Give new life to policies and procedures.

Even if your management will not budge on what your policies and procedures (P&P) say, how you write them can boost or hinder cardholder compliance. I have seen too many P&P manuals comprised of large, unappealing text-heavy paragraphs. To give them new life, separate general information from procedures and make procedures more prominent using an appropriate format. Design matters; following are “before” and “after” examples. Which one would you rather read?

Before

In this example, the steps are buried in the text block and the passive voice adds to the dullness.  

After

This version reflects a script format, using Responsibility and Action columns to separate the tasks by job role. Each action begins with a verb and speaks to the person responsible.

You could also modify the columns to make the script format appropriate for other procedures, such as ones involving only a cardholder. For example, the first column could be Tasks and the second one How to Complete with numbered instructions for each task. Cardholders who already know how to do something can concentrate on the first column. 

Procedure Writing

Evaluating your P&P for the following five procedure writing elements and making improvements where needed will make the content easier to read.

  1. Appearance
  2. Style/language
  3. Format
  4. Level of detail
  5. Consistency

These elements, plus other procedure formats and more, are addressed within the guide referenced below. 

What is old and lifeless can be revitalized if you take the time to incorporate effective procedure writing characteristics. 

What is old and lifeless can be revitalized if you take the time to incorporate effective procedure writing characteristics. 

More Tips

Consider purchasing the related guide from Recharged Education for just $29.99. With more than 20 pages of content, it is a real value. For providers who want to distribute the guide to multiple clients, there is a license option with no limit on the number of copies to share. 

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

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Why some technology projects fail.

We know that people can make or break an organization’s purchase-to-pay strategies. I previously wrote two related posts about the influence of executives and staff members (see below). However, even when the right people are on board, a technology project might not turn out as expected. Following are three reasons why, tips, and specific advice for an AP automation pursuit.

Unrealistic Expectations

The trouble can begin early on when an organization thinks technology will solve all their issues, but they fail to identify the root causes of problems. As an example, AP Now’s 2016 State of Invoice Processing Survey (www.ap-now.com) reveals slow internal invoice approval is the most common ongoing invoice issue experienced by organizations. Technology is not the magic answer for this. While technology can make approvals easier to do, the slow people will probably continue to be slow unless they are held accountable to a defined timeline. 

Tip

Determine your biggest pain points and explore why they occur. Do you need a change in policies and/or procedures? Do employees need more training? To what extent will technology help resolve the problem?

Haste

Rushing to select and implement a technology solution often means that an organization fails at multiple levels during a project. You might overlook elements needed by stakeholders or the complete picture of how a process works (and where new technology is most critical). If you skip doing thorough system testing, manageable hiccups can turn into emergencies when the system goes live. 

Tips

  • Assign the project manager role to someone who is equipped with project management knowledge and skills.
  • Document existing processes, stakeholder requirements, goals, etc.
  • Address how you will resolve any conflicting requirements between stakeholders. What will take precedence?
  • Develop and follow test scripts to ensure the technology works as expected before fully implementing. 

Lack of Communication

No list of pitfalls is complete without the proverbial lack of communication. This could mean forgetting to revise relevant policies and procedures, a lack of training to system users, failing to communicate with affected suppliers, and more.

Tips

The obvious action is to turn this around by communicating effectively throughout the organization and with suppliers. 

  • Note who will be impacted by the technology and, therefore, need training.
  • Offer a clear place to go if people have questions.
  • Explain the purpose of the new technology.
  • Monitor how users are handling the technology and the common errors.

Related Blog Posts

The previous posts about the influence of 1) executives and 2) staff members are:

  1. Two issues plaguing B2B payments
  2. Staff members are a wildcard
Frustration with a technology project is more likely to occur if your organization does not do solid advance planning.

Frustration with a technology project is more likely to occur if your organization does not do solid advance planning.

AP Automation Advice

When it comes to AP automation, respondents to AP Now’s 2016 State of Invoice Processing Survey recommend:

  • Ensure you will have dedicated IT support throughout the project.
  • Try out/demo different solutions before committing to one.
  • Verify that all your applicable systems will be compatible with each other.
  • Anticipate that AP will receive a spike in questions until users are comfortable; plan staffing accordingly.
  • Be assertive with suppliers regarding rules for invoice submission.
  • Do a longer pilot period before rolling out to everyone. 
“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. ”
— Bill Gates

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

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Make Fleet Cards work for you.

For fuel and other vehicle expenses, the benefits of Fleet Cards can rise well above traditional Purchasing Cards. But what do you do if common Fleet Card processes do not meet your organization’s needs? This was the case for Jessica Perdue, CPCP, Corporate Card Administrator for The Nature Conservancy. She responded by devising a new Fleet Card process that offers better control and satisfies her organization’s unique requirements. Everyone should consider her approach. 

Why Use Fleet Cards Instead of Other Cards?

The short answer is details and controls. For The Nature Conservancy—an organization that utilizes federal funds—tracking details is critical. Regular P-Cards fell short in providing important information, including usage data to support emissions reports for their California unit, and the line item transaction data is not as robust. Their Fleet Card program with WEX Inc. includes reporting to help their efforts tracking the Conservancy’s carbon footprint.  

Then there is the control element. P-Cards only go so far with spend and velocity limits, and MCC blocks. Fleet Cards make it possible to require the entry of vehicle mileage at the pump and restrict the number of gallons purchased. Jessica shared how she can block fuel types, too; for example, blocking unleaded gas if a vehicle requires diesel. Such a control was certainly lacking in the card fraud case I wrote about in 2014; see what happened and how to prevent something similar at your organization.

As for filling stations’ private label cards, no one wants to drive around to find a fuel location where they can use the branded card.

Common vs. Innovative

What is Common

With Fleet Cards, it is common for organizations to do one of the following.

  • Assign a card to an employee, who might use their card with different company vehicles. If the organization wants to know which vehicle each transaction pertains to, the employee would need to specify the appropriate vehicle manually when reconciling. This leaves room for errors.
  • Assign a card to a vehicle, which allows multiple employees to use it, but fuel purchases for a specific vehicle are all on one card. Some manual research would be required to: a) verify that all transactions are legitimately for the assigned vehicle, and b) determine the appropriate accounting code for each transaction.

Both approaches fail to tie together the three key elements: the employee, the card transaction and the vehicle. Not satisfied with the norm, Jessica worked with WEX to develop a different process. 

The best solutions are often your ideas that you put into practice.

The best solutions are often your ideas that you put into practice.

Jessica’s Solution

A card with the VIN printed on it is assigned to each vehicle, but an employee who uses the card is required to key in their employee ID at the pump. The ID remains tied to the resulting transaction throughout the process, including within a feed into Concur. Fleet Card users access Concur—often through the mobile app—to allocate their fuel transactions to the appropriate fund (i.e., accounting code). This last step eliminates the need for someone in AP or Finance to determine the right fund. Jessica also relayed that, because line item data transfers to Concur, they eliminated the extra step of maintaining/imagining receipts.

She personally tested the card controls, including the number of transactions allowed per day, to ensure they worked successfully. The process is efficient and well controlled.

Finally, Jessica imparted her key message to me, saying, “Do not try to stay within the parameters of what your bank currently offers. If your organization needs something specific, create it and work with them to implement it.”

For more Commercial Card insights from others, visit the program management page.

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

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