What to Do When Expense Reimbursement Goes Wrong

The coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the American economy. Even if you’ve managed to stay open while other companies shutter, you’re likely facing new challenges as a result of COVID-19. The ongoing crisis has changed your business as usual, and it will likely continue to do so for months to come.

Your new business as usual may include working from home, a reduction of hours or pay, or staggered shifts at the office. You may even lay off part of your staff to keep your doors open.

No matter what sacrifices you’ve made, things are tough enough already. You don’t need things like expense management errors making it even harder. These mistakes can come at a high cost that you may not be able to afford right now.

Think this problem is impossible to solve? Not so fast. Our employee reimbursement solutions can help you recover employee debt.

Common Expense Management Errors

When it comes to managing your business expenses, there’s a lot of room for error.

Accounting Errors

Miscalculations, data entry mistakes, overstating expenses, or misreporting — they all unbalance your books. If you aren’t able to rectify these accounting errors, it could lead to legal noncompliance as you report inaccurate information at tax times, resulting in tax fines later on.

Fraud

Honest mistake or intentional deception? It doesn’t matter. When your employees report incorrectly, you foot the bill for expenses that you have no business paying. Fraud could happen when your employees:

• Claim personal expenses as business expenses
• Request reimbursement for a higher amount than they paid
• Get the company to pay for tuition, then resigning as soon as they graduate
• Falsify receipts to claim purchases they never made
• Reimburse one expense multiple times

Unclear Policies

If your corporate guidelines are confusing, it may not be clear to your employees when and if a purchase can be expensed to the company. Ambiguous or deficient policy guidelines can result in employees claiming more than they should. Without proper oversight, you may not catch these errors right away.

What Can a Small Business Do to Recover Fraudulent Expenses?

While a large corporation may have a dedicated expense management team, the same can’t be said of small businesses. Approving reimbursements tend to fall on the shoulders of your basic accounting team. These professionals may not have the experience, time, or resources to convince employees to return your money.

If you’re failing to recover employee reimbursement debt in-house, it’s time to bring in the professionals. As a commercial debt collection agency, we have an experienced team of debt recovery experts who specialize in employee reimbursement.

Here at Summit A*R, we believe a small business deserves to be paid on time, no matter what. And as an experienced commercial debt collection agency with a broad knowledge base, we can help you recover a variety of bad debt. In the past, we’ve helped previous clients handle everything that can go wrong with expense management, including:

• Commission recalls
• Overpaid salary
• Relocation expenses related to early termination
• Tuition and/or continuing education reimbursement
• Unauthorized regular or travel expenses
• Uniform fees

Don’t worry if your exact issue isn’t listed here. Flexible professionals make up our team of debt specialists, so we’re confident we can assist you with any problem you face.

Don’t Let it Get Personal

As a small business owner operating on small margins, one expense error can cost you a lot of money. Knowing what’s on the line, you may feel tempted to let your employee know how you really feel. You may want to scream at them about how irresponsible they are.

While a little catharsis may be satisfying, you know you can’t let your feelings get the best of you. Relying on aggressive tactics could cost your business its reputation, not to mention you’ll wind up feeling like the villain once the dust settles.

In some cases, you may be the literal bad guy in the eyes of the law, too. Although they may have taken your money, laws regulate how you can go about recovering this debt. You could be in hot water if you overstep your bounds.

There’s also the chance it was a simple misunderstanding. By immediately assuming the worst, you may scare off an otherwise amazing employee.

The Only Employee Debt Collection to Hold a P.H.D.

For the past 28 years, our commercial debt collection agency has followed a “P.H.D. Philosophy.” Standing for “Preserve Human Dignity,” this philosophy means we approach each account with compassion, integrity, and respect.

Why do we preserve human dignity? This guiding principle allows us to recover employee debt in a way that keeps everyone happy. There’s no need to alienate or belittle employees to recover debt. In our experience, most people want to pay back what they owe. If these expense errors are the result of a mistake or misunderstanding, your employee will appreciate being treated fairly and kindly.

But don’t worry — for stubborn cases, we have specialists and industry-specific resources to ensure they pay up. We can impact employees’ credit scores, track down employees who skipped town, or jumpstart litigation.

We’ve never resorted underhanded tactics like late-night phone calls or threats because our P.H.D. Philosophy yields results. We proudly boast a recovery rate that’s twice the national average as one of the top commercial debt collection agencies in the country.

Do You Need Help Recovering Employee Debt?

Whether your issue arises from an honest mistake or outright deception, it’s not always easy to recover employee debt on your own. So, partner with the experts. With nearly a quarter of a century in the business, we know exactly how to recover debt without making you the bad guy.

We follow all local, state, and federal mandates, even as they change rapidly to keep up with the pandemic. These regulations don’t stop us from recovering debt. It just means we’re treating each account with extra sensitivity that befits these unusual times.

If you’re ready to enlist our debt collection services for small businesses, get in touch with one of the top commercial debt collection agencies in the country: Summit A*R. One of our debt specialists can recover your investment without burning bridges.