Bento For Business

Can Spend Management Software Be Customized To Fit The Specific Needs Of My Business, Or Is It A One-Size-Fits-All Solution?

Overview

Your business isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s a unique entity with specific nuances that make it the vibrant force it’s evolved into throughout the years.

So, should the tools you use for your business be one-size-fits-all? 

We understand the limitations of the market and budget. It’s not like most businesses can pay for a proprietary piece of tech for every last thing they do. That’s simply not practical.

That said, one-size-fits-all tech doesn’t tend to fit like a proverbial glove. Instead, it can often be like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

What Is The Problem With One-Size-Fits-All Tech?

A problem many companies run into when they purchase a new piece of tech is they let the new tool dictate the terms.

In these instances, your teams’ already-ingrained processes and methods can fall by the wayside. Suddenly, they’re forced to adapt to the technology they don’t enjoy using because it doesn’t mesh with anything they do throughout the day.

Your people shouldn’t have to overhaul their work systems to fit them with a piece of tech–especially not in today’s tech landscape.

In the intro, we pointed out that making proprietary, customized tech isn’t a practical choice. Here’s the thing: you don’t have to make your own technology for it to customize to your specific needs.

Today’s cutting-edge business software solutions are designed to seamlessly blend into your business processes. By making a wise tech investment, you’ll have a product that adapts to your team’s work systems, not the other way around. 

Not All Business Spend Management Software Is Created Equal.

Your software investments are a vital component of your business. These are the tools that drive your productivity and efficiency. Thus, every purchasing decision you make revolving around your workplace tech should be chock full of product research and analysis.

Now, we believe in our product at Bento For Business. We’ll confidently tell you investing in our spend management software is one of the wisest decisions you can make. After all, our comprehensive features are bespoke based on your spend management needs.

All the same, we strongly suggest a rigorous vetting process before you make a final spend management software decision.

Otherwise, it’s possible to end up with spend management software that can’t fully satisfy your business needs.

While cutting-edge/top-tier products can indeed fit your business like a glove, less advanced tech plainly isn’t up to the task. You’ll waste time trying to get your team to buy into inefficient tools that hinder more than help. The outcome can be financially costly and demoralizing–all bad things for your company’s overall outlook.

As such, the answer to the question in the title of this article is yes, business spend management software is customizable–but with a caveat. You must be sure the features and configurations in your spend management software are intuitive and malleable. 

What Is Spend Management Software?

We’ve brought up spend management software in this article–but we haven’t delved into the precise details of what it is. 

Spend management software manages and monitors business expenses unrelated to your payroll. These costs include services (e.g., subscriptions and marketing), raw materials/components, and business travel.  

Top-tier spend management software–like what we offer at Bento–helps garner insights from your organizational spending by gathering and assessing spend data. 

Why Is Customizable Spend Management Software So Important?

Why Is Customizable Spend Management Software So Important?

When you have customizable spend management software–a tool that meshes with what your business does–you’ll easily be able to reap the benefits.

Shoring up your business spending inefficiencies is part and parcel with those benefits mentioned above.

Those inefficiencies–or weaknesses–in company spending take a vast chunk from your hard-earned revenue.

According to studies, a lack of control over business spend management can cost you 2% of your bottom line. That might seem meager at a glance. Yet, the more money your company pulls in, the more substantial the 2% becomes. 

Say your business earns $20,000,000 in revenue next year. Inefficiencies with your business spend management could conceivably cost you $400,000. Think about what you could do with that money!

These are the unseen details that can make or break a business. 

For comparison, ponder this subject through the lens of your personal spending habits. In today’s day and age, we pay for subscription after subscription online. These could be for magazines, gaming, streaming services, fitness apps, etc. We often forget about these services, or we just plain don’t use them–and we don’t cancel.

These subscription costs pile up. They’re molehills that turn into a mountain. One subscription is meager in price, but ten different subscriptions you don’t use can hinder your personal wealth in the big picture. It’d be one thing if you were at least using the description–but you’re paying for nothing.

Now, let’s circle back to your business. There’s a potential for far more significant inefficiencies than a few subscriptions you’ve forgotten. You’re dealing with endless moving parts and spending scenarios where weaknesses might exist. Thus, customizable business spend management software becomes integral.

This software flags inefficiencies before they can cost you money. It eliminates much of the manual work that would otherwise be required to properly track the money coming in and out. 

From there, you can then ensure every dollar you’re spending focuses on expenditures that generate substantial returns. 

Eliminating Paper-Based And Manual Approaches.

Around one-third of businesses (and 38% of larger organizations) continue to combine manual processes, spreadsheets, and paper for spend management. 

Going a paper-based and manual route used to be a company’s only choice–but now it isn’t. Moreover, it’ll serve your company best to run as far away from these more antiquated solutions as to avoid the following pitfalls:

  • Increased chances of fraud (due to bad actors falsifying expense reports).
  • Human errors with data entry.
  • Pulling you and your team away from other core business functions.

Are you one of the almost-33% of businesses still relying on paper-based processes for spend management? It’s time to move forward and take a giant leap into the future.

How Can Customizable Spend Management Software Save Your Company Money?

Will spend management software on its own be the crucial difference-maker that sets your business apart?

That’s a loaded question–but spend management software can be a crucial role player in your organization. 

After all, managing spending is only one way to cut out inefficient expenditures. A more comprehensive strategy is required to ensure each dollar your company invests is dedicated to driving profits.

Here’s how Bento’s bespoke spend management software can help bolster your company’s cost savings:

  • Placing limits on global transactions.
  • Enforcing daily spend limits.
  • Restricting merchant categories.
  • Seamlessly turning misplaced/lost cards off and on. 

At Bento, on average, our customers reduce 15% of their spending by moving onto our platform. This involves retiring their outdated business cards and petty cash and implementing our virtual/corporate cards.

Think about the potential difference those savings can make. Your business will be far more secure with extra cash flow. Moreover, you can be more aggressive in hiring high-value employees and with marketing campaigns since you’ll have the money to do so. 

Maximize Your Time With Spend Management Software.

Studies indicate that wasted time in the workplace amounts to $5,720 down the drain per employee. Time truly is money.

We’ll assume that you’ve hired the best people for each job in your workplace. Moreover, you’re compensating them well for the high-quality work they do. Your staff is likely doing everything in their power to be efficient and not waste an ounce of effort. They grasp that heightened productivity typically means a bolstered bottom line for your company.

Your team can’t overcome inefficient processes that impede their productivity. Fortunately, Bento’s spend management software saves time through the following features:

  • Offering customized controls for each card’s specifications.
  • Eliminating the workflow approval process.
  • Real-time transaction monitoring
  • Expedited expense report generation.

You and your team have created something unique at your company. Harness your organization’s strengths and reduce weaknesses with Bento’s spend management software. With our customizable tool, everyone can focus their energy on the tasks most crucial to driving profits and productivity–and not on nagging spend management details. 

Bento Offers Customizable, Easy-To-Use Spend Management Software.

Bento Offers Customizable, Easy-To-Use Spend Management Software.

Being customizable is one thing. Being easily customizable is a whole different story. Any given new-fangled software could do wonders for your business if you know how to use it. A lot of the time, though, ease of use is nonexistent.

Fortunately, Bento is as easy to customize as it is to use. Implementation is straightforward, and the associated learning curve is minimal.

Plus, if you have any initial hurdles, our passionate support team will provide immediate solutions to set you on a thriving path.