The evolution of app technology has radically changed the way that marketing and advertising agencies work.

Tech is king, with the average business now using 88 apps per customer according to research from the identity platform, Okta. So if your agency is running a software app stack, why are you not managing your agency expenses in the same way?

As a 21st century agency, you’ll no doubt be using powerful CRM systems, content management tools and email campaign solutions, along with cloud accounting tools like MYOB, QuickBooks or Xero to run your accounts and agency metrics. But what about your company expenses? Are your expense processes still in the dark ages?

Issuing one company credit card for the whole agency is commonplace, and can cover the expense basics. However, when you look at the added benefits of using a digital expense management platform like DiviPay, it’s clear why a centralised expenses solution is the way to go.

3 reasons why traditional corporate cards are not the answer for agency expenses

Sharing the card number with approved employees and having all your expense payments listed on a single statement seems straightforward. In reality, though, there are a number of potential hurdles that make the agency-wide card approach a bad idea. 

• The application process can be slow and problematic – applying for a card through your bank can become a mountain to climb. The process is slow and unwieldy and your bank will make you jump through multiple hoops to qualify for the card. 
• Having multiple subscriptions on one card gets complicated – if every expense, supplier subscription or sundry cost ends up on the one card, it’s extremely difficult to manage these multiple different costs, and track the costs for each area.
• Reporting and oversight of expenses are limited – with a basic credit card bill, you have very little ability to drill down into the details of costs. As the owner or finance manager, your access to meaningful oversight of these expenses is limited in the extreme.

Upgrading to a new expenses methodology

If you’re going to bring your agency finances fully into the digital age, a rethink is needed around the goals of your expense management.

Technology stack and cloud accounting tools provide the streamlined value of direct data integration, automation of low-level processes and real-time reporting on key agency numbers and metrics. Your approach to expenses should be equally tech-savvy and efficient. 

To upgrade the value of your expenses process:

• Allocate each cost area to its own unique card – rather than using a single agency card for multiple subscriptions and costs, use several discrete company cards. This gives you more flexibility, more oversight of costs and more control over overspending

• Centralise the allocation of your agency cards – issue cards straight from your agency HQ, bypassing the slow bank application process and making it easy for approved budget holders to receive funds and manage their own spending.
• Automate and digitise your expenses – relying on a paper trail, manual processes and outdated Excel spreadsheets to manage your agency expenses is a no-no in 2021. Digitise and automate the whole expenses process, from start to finish, and make your reporting more accurate, wider-reaching and (crucially) far faster.

Transform your expenses with DiviPay

At DiviPay, our goal is to make a centralised approach to expense management, using virtual corporate cards, the norm for Australia’s creative and marketing agencies.

Spending hours on expense claims, credit card bills and bank reconciliation is not a good use of your time. We know that you’d rather be focused on client relationships and getting creative. To this end, we’ve created an expenses management platform that gets the job done for you. 

With DiviPay as your expenses platform, you can:

• Instantly issue virtual corporate cards that work straight from your team’s mobile devices.
• Pay and manage expenses via the DiviPay mobile app both online and in-store via Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Easily pause, cancel and reissue a single card if it’s compromised, with one card per subscription.
• Automate expense management process for your teams.
• Control company spending before it happens, with rules and limits on each card.
• Have complete visibility of transactional data as expenses are incurred, allowing early intervention if necessary.

These features don’t just save you time. They also reduce human error, increase your productivity and give you the drilled-down view you need to get in full control of your spending. 

Power up your expenses with DiviPay

Forget about the traditional hassles of expense management, and give your agency more time to meet the demands of winning work and delivering on these briefs.

Access to virtual corporate cards and automation of your expenses management changes the game. An integration with your accounting software makes it easier to update your numbers and simplify the process of reconciling your everyday expenses. Bringing simplicity to expenses is key for any thriving agency. Make that process as smooth as possible with DiviPay. Streamline your agency expenses now with a free DiviPay account for 3 months, exclusive for B&T readers.

Download our FREE guide, ‘7 Tips To Reducing Operational Expenses for SMBs’, to get your agency expenses looking ship-shape.