From field workers battling overflowing wallets to accountants wrestling with mountains of crumpled paper, the journey from purchase to reimbursement is a potholed road paved with frustration and inefficiency.
To assess the true cost of this paper chase, we spoke with our customers in the construction industry to understand their struggles with receipt submission and collection. We uncovered a treasure trove of insights, ready to be shared with you. So, let's dive in!
Reasons field workers end up submitting receipts late
Not their primary job
While completing tasks on-site is the core responsibility of field workers, collecting, safeguarding, and submitting receipts is perceived as an added burden. This seemingly "extra" task is often perceived as time-consuming and tedious, deterring field workers from submitting receipts on time.
No easy way to track and save receipts
With no one easy way to help field workers store and track receipts of their purchases, the current system slows them down with chores like:
- Receipt hoarding: Field workers have to save receipts, resulting in wallets cluttered with crumpled and fading scraps.
- Trek to HQ: Every few days, field workers must embark on a pilgrimage to the office to surrender their papery bounty.
Too many receipts spread across projects
Construction field workers juggle a complex ecosystem of costs. Every purchase – from lumber to lunch, reimbursable to card expenses – lands in their pockets, multiplying the number of receipts they need to keep track of. Additionally, reporting these expenses becomes an uphill climb, shrouded in the fog of misplaced receipts and forgotten details.
Find it hard to adapt to new tech
Many field workers have yet to embrace the digital revolution with open arms. The idea of scanning receipts or fiddling with smartphone expense apps doesn't resonate. For them, a crumpled receipt tucked in a pocket is far more familiar than a sleek interface. This comfort often translates into resistance to change, creating a hurdle for companies seeking to implement digital means to track and submit receipts.
The impact of late receipt submissions
Chasing employees for receipts
Managing receipts with constantly moving construction workers is a logistical nightmare. Accountants spend hours chasing elusive scraps of paper, sending supervisors on wild goose chases to job sites, or simply lamenting lost and damaged receipts. This inefficient paper shuffle wastes time and resources, adding hidden costs and reporting nightmares to every project.
Difficulty in organizing receipts
Even if accountants manage to get the receipts, they're usually in bad condition and submitted inconveniently. This makes organizing receipts a whole new challenge. Coding these receipts to Project, Cost type, Cost code, and Billable expenses becomes a nightmare. Folders overflow, staples surrender to rust, and the constant specter of lost receipts casts a long shadow, threatening audits and financial chaos.
No visibility into spend/spend information
For construction accountants, financial foresight feels like staring into a fog. Their budget estimates are built on trust and wishful thinking, hoping the crumpled receipts are eventually handed over by field workers.
Delayed employee receipt submissions create significant bottlenecks for accountants, impacting the entire reconciliation workflow, closing books, client billing, and project budgeting. Consequently, addressing the issue of timely receipt submission and collection is a critical priority for the construction industry in 2024.
How Fyle fastens receipt collection by 5x
For employees
Fyle understands that your field workers may often work out of remote locations that require them to come into the office to drop off piles of receipts. We also know your field workers may be averse to using apps or other tech to submit receipts.
This is why Fyle created receipt submission via text messages - the perfect solution that ensures:
- Zero learning curve for field workers and accountants.
- 100 % faster adoption among your field workers.
- Easy app-less experience for those who want to minimize app-usage.
Field workers can just text their credit card and reimbursable receipts to Fyle. Fyle will check if there's a matching card expense and auto-match or create a new expense. Users of any Visa and Mastercard spend also get instant text notifications as and when spend happens. Employees simply have to snap a picture and text it to Fyle, and the rest is handled: no more paper chase or problems around storing or losing receipts.
For accountants
Receipt collection on steroids? You bet! With Fyle, accountants can collect receipts 5x faster, obliterating the "chaser accountant" narrative and making receipt collection truly a breeze. Fyle also automatically codes and matches receipts to Category/GL accounts, Projects, Cost codes, and Cost types, ensuring accuracy and eliminating frustration.
And the best part? Fyle plays nice with your existing systems. Its seamless integration with various accounting software like Sage Intacct, Sage Intacct for Construction, Sage 300 CRE, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, and more ensures data flows effortlessly, with no clunky exports or messy imports. Just pure accounting efficiency.
Conclusion
The construction industry is a powerful engine driving progress, but its reliance on archaic paper-based systems impedes efficiency and profitability. Receipt submission and collection are notable examples of tasks in which accountants and field workers invest time and effort despite it not being their primary responsibility. But it doesn't have to be this way.
Imagine a world where:
- Field workers: Snap pictures and text receipts in seconds, with no need for hoarding or manually dropping off receipts in the office.
- Accountants: Collect receipts 5x faster without chasing employees, eliminate hours of manual data entry, and enjoy real-time visibility into project costs.
You can make this a reality with Fyle. Schedule a demo today!
