Zoho Expense update November 2024
Welcome to the Zoho Expense update November 2024! This roundup covers all the exciting features and enhancements introduced since our last Zoho Expense update bringing you powerful tools to streamline expense management, enhance compliance, and improve team productivity. With new automation features, advanced customisation options, and smarter reporting capabilities, Zoho Expense is committed to helping businesses of all sizes achieve seamless financial management.
Join us as we explore the latest updates designed to optimise your workflows and simplify your expense management processes. Dive into the Zoho Expense update November 2024!
User Budgets in My View
Tracking budgets just got easier! Zoho Expense now allows users to view their budgets directly from the Budgets tab in My Settings. By default, the current fiscal year’s budget will be displayed, but users can easily switch to previous years’ budgets using the Budget Period filter.
This feature is available to all users with default roles, while those with custom roles can gain access when admins configure the appropriate permissions. Stay on top of your spending and gain better visibility into your budgets with this convenient update!
Note: Only the particular user’s budget will be displayed here, not the organisation’s budget.
Business Benefits of “User Budgets in My View”
- Enhanced Budget Visibility: Users can easily access and review their current and past budgets, fostering greater financial awareness and accountability.
- Improved Financial Management: By enabling users to track budgets, businesses can encourage better spending habits and prevent budget overruns.
- Customisation for Roles: With role-specific permissions, admins can control access to budget information, ensuring that sensitive data is visible only to authorised individuals.
- Streamlined Processes: Users no longer need to rely on admins or managers for budget-related queries, saving time and improving workflow efficiency.
- Better Decision-Making: With clear budget insights at their fingertips, users can make informed financial decisions, aligning their spending with organisational goals.
Petty Cash Management
Managing petty cash just got easier with Zoho Expense! The new Petty Cash Accounts module is designed to simplify the handling of small cash funds used for everyday expenses, such as those required for branch operations.
Admin View:
- View all pending funds and unsubmitted expenses at a glance.
- Create and manage petty cash accounts, funds, and withdrawals.
- Activate or deactivate petty cash accounts as needed.
My View:
- Create expenses and request additional petty cash funds.
- Generate reports for a comprehensive view of petty cash usage.
This update ensures seamless management of petty cash while maintaining accuracy and control.
Business Benefits of new Petty Cash Management
- Optimised Financial Oversight: Admins can monitor petty cash accounts and ensure funds are allocated and utilised appropriately.
- Streamlined Petty Cash Processes: Admins and users now have dedicated tools to handle petty cash tasks efficiently, reducing manual effort.
- Enhanced Transparency: Centralised visibility into petty cash activity allows businesses to track usage and prevent misuse.
- Improved Expense Accuracy: With structured workflows for fund requests and expense submissions, errors in petty cash handling are minimised.
- Greater Flexibility: Users can easily request and manage petty cash for minor, everyday needs without delays.
Note: This feature is currently available for early access. Message us or write to [email protected] to enable it for your organisation.
Traveler Details Under Trips
Zoho Expense now makes travel management even more seamless with the inclusion of Traveler Details on the Details page of Trips in the Admin View. Admins can now access comprehensive traveler information, ensuring a more efficient booking process.
Key Features:
- Access a traveler’s profile information, including contact details and preferences.
- View and manage travel documents, such as passports or visas, directly within the Trips module.
- Check loyalty programs to ensure points and rewards are utilised effectively during bookings.
This consolidated view simplifies travel planning and ensures all necessary details are readily available when managing itineraries.
Business Benefits of new “Traveler Details Under Trips”
- Streamlined Travel Management: Admins can access all essential traveler details in one place, saving time and reducing the need to cross-reference information.
- Enhanced Accuracy: Centralised travel profiles ensure bookings are made with the correct information, minimising errors or discrepancies.
- Improved Traveler Experience: Utilising loyalty programs and accurate travel details ensures a smoother and more rewarding travel experience for employees.
- Increased Efficiency: Admins can efficiently manage multiple travelers’ details without switching between platforms or documents.
- Compliance & Preparedness: With travel documents readily available, businesses can ensure travelers meet necessary requirements and avoid disruptions.
Automatic Mileage Tracking
Tracking mileage just got easier! Zoho Expense’s mobile apps now include the Automatic Mileage Tracking feature, designed to streamline the way you record and manage your rides. This update ensures mileage tracking happens effortlessly in the background, saving time while improving accuracy.
How It Works:
- Enable the Feature: Activate Automatic Mileage Tracking in the app under Mileage Log Preferences in My Settings.
- Set Permissions: Grant the required permissions to let the app track your rides seamlessly.
- Ride Classification Rules: Define your usual work hours, and the app will automatically categorise rides during this period as unexpensed rides, which can later be converted to expenses. Rides outside your work schedule are excluded.
- Manage Mileage Logs: Use the Mileage Logs module to search, filter, and convert tracked rides into expenses.
- Track and Review: Simply drive, and the app will record your trips in the background. Merge multiple rides into one expense or exclude unnecessary rides.
Business Benefits of Automatic Mileage Tracking
- Time-Saving Automation: Say goodbye to manual entry. Mileage is tracked automatically, so employees can focus on their work instead of logging trips.
- Enhanced Accuracy: Automatic tracking eliminates the risk of errors associated with manual input, ensuring accurate mileage records for reimbursements.
- Simplified Expense Reporting: Effortlessly convert mileage logs to expenses with a few clicks, reducing administrative overhead.
- Better Policy Compliance: Classification rules help ensure only work-related rides are logged, minimising disputes and ensuring adherence to company policies.
- Customisable Flexibility: With the ability to merge trips or exclude unnecessary rides, users have full control over their mileage logs.
Note:
- This feature is available only in the Zoho Expense iOS and Android apps.
- This feature is currently available for early access. Message us or write to [email protected] to enable it for your organisation.
Assets and liabilities in Budgets
Zoho Expense has introduced two new groups in the Budgets module: Assets and Liabilities. This enhancement allows businesses to create and manage budgets specifically for their assets and liabilities, offering a more comprehensive and detailed approach to financial planning and control.
Key Highlights:
- Asset Budgets: Allocate and monitor budgets for assets such as equipment, vehicles, and office supplies.
- Liability Budgets: Manage budgets for liabilities like loans, leases, or other financial obligations.
- Category Integration: For organisations integrated with Zoho Books or other accounting software, assets and liabilities accounts retrieved will automatically appear in the Categories module for streamlined management.
Business Benefits:
- Informed Decision-Making: With detailed budget tracking for assets and liabilities, businesses can make more strategic financial decisions.
- Improved Financial Oversight: Gain a clearer understanding of how your assets and liabilities impact your organisation’s financial health.
- Enhanced Planning: Allocate resources more effectively by setting precise budgets for your assets and liabilities.
- Streamlined Accounting: Integration with accounting software ensures consistent data flow, reducing manual input and errors.
- Better Cost Management: Stay on top of asset purchases and liability payments by tracking them against pre-set budgets.
Other Updates and Enhancements
- Zoho have added a new filter in the Advanced Search feature for users. Admins can now easily identify users who have added their bank account information and those who have not. This new filter will help admins ensure all users have provided bank account information to receive reimbursements.
- Updates for the Zoho CRM Integration in Zoho Expense:
- Zoho have introduced new preferences for duplicate contact persons in Zoho CRM. You can Overwrite or Skip duplicates.
- Zoho have included a new field, Potential, on the Bulk Add Expenses page and the Bulk Field Update pop-up. Potentials are prospective business opportunities or deals identified with your customers, representing the possibility of converting leads into customers and including details about the estimated deal value and stage of conversion in the sales process.
- Zoho have provided an option to display terms and conditions in the advance creation page. This enables admins to communicate the organisation’s terms and conditions to all employees, ensuring they are informed when requesting advance requests.
- Zoho now support the option to include car rental loyalty programs in addition to frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. To include car rental loyalty program details, go to My View > My Settings > Travel Details > Loyalty Programs > Add New Program > Car Rental Loyalty Program.
- Zoho have introduced filters in Notifications to help users easily find specific types of notifications. Unread will be the default filter to help users focus on notifications they haven’t viewed yet. You can also view All and Mentioned notifications.
- Users can now store details of their emergency contacts in case they encounter any emergency during trips. Users can add up to two emergency contacts, which will be synced with online booking tools like GetThere. To add an emergency contact, go to My View > My Settings > Travel Details > Emergency Contacts > + Add Emergency Contact.
With these innovative features, the Zoho Expense November 2024 update pushes the boundaries of efficient financial management, offering businesses enhanced tools to optimise workflows, streamline operations, and make smarter financial decisions. From detailed budget tracking for assets and liabilities to automated mileage tracking and streamlined petty cash management, these features are designed to empower organisations to stay in control of their expenses with ease and accuracy.
Stay ahead of the curve and make the most of these powerful enhancements from the Zoho Expense update November 2024 to elevate your financial processes today! Should you have any questions or need further assistance why not book a meeting with our experts.