2022 Survey
Why high-growth companies are switching spend management platforms
So we asked 150 finance leaders what they’re looking for in a modern spend management solution. While typical priorities like saving time came to mind as important criteria, 7 out of 10 respondents actually see ease of use as their number-one priority.
Here’s more on what financial decision makers at large and midsize companies are looking for in the ideal spend management solution:
71% of finance leaders prioritize ease of implementation and usability.
Automate manual processes (56%)
Integrate well with ERP and HRIS platforms (51%)
Provide real-time visibility into spend (51%)
Make employee compliance easy (48%)
“As you scale and you grow, the accounting team needs to be able to efficiently administer and manage the program….The automation of the auditing is important — as companies grow larger, they don’t have time to look at every line item.”
— VP/Controller @ Telecommunications Infrastructure Company
61% of finance leaders want better service.
The need for reliable support, essential features, and robust integrations proved to be constants, regardless of company size. However, companies with 500+ employees also cited global compatibility as a key decision-making factor.
For the non-US workforce, that means widespread card acceptance and fast reimbursements. Meanwhile, finance teams want to easily track spending in multiple currencies, eliminating much of the busywork that comes with cross-border business. This way, they can seamlessly manage spend, even when international divisions run on different payroll or accounting systems.
59% of finance leaders want to save time on expenses.
Finance leaders want to build a culture of financial discipline.
So, what does that entail? Decision-makers say a culture of financial discipline:
Encourages employees to “spend the company’s money like they would their own.”
“Helps employees engage in smart decision making to manage spend across departments.”
“Makes team members accountable for their spending by providing accessible tools.”
Enables “complete visibility into spend across the organization and employee recognition as to how their spend affects the entire company.”
“When we bought pizzas for an offsite, our old system required me to add the names of every employee in attendance. That’s a ridiculous level of control.”
— VP of Finance @ Fortune 1000 company
Key takeaways
The number one thing financial leaders look for in a spend management solution is an employee-first approach that delivers exceptional ease of implementation and use.
Financial leaders are looking for four key features from a spend management solution: exceptional service, unlimited integrations, automations, and global compatibility.
They want these features in order to increase financial discipline and compliance, drive efficiency, gain real-time visibility, and empower employees.