5 Strategies to Increase Purchasing Compliance in Software Companies
For smaller businesses, it can be simple to track spending among a group of a half dozen of people. However, the larger an organization the more difficult it becomes to track expenditures and budget items. Furthermore, having a lack of control on spending leads to maverick spending but can also lead to unauthorized purchase orders or a lapse in purchasing compliance. Each business is different and in order to tighten these lose ends, your organization may want to implement these strategies.
Here are five strategies to increase purchasing compliance in software companies.
1. Synchronize Technology
Compliance within procurement teams is an issue because many businesses lack the integration between spending and data. The lack of data integration leads to an inability to visually see where the inefficiencies lie, meaning there could be a lack of purchasing compliance within the organization.
Firstly, to mitigate a compliance issue, technology needs to be in sync with purchasing to assist in spotting leaks in spending. Also, it will help in maximizing compliance with internal and governmental compliance rules.
2. Assign ownership
The software industry exponentially changes from year to year, which is a driving factor of compliance difficulties. To sustain constant compliance, your business requires dedicated individuals to review and implement strategies to ensure compliance.
Beyond that, software and technologies need to be compliant within their own right, making updates and implementation difficult as well. Couple this with purchasing and budget, internal controls are strictly monitored.
3. Implement Proper Internal Controls to Prevent Maverick Spend
Internal controls are the most effective way to control spending and eliminate maverick spending. Unmonitored spending is money that is leaking out of your budget and not being properly allocated. In order to identify maverick expenditures, you’ll need to implement proper internal controls.
Implementation of controls isn’t easy but is certainly necessary to sustain an efficient business. To implement new internal controls, you’ll need to review your current ones. Identify issues and gaps that can be filled and formulate a plan. From there, build a committee and begin the implementation process. As previously discussed, you’ll want to ensure the internal controls are compliant, meaning having a wide variety of individuals on the committee is crucial.
Some ideas to implement include limiting who can set up new vendors within your organization. From there, identify which expenditures require review and approval before you move the money. These are all effective places to start when implementing a new internal process.
4. Motivate Employees and Execute Policies They’ll Want to Follow
Once you’ve identified a place where your business needs to implement a new internal control, you’ll need the right strategy to ensure your team is on board. The first way you can ensure your team is prepared and receptive of the idea is transparency. Include the individuals affected to the greatest extent possible, ensuring they are privy to updates.
5. Bridge the Gap
From there, if there are individuals or groups that are resisting the new internal control take time to understand their point of view and bridge the gap. Listening to your staff is the best way to mitigate any misunderstanding. Lastly, test the process. This will ensure that when you roll out the final product internal operations are minimal or not impacted at all.
Identifying the Problem
Purchasing compliance within the technology space can be difficult, but certainly not impossible. In order to update your business successfully, first identify the problem in spending, purchasing compliance, etc. From there, identify any challenges you may face in implementing a new internal control. Lastly, keep your team informed and the rest should fall into place. Staying privy to these issues will alleviate issues later down the road.
