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How to Audit-Proof Staff & Volunteer Spending in Human Services

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Is there a Human Services finance manager who never had to waste time chasing down a missing receipt? Who never went back and forth questioning a charge? Who can disburse petty cash secure in the knowledge that they’ll get every unspent penny back? 

If you’re not laughing at this, you’re probably cringing. Especially if an audit’s coming.

The Challenge in Managing Human Services Spending 

Human Services organizations help people who often can’t help themselves. That usually requires them to empower field staff and volunteers to spend on their organization’s behalf. 
    
Yet in today’s world, traditional payment methods add unnecessary time, grind and cost.

Checks can’t support immediate needs in the field. Bank-issued cards often require credit approvals, and can lack spending controls that organizations must adhere to. Petty cash creates nightmares of receipt collection and reconciliation.  

Meanwhile, every penny needs to be tracked and allocated. A $50 tank of gas can turn into an audit nightmare if it includes a 50¢ bag of chips from the convenience store.

Here’s how to meet the challenge and evolve your operation.

Spend and Expense Management for the Way We Operate Today

Advances in technology and the rise of devices like smartphones are creating new opportunities for human services organizations to evolve the way they manage staff and volunteer spending. These innovations enable finance managers to streamline and simplify the cost of operations.

To empower purchases, yet maintain tight controls and precise records, many Human Services organizations turn to PEX. PEX combines the payment flexibility of prepaid cards with an innovative cloud-based platform to enforce spending rules and simplify reporting.

Finance managers can set budgets and guidelines for groups or individuals. Then the system automatically limits how much each cardholder can spend and where. (Yes, groceries. No, bars.) With PEX, staff and volunteers make routine purchases, even as the organization protects funds from misuse. 

Seamless and Automated Reconciliations 

With so many funds being spent in so many ways, reconciling budgets to actual spend can be time intensive and, even worse, incomplete if the right approach isn’t in place.

PEX reporting features include custom tags that connect to General Ledger codes or cost centers. When cardholders spend, PEX automatically captures receipts and allocates each transaction to the appropriate department or account.

This happens in real-time. There’s no waiting for charges to settle. Since PEX integrates with most accounting programs, reconciliations are always up to date. Financial managers can quickly develop presentations for managers, boards of directors, and auditors. 

This real-time reporting is especially helpful in compliance-intensive Representative Payee Programs (RPPs). Every request, approval, purchase, receipt capture and account reconciliation can happen right in the system. And in real-time.

Take Direct Control of the Program Administration and Make It Work for You

Sometimes managing a program efficiently means being able to quickly react to changes in the way staff and volunteers deal with issues. Having to work with your bank or credit card company is time consuming. Wouldn’t it be better to have that power in your own hands?

The PEX Platform requires no third-party intermediaries to manage user accounts. Administrators can easily issue, freeze, unfreeze, and replenish PEX Cards from a desktop or mobile app. In an emergency, an Admin can instantly approve and fund larger purchases.

Practically Purpose-Built for Human Services 

Unlike outdated solutions to empower spending, PEX was designed from the ground up to empower efficient and trackable spending. Authorized spending based on rules, real-time approvals or both. It also supports financial managers who need real-time accurate, compliant records.
    
It’s exactly what Human Services organizations have always needed.
        

 

Yes, target met for the day!

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