Tracking a company’s expenses is a core part of effective financial management, and that includes software expenses. Any inaccuracy can have serious consequences. The best way to minimize such inaccuracies is to ditch manual processes like using spreadsheets for tracking software expenses.

Spreadsheets support a wide range of tasks and have been a staple among businesses since the 1980s. However, with the advancement of technology, we now have better means of getting the job done other than manually encoding data one row at a time. Especially for businesses that are bound to scale, organizing a large volume of data with spreadsheets can be all the more inefficient.

Let’s talk about why traditional Excel sheets may no longer be the best option in terms of software expense tracking and management.

Inaccurate

Excel errors are always possible. Many studies report that spreadsheets contain around 88% human errors. Data entry mistakes can be inevitable, and such mistakes lead to inaccurate data that could compromise your company’s finances and decision-making processes. Even a typo or a misplaced decimal point can defeat the purpose of the expense tracking activity.

Doesn't auto-update

Spreadsheets are not dynamic. Should anything change, you would need to update it to keep the information accurate. What happens if another human error happens and the employee forgets to update the sheet? That’s another oversight with real consequences.

There are a lot of tools that help companies make their jobs a lot easier. For example, if you need to track your software subscription expenses and do a general software subscription audit, you can use tools like Talisman. Talisman does audits around the clock and if there are new subscriptions added or removed, the system will update itself, keeping your software subscription data always updated. With accurate information right in front of you, you can also make your SaaS spending more efficient as you get to have a better idea about which software tools you’re barely using and which ones you should cancel to free up some SaaS budget.

Not Efficient

In business, wasted time is money lost. Manually tracking software expenses takes a lot of time, and if there are data entry inaccuracies, fixing and tracking the errors could take even more time. In today’s business landscape, efficiency is everything, and an Excel sheet is no longer the best option in terms of efficiency. Instead of having to input every detail one by one to get the total subscription expenses of your company, you can use Talisman to do a quick scan of all subscriptions under your company, and you can have all the details you need in a matter of minutes. Since it’s automated, you’re leaving no stone unturned and human error is eliminated.

Takeaway

Whatever time-consuming tasks you can automate, you should automate. Your talented and skilled team definitely have better things to do than copying and pasting stuff and doing menial administrative work. Boost your team’s productivity and find tools that enable you to say goodbye to spreadsheets and say hello to efficiency.

Ready to make your software expense tracking and management more efficient? Give Talisman a try!

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