One of the most common reasons businesses fail is because they run out of cash. But, running out of money can stem from several different factors.
Two examples include not being able to access capital and overspending.
Yet, business spending should never be why your business fails because there are tools available to help you stay on track and plan expenses.
That’s where business spend management comes in. Keep reading to learn about this management software.
What Is Business Spend Management (BSM)?
BSM is software that supports a set of business processes related to how employees spend money. Core and related processes include:
- Expense or spend management
- Invoice management
- Procurement
- Advanced sourcing
- Analytics
- Budgeting
- Contract lifecycle management
- Inventory management
- Supplier information management
- Strategic sourcing
BSM works with a business’s ERP, CRM, and HCM to address the core operating processes. If you’re unfamiliar with these tools, they are:
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Human Capital Management (HCM)
The idea is to manage all processes related to purchasing and vendor relations. This creates operational efficiency. Businesses need to maximize their efficiency (and budgets)! Not doing so pushes them out of the hyper-competitive market.
Benefits of BSM
There are several benefits of using BSM. The most important is that companies can track spending in real-time. This allows for better spending and budgeting.
Your procurement teams will be able to negotiate more to get better pricing from suppliers. Then, when you already have the best price, they can seek value-added services to ensure an even better deal.
Next, your employees can continue purchasing from preferred suppliers and create long-term relationships.
Storing these contracts in a single location will increase visibility and compliance. In addition, this allows for easier contract management due to automation. Plus, visibility helps mitigate risks and threats.
Risk management is vital to having optimal business operations and protecting your reputation.
Further, when your business implements BSM, your value increases. Why is there a rise in value? That’s because you see the following:
- Improved productivity
- Better collaboration
- Reduced costs
With spending automated, employees have more time, energy, and resources to focus on core business activities.
And since all the data is in one central system, communication within the company and with trading partners becomes more effortless. As a result, supply chain management improves with better collaboration.
Of course, since your business can see exactly where its money is going, you can better track:
- What you’re buying
- Where you’re buying it from
- The costs
- Cost-savings
So, if you’re ready to simplify your spending management and save money, visit Bento. This BSM is the best way for your business to improve spending habits and form better supplier relationships.
Start Using a Spend Management Platform
Incorporating business spend management with your other business tools is unmatched. BSM is much more than a budgeting tool.
Thus, your business should start using BSM immediately to reap the benefits and see more success.
To read more about all things business, check out the rest of the blog.