Quick wins for finance professionals looking to save time and focus on strategy

The role of the finance professional is shifting. As we try to navigate the economic downturn that 2023 has brought, it’s time to put finance teams in the driver’s seat when it comes to creating a strategy that will save your company money at every turn. 

Our state of spending report 2023 found that UK businesses are increasingly leaning on their CFOs and finance teams to make strategic decisions. An overwhelming 97% of businesses said that the role of their CFO has changed given the current climate – a figure that didn’t drop any lower across the other countries surveyed. We’re seeing more finance professionals put their efforts into operation, technology innovation, compliance and legal, as well as marketing. 

But with hundreds of receipts to chase, dozens of spreadsheets to keep up to date and hours spent trying to locate the shared company card, there simply isn’t enough time in the day for finance teams to do their best work and get the company into a healthier financial position for the uncertain times ahead. 

We’ve put together some handy tips and tricks to help you save time and focus on the work that really matters. 

Automate your expense process

When you think of automation, does a robot stealing your job come to mind? Well, let’s flip that perspective. Instead, automation should be your best friend, especially when it comes to expense management. 

Let’s be frank, you’ve got better things to be doing than chasing receipts. Automating this process doesn't just simplify the entire expense process and give you better spend visibility, it also frees up your time – especially at the end of the month. 

End manual processes with a refreshed tech stack 

On the topic of automating tedious processes and harnessing tools to make your life easier, it’s worth looking into which processes are holding you back on the daily. And then, researching what tools are out there currently that could be your right hand. 

We have a whole eBook dedicated to this very subject, from cleaning up your payroll system to streamlining your invoice’s journey from start to finish.

Simplify (and speed up) strategic decision-making with real-time analytics

There’s a difference between spending valuable time on analysis and wasting valuable time trying to collect scraps of spending data. Instead, opt for a tool that does the heavy lifting for you when it comes to data and spending reports. 

With this kind of insight, you can make better spending and budget forecasting decisions. Having a real-time analytics dashboard is a great way to spot areas you could cut back in, as well as identify monthly or seasonal patterns, so you’re always on top of business spending. 

Digitise your invoicing process, from start to finish 

Bills are a huge part of how companies spend money, and the manual process involved in invoice management doesn’t just swallow time. It also creates stress when it comes to budgeting and managing company cash flow.

Invoices can be tricky business to keep track of and can create an array of problems, from paying the same bill twice or simply missing an invoice payment and being hit with a late payment fee. All these issues are avoidable when you digitise the process. This, in turn, frees up your time so you can focus on turning goals into strategies and plans into action. 

Now’s the time for finance professionals to use their full potential. By digitising tedious processes, not only will you have better oversight of cash flow, but you'll save precious time to focus on the work that really matters. 

Read our full state of spending 2023 report now and make sure your business is prepared for the year ahead.