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Petty cash is problematic not only for finance teams but for all stakeholders—employees, managers, and custodians.
Employees spend hours filling out petty cash vouchers and approval forms, and maintaining receipts. Managers struggle to gather all relevant documentation for approvals and keep track of hundreds of requests each week. Finance teams and custodians must manually review each receipt and voucher, ensure approval and compliance, enter data into ERPs, and reconcile accounts.
This cycle worsens as your team grows, and getting a centralized overview of all departments, branches, and stores adds to the workload of consolidating all data into an ERP.
While prepaid expense cards are a common alternative to petty cash, they are not always viable. Especially in the UAE, where some vendors only accept cash payments, it becomes challenging to eliminate petty cash entirely.
So, this article will explore the top 3 alternatives to petty cash that can provide more visibility and control over expenses. We will compare the pros and cons of each option to help you find the best solution for your business needs.
3 Petty Cash Alternatives: Comparative Analysis
Let’s look at 3 viable alternatives to overcome petty cash problems—single corporate cards, prepaid expense cards, and reimbursements.
Single Corporate Credit Card
Single corporate cards are credit cards assigned to specific employees, such as department heads or managers, to facilitate payments using a single card. Each transaction requires a one-time password (OTP), adding an extra layer of security.
Prepaid Expense Cards
Prepaid expense cards are dedicated cards provided to employees for business-related purchases with predefined spending limits. These cards are preloaded with funds, and spending limits are set for each card. They offer employees immediate access to funds for business expenses, minimizing the need to carry cash and reducing the risks associated with cash transactions.
Reimbursements
Reimbursements involve employees using their own money for business expenses, which is reimbursed by the company after submitting the necessary documentation and approval forms. So, employees can make purchases without waiting for company funds, and companies don't need to manage prepaid funds, simplifying financial management.
Choosing the Right Petty Cash Alternative
Here’s a quick comparative overview which will help you decide which one is suitable for you:
- Single Corporate Credit Card: Ideal for larger teams or departments with frequent expenses
- Prepaid expense cards: Best for businesses with employees who frequently make business-related purchases
- Reimbursements: Suitable for smaller teams or companies preferring not to pre-load funds
While each solution aims to address various petty cash management issues, they come with their limitations. Single corporate cards lack real-time visibility, making teams vulnerable to theft. Expense cards restrict cash payments and complicate compliance oversight. Reimbursement processes are cumbersome and time-consuming.
Hence, you do not just need a replacement for petty cash but need a solution that offers advanced controls and accommodates cash payments when necessary. A hybrid solution that enables the elimination and digitization of all petty cash transactions effectively with complete visibility and control.
“For us, the main benefit of Pluto is that we don't have to think about petty cash and worry about spending at all. It runs on Autopilot, and Pluto prompts us when it needs attention so we can better focus on our core competency without the extra mental load. Another huge selling point has been the incredible customer support across the board. Everyone on the Pluto team has been extremely helpful through any questions we had.”
Get Pluto: Your Flexible Self-Serve Petty Cash Solution
Here’s what you get with Pluto as your petty cash management solution:
Unlimited Corporate Cards
Issue unlimited physical and virtual corporate cards, replacing single credit cards with advanced controls such as budget specifications and vendor restrictions. This provides finance teams with real-time visibility and control over expenses.
Budget Control
Set limits on budget, vendors, purchase category, etc., to ensure budget compliance. Employees can request additional funds with manager approval, ensuring necessary spending is facilitated promptly. You also get zero balance cards that require approval for each expense, maintaining strict budget control.
Digital Cash Register
With Pluto, each employee gets a dedicated profile where custodians can enter the money given to them. Employees are responsible for adding relevant receipts and accounting for the money. Receipts can be submitted directly through WhatsApp or the mobile app using optical character recognition (OCR)-based receipt retrieval. Managers, custodians, or finance teams review receipts on the app.
Approval Workflow
Customize the approval process with Pluto's no-code workflow builder, where automated notifications for expense submissions and approvals speed up the process. OCR detects duplicate receipts to prevent fraud and ensure accurate expense reporting.
Easy Receipt Management
Seamlessly upload receipts via your mobile or web for real-time recording. Pluto's WhatsApp integration notifies employees to upload receipts, and OCR technology extracts key information from receipts, reducing manual data entry for accounting teams.
Digital Expense Reports
Generate digital expense reports that compile data from all receipts, providing real-time visibility into branch/department spending. This helps finance teams identify and promote cost-saving measures, and custodians to get visibility into expenses and available funds at all times.
Simplify Petty Cash Management With Pluto
At Pluto, we recognize the need for petty cash, especially in UAE, where many vendors only take cash payments. So, whether you are looking to digitize or eliminate petty cash, Pluto allows you to customize the app to your specific requirements. You get a flexible self-serve solution for managing petty cash from corporate cards to digital cash registers.
Employees submit receipts directly through WhatsApp, preventing custodians from chasing employees. A centralized digital platform records all transactions, streamlining audit logs. OCR-based receipt retrieval simplifies data entry and retrieval. This accelerated reconciliation process makes book-closing 10X faster.
By integrating seamlessly into your existing workflows, Pluto enables teams to manage petty cash effectively while adhering to organizational policies. Whether maintaining some cash transactions or transitioning entirely to digital processes, Pluto offers the tools and flexibility to meet your needs.
To know more about how Pluto simplifies petty cash management, book a demo.
