive expense management solution like Expend can provide real-time visibility into spending, enabling businesses to make proactive financial decisions and drive cost savings.

Benefits of Automating Expense Management 😎

Automating expense management processes offers numerous benefits to businesses.

According to a report by the Aberdeen Group, companies that automate their expense management processes experience a 30% reduction in expense processing costs, a 65% decrease in expense report errors, and a 50% reduction in expense report approval times[5].

These statistics highlight the significant advantages of adopting digital tools like Expend, which streamline expense tracking, automate data entry, and provide accurate real-time reporting.

Start your free trial of Expend today and experience how our comprehensive expense management solution can revolutionise your financial processes.

Streamline your expense tracking, gain real-time visibility, and make informed decisions.

Visit our website to learn more and begin your free trial.

1. Average Annual Spend on Travel Expenses: Reference: GBTA Foundation, "GBTA BTI™ Outlook – United Kingdom," 2019.

2. Percentage of Businesses That Experience Employee Fraud: Reference: Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, "Report to the Nations 2020 Global Study on Occupational Fraud and Abuse."

3. Time Spent on Manual Expense Reporting: Reference: Certify, "Certify 2019 Expense Management Trends Report."

4. Percentage of Companies That Lack Visibility into Spending: Reference: Aberdeen Group, "Expense Management for a New Decade: T&E Strategies for Modern Businesses," 2020.

5. Benefits of Automating Expense Management: Reference: Aberdeen Group, "2018 Expense Management Study: The Convergence of Mobile, Cloud, and Artificial Intelligence," 2018.