How to Calculate Your ROI Before Buying Expense Software

Don't Buy Expense Management Software Without Calculating Your ROI First

You're already losing money every week you wait to implement an expense management software ROI calculator. 4+ hours per week spent on receipt approvals translates to $10,900 per year for a single manager. And that's not including the time employees waste on expense submission and error correction. But most sales managers and operations managers don't realize the true cost of manual expense management until it's too late.

And. The average manager spends around 5 hours per week reviewing and approving expenses, while employees spend around 2 hours per week submitting them. This adds up to 7 hours per week, or 364 hours per year, of wasted time that could be spent on revenue-generating activities. But. Expensify, SAP Concur, and other popular expense management software solutions often hide their true costs, making it difficult to calculate a clear ROI.

Contrary to popular belief, most expense management software solutions are not designed with the manager in mind, but rather with the accountant or finance team in mind. This means that the software often prioritizes features like accounting integrations and compliance over time-saving features like instant insights and real-time team spend visibility. But. This is exactly what BlissNeat's AI-powered expense management software provides, saving managers 4+ hours per week and providing a clear ROI.

According to our data, 9 out of 10 managers who implement an expense management software solution do so without calculating their ROI first. And. This can lead to a significant waste of time and money, as the software may not provide the expected benefits. But. By using an expense management software ROI calculator, managers can make a data-driven decision and ensure that they're getting the most out of their investment.

So, how do you calculate your ROI before buying expense management software? In the next section, we'll dive into the ROI formula and provide a step-by-step guide on how to calculate your ROI using specific numbers and real-world examples.

The ROI Formula: Time Saved x Hourly Cost x Team Size x 52 Weeks

And. let's get straight to the point. You're already losing money every week you wait to implement an expense management software. But. most sales managers don't know where to start when calculating their ROI. It's simple: Time saved x hourly cost x team size x 52 weeks. For a 5-person team, this can translate to $10,900 per year in savings, assuming 4 hours saved per week at $50 per hour.

But. here's the thing: most expense management software providers don't want you to calculate your ROI before signing up. They want you to commit to a yearly contract without knowing the actual return on investment. Don't fall for it. Calculate your ROI first, and then decide. For example, if you have 20 employees submitting expenses, and each employee spends 1 hour per week on expense submission, that's 20 hours per week at $25 per hour, or $26,000 per year in potential savings.

Input 1: Manager Hours/Week on Expense Tasks

And. let's start with the most obvious input: manager hours per week on expense tasks. If you're spending 4 hours per week approving receipts, that's 4 hours you could be spending on sales strategy or team development. With BlissNeat, you can save up to 4 hours per week, or $10,900 per year, assuming $50 per hour. But. what if you could save even more? What if you could automate 90% of your expense approval workflow, freeing up even more time for high-leverage activities?

Input 2: Employee Hours/Week on Expense Submission

But. employee hours per week on expense submission are often overlooked. If each employee spends 30 minutes per week submitting expenses, that's 10 hours per week for a 20-person team, or $13,000 per year in potential savings, assuming $25 per hour. And. with BlissNeat's 1-click approval workflow, you can reduce employee time spent on expense submission by up to 75%.

And. here's a contrarian claim: most companies are better off implementing an expense management software without integrating it with their accounting system first. Why? Because integration can be complex and time-consuming, and may not be necessary for small to medium-sized teams. With BlissNeat, you can start using the software immediately, and integrate it with QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, or SAP Concur later, if needed.

But. don't just take our word for it. Our trial users have reported an average time savings of 4.2 hours per week, with some users reporting up to 6 hours per week in savings. And. with our 30-day free trial, you can calculate your own ROI and see the savings for yourself. Start your free trial today and start saving time and money.

Practical Details to Calculate Your ROI

But. most sales managers don't have time to waste on complicated ROI calculations. You need a simple, straightforward approach to determine whether expense management software is worth the investment. The ROI formula is: Time saved x hourly cost x team size x 52 weeks. Let's break it down into four key inputs:

• Input 1: Manager hours/week on expense tasks. For a 5-person team, this might be 2 hours/week. For a 20-person team, it could be 8 hours/week.
• Input 2: Employee hours/week on expense submission. This might be 1 hour/week per employee, depending on the complexity of your expense submission process.
• Input 3: Error correction costs. On average, correcting a single expense report error can cost $25. If you have 10 errors per week, that's $250/week.
• Input 4: Compliance risk reduction value. This is harder to quantify, but a common estimate is 1% of total annual expenses. For a 20-person team with $1 million in annual expenses, that's $10,000/year.

Using these inputs, let's calculate the ROI for a 5-person team, a 20-person team, and a 50-person team. For a 5-person team with 2 hours/week of manager time and 1 hour/week of employee time, the total time saved per week is 3 hours. With an hourly cost of $50, that's $150/week x 52 weeks = $7,800/year. Add error correction costs and compliance risk reduction value, and the total ROI is $10,300/year.

And. you can start calculating your own ROI right now. Sign up for a free trial and see how much time you can save with automated expense management. The most common objection to implementing new software is "it's too complicated" or "it will take too long to set up". But. with a 30-day free trial and no credit card required, you can test the waters without committing to a lengthy implementation process.

A common mistake is to underestimate the time spent on expense management. On average, managers spend 4+ hours/week on receipt approvals alone. By automating this process, you can save $10,900/year. Don't let expense management eat into your profits – calculate your ROI and start saving time and money today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Calculate Your ROI, Start Saving Time

And. you now know how to calculate the ROI of expense management software. But. most managers wait until after signing up to think about return on investment - a mistake that costs 4+ hours per week, or $10,900 per year.

A contrarian claim: you're better off without expense management software if it doesn't save you at least 2 hours per week. Anything less, and the costs outweigh the benefits. With BlissNeat, our trial users have reported an average time savings of 4.2 hours per week.

Ready to calculate your own ROI? Start your 30-day free trial - no credit card required. See how much time you can save with instant insights, real-time team spend visibility, and 1-click approval workflow. Every week you wait is money lost - you're already losing $209 per week by not using BlissNeat.

• Sign up now and start saving time
• No credit card required for 30-day free trial
• Calculate your ROI and see the benefits for yourself

Start your free trial today and stop losing money every week - every week of delay equals $209 lost.