As an accountant, do you dread the end of the month when it's time to manually upload your credit card statements and chase your employees for receipts?

You're not alone. Credit card reconciliations can be time-consuming and frustrating. But there is a simpler way to streamline your credit card expense management: real-time credit card feeds.

How are Real-Time Feeds Different From Statement Uploads?

Real-time credit card feeds directly connect to credit card networks like Mastercard and Visa to bring transaction data into your expense management system the second a transaction happens. This eliminates the dependence on banks for statements and constant back and forths with employees for receipts to reconcile. 

With statement uploads, the process involves downloading credit card statements from your bank account at the end of the month and uploading them manually into your expense management software (EMS.) This process has  a lot of repetitive work, like sending out reminders to your employees to submit receipts to reconcile their out-of-pocket expenses.

Why Should Businesses Move Away From Statement Uploads?

With statement uploads

• Accountants can only bring credit card transaction data into an expense management software by constantly uploading monthly statements. This process can be time-consuming, inefficient, and error-prone.

• The delay between when a transaction is made and when the statement is available can lead to several problems, including:

• Lost receipts: Employees may be more likely to lose receipts if they do not have access to them in a timely manner. This can make reconciling expenses difficult and lead to errors in financial reporting.

• Delayed reconciliations: If it takes a long time to receive statements, it can also take a long time to reconcile expenses. This can lead to late payments and make tracking spend difficult.

• Inaccurate financial forecasts: If your expense data is inaccurate, your financial forecasts will also be inaccurate. This can lead to poor decision-making and can impact your financial bottom line.

• Missed opportunities to optimize spending: If you do not have access to real-time data, you may not be able to identify areas where you can cut costs or save money. 

• Increased risk of fraud: You may be more vulnerable to fraud if you do not have a system to track expenses closely. For example, an employee could submit fraudulent expenses if they know it will take a long time to review their expenses.

As a result, accountants cannot close books on time as they must wait for credit card statements, upload them, gather and match receipts, and resolve errors manually.

But with real-time credit card feeds 

• Direct integrations with credit card networks like Mastercard and Visa allow businesses to get their credit card transaction data as soon as a transaction happens. This real-time data can be used to track and control spend, reconcile transactions automatically, efficiently track budgets, and instantly identify fraudulent activity.

• Instant receipt tracking and automated reconciliations eliminate the need for any manual effort freeing employees to focus on their work and allowing accountants to close books on time.

Why Fyle’s Real-time Credit Card Feeds Are Better Than Statement Uploads

Fyle is a modern expense management solution that integrates directly with Visa and Mastercard, so you don't have to rely on your bank or card program. This gives you a single view of all your expenses, so you can track spend, identify trends, and make better financial decisions. 

How Fyle’s Real-time Feeds Compare Against Statement Uploads For Your Everyday Tasks

1. Receipt submissions

• Statement uploads result in delayed receipt submissions

Employees and accountants are forced to wait until the credit card statement is available to reconcile expenses. This can lead to lost receipts, mismatched expenses, and error-ridden reconciliations. 

Without instant spend notifications, accountants would also need to manually reach out to employees for receipt submissions and keep following up until they do so. This is a tedious process for both employees and accountants.

• Fyle gives you instant receipt submissions

With Fyle, Employees get notified via SMS as soon as they swipe their corporate credit card, often while they're still at the point of sale (POS). They can reply to the text with a picture of the receipt, and Fyle will automatically match it to the correct card transaction. This has led to a 48.7% increase in timely receipt submissions for businesses that use Fyle!

2. Credit card reconciliations

Statement uploads lead to manual, error-prone reconciliations

Accountants are forced to wait on the bank to make credit card statements available before they can manually upload them. This process is time-consuming and error-prone, leading to delays in reconciliation and an increased risk of fraud.

Fyle automates reconciliations without manual intervention

Fyle's real-time feeds for Visa & Mastercard business cards allow for instant reconciliation of transaction data with receipt data. This means that what used to take weeks with statement uploads can now be done in a few seconds with Fyle.

3. Visibility and financial forecasting

Statement uploads cause information delays and inaccurate forecasts 

Statement uploads come with significant delays and lack information like pending transactions from the bank leading to limited financial insights and inaccurate forecasting.

Fyle gives you real-time and up-to-date information for accurate forecasts

Accountants can directly integrate with credit card networks, providing them with up-to-date transaction data. This data can be used to track budgets and cash flow, identify spend patterns, and make data-driven financial decisions.

4. Compliance and fraud detection

Statement uploads delay compliance checks 

Transaction details come in weekly or monthly, making it nearly impossible to curb unauthorized spend and policy violations. 

Fyle gives you real-time compliance 

Fyle uses real-time policy checks to detect fraudulent spend instantly and notify accountants. This makes it easier to curb unauthorized spend and protect your business from financial loss.

5. Closing books 

Statement uploads cause delays in the financial closing process

Accountants cannot close books on time because they must wait for credit card statements, upload them, gather and match receipts, resolve errors, and reconcile transactions manually.

Fyle lets you close books on time with ease

Accountants can close books on time due to instant receipt-tracking and automated reconciliations, which leads to the timely submission of expense reports, eliminating the need for manual work. 

Further reading:

• Real-Time Credit Card Feeds for the Construction Industry

In Conclusion

Real-time credit card feeds are here, and it’s changing how accountants work. Gain instant access to transaction data without changing your existing credit cards. This is the new standard for card expense management, and see how real-time feeds can help you streamline your expense management process.

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