Teleworking is here to stay: what about the expenses?

The home office is here to stay: it is predicted that we will continue to work from home an average of two days a week. But this comes with a whole different set of expenses, which go far beyond the traditional internet allowance. To give companies some guidance, SAP Concur is releasing an e-book with 9 golden tips for managing these new expenses in the best possible way. 

Increased gas, water and electricity bills, a good office chair, an extra computer screen, flowers, fruit, coffee, etc. The rise and shine of teleworking has opened up a whole new can of expenses. Which expenses do or do not qualify, and how they should be reported and processed, is not always clear to many organizations - let alone their employees. In a new e-book, SAP Concur has compiled important tips and best practices for managing the costs associated with working from home as effectively as possible. Here are a few highlights: 

√ Menu or à la carte? 
In principle, employees should be able to purchase everything they need to work effectively from home - a good workplace is essential to be productive and to keep employees healthy. Set a budget that employees can use for this. Consider whether they can decide on their own what to buy, or whether they can choose from a list of products from regular suppliers. It is likely that computer and peripheral equipment will also need to be provided, which will then need to be set up and managed remotely by the IT department for security and compliance purposes. Can employees buy these themselves? Which brands and platforms can they choose? Also consider mobile subscriptions in this context.

√ Keep it simple
As more people continue to work from home, the need for an adapted expenses policy increases. Give employees the processes and tools to submit their expenses as easily and error-free as possible. This will give the accounts department an accurate overview of the budgets and an up-to-date expense report will also help with VAT claims, much to the delight of the CFO. 

√ Is everyone on board? 
When more people work at home, the number of expense claims will also increase. It is therefore important that everyone - managers, employees and financial services - is aware of what is allowed and what is not, and which tools they should use. A proper training, preferably online of course, is a must and saves a lot of human and budgetary frustration afterwards. Many suppliers offer this kind of online training for free.

Pino Spadaro, Head of SAP Concur Benelux: "Working from home has become the new norm and employees at all levels are looking for the best ways to collaborate and get their work done. This includes incurring expenses in order to be as productive as possible at home. Existing expense policies do not always provide the right opportunities or budgets. Therefore, organizations should carefully review their policies in this area and adjust them where necessary. The same applies to the processes and tools involved. This is an excellent opportunity to look at modern solutions to help control and understand the costs of working from home, in the office and on business trips," says Pino Spadaro, 

For more tips on controlling costs around working from home, download the e-book '9 Practices for Controlling Costs in a Remote-Work World'.