If you rely on broken and delayed bank feeds for credit card reconciliations, you know just how painful and difficult managing credit card expenses can be. We wanted to understand how this would change if businesses had access to their credit card transactions in real-time. 

We asked eight business leaders, including CPAs and other CXOs, to share their thoughts on real-time credit card transaction feeds and if they had any advice on how businesses can leverage this technology to manage their expenses better.

Here’s what they had to say.

Business Leaders Imagine A World With Real-Time Credit Card Feeds 

Daily Monitoring for Strategic Decisions

Meg Wheeler, CPA and Founder of Equitable Money Project, talks about how real-time feeds can help with real-time monitoring of business expenses to make data-driven business decisions. 

“I advise my clients to look at their money every day, so having real-time transaction feeds is a great way to know exactly what is happening with your business card expenses. Ignoring your numbers doesn't work because you cannot grow what you don’t know.

‍Checking your money every day allows you to think strategically about your spending and revenue generation. The bottom line is that we need real-time access to our data so we can make better financial decisions in our businesses.”

Increased Accuracy And Reliability Of Financial Reporting

Miles Brooks, Director of Tax Strategy, CoinLedger, shares how he thinks real-time feeds can improve the accuracy and credibility of financial reporting. 

“Real-time feeds enable businesses to get an immediate snapshot of the current expenses, making it more accurate to budget and develop a financial plan. These feeds also reduce the chance of errors and duplication, making it easier to notice any unusual transactions and flag fraudulent transactions.

‍They also help a business comply with tax compliance as you can record deductible expenses and substantiate them, reducing the risk of penalties. So besides enhancing expense management, real-time transaction feeds can also increase the accuracy and reliability of financial reporting.” 

Proactive Cost Management with Real-Time Feeds

Susannah Harmon, VP of Finance, CarTitleLoans123, with her expertise in credit and lending, shares how she thinks real-time feeds enable businesses to engage in proactive cost management. 

I can confidently assert the immense value of real-time transaction feeds on credit cards for businesses. They empower us to set spending limits and restrictions for different departments or employees, ensuring budgetary adherence and preventing overspending. This proactive approach to cost management is a game-changer.

Furthermore, real-time expense categorization and analysis enable strategic resource allocation. I, for one, love it.

Enhanced Financial Control and Simplified Reconciliation

As a CFO experienced in handling US-based company finances, Shawn Plummer, CEO of The Annuity Expert, shares how he thinks RTF can provide enhanced financial control and also simplify credit card reconciliation. 

Real-time feeds provide instant spending visibility, enabling businesses to track expenses as they happen. This not only reduces overspending but also allows for timely detection of unauthorized or suspicious transactions. Real-time credit card feeds can streamline reconciliation, minimize errors, and ensure policy compliance. 

‍Moreover, it empowers finance teams to make prompt budget adjustments. In today's dynamic business world, real-time transaction feeds are an indispensable tool for financial management, offering transparency, efficiency, and cost savings.

Holding Vendors Accountable and Promoting Sustainability

Josh Prigge, Company Owner, Sustridge, shares how real-time feeds can help in holding vendors accountable and promoting sustainability.

Instant transaction data allows businesses to hold vendors accountable for billing discrepancies right away. This is crucial for procurement officers and accountants who manage multiple vendor relationships.

‍Additionally, as a sustainability expert, I see the value in digital, real-time reporting over traditional paper statements. It's an eco-conscious choice that also speeds up expense tracking—a double win for organizations aiming for sustainability.

Enhancing Transparency and Facilitating Adjustments

Meredith Lepore, Content Strategist/Editor/Writer, Credello shares how real-time feeds can enhance transparency and help facilitate budget adjustments. 

Real-time feeds enhance financial transparency, enable better fraud detection, streamline reconciliation, and facilitate timely budget adjustments. 

For example, imagine a CFO notices a sudden spike in travel expenses mid-month, which is well above the budgeted amount. With real-time transaction data, they can quickly identify the cause – perhaps a sales team unexpectedly had to attend a critical client meeting. This immediate insight allows the CFO to adjust budgets accordingly or authorize the expense in real time rather than waiting until the end of the month.

‍Such proactiveness in expense management ensures that the company's financial resources are allocated optimally, preventing overspending and enabling rapid decision-making.

Detailed Logs for Monthly Expense Reviews

Trevor Ewen, COO, QBench, shares how real-time feeds can provide detailed logs for monthly expense reviews. 

It's incredibly useful. I do a monthly expense review, and since everything goes through our corporate card, the detailed transaction log helps me determine what is happening at a very granular level. For this kind of review, it's much better than our accounting system.

Improving Tax Preparation and Budgeting Practices

Carly Hill, Operations Manager, Virtual Holiday Party, shares how real-time feeds can improve tax preparation and budgeting.

Tax season for US-based companies can be daunting, but real-time feeds provide CXOs, accountants, and CPAs with a comprehensive view of corporate card transactions throughout the year, facilitating accurate tax return preparation.

Additionally, businesses gain deeper insights into employee spending, enabling them to monitor unauthorized purchases and make timely adjustments. Live data also enhances budget control by allowing businesses to identify expenditure trends quickly and allocate resources accordingly.

What If We Told You Real-Time Feeds Is Now Real?

Fyle's product roadmap is meticulously crafted to address our customers' pain points and challenges. We’ve listened and made real-time credit card feeds on any business credit card into a tangible reality.

Fyle connects directly to credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard, to bring credit card transaction data into your expense management system as soon as your credit card is swiped, eliminating the need for bank statements or manual receipt collection.

But that’s not all; here’s everything else you can do with Fyle’s real-time feeds:

Receipt Collection via Text Message 

• Employees get instant notifications via text message on all credit card spend. This helps them submit receipts instantly via text, ensuring accurate and timely expense report submissions and reimbursements. 

• Accountants collect receipts instantly via SMS, reducing time spent on receipt collection by 48%. This simplifies the process, reduces back and forths with employees, and eliminates the need to send reminders for receipt submissions or clarifications. 

Automated Credit Card Reconciliations

• Fyle’s reconciles transaction data with receipt data in seconds of it being uploaded by the user. What traditionally took days can now be done in less than 2 minutes with Fyle. All this without changing your existing credit cards!

Also Read:

• What Are Real-Time Feeds, and Why Do They Matter
• How Fyle Is Different From Other Expense Management Tools

In Conclusion

Say goodbye to outdated bank feeds and statement uploads. Embrace the future of expense management with Fyle's real-time credit card feeds – a seamless integration that works with your existing cards and workflows.

Curious how Fyle can help you? Schedule a demo today!