What is Expense Management in Mission Control?
Expense Management in Mission Control offers a streamlined solution for tracking, approving, and managing expenses associated with projects. Integrated natively on the Salesforce Platform, this feature provides users with the capability to submit and oversee expenses directly within their project management environment. By linking expenses to specific projects or handling them independently, users can maintain clear financial oversight, ensuring that all costs are accounted for and appropriately managed.
The functionality supports various methods of expense entry, including individual submissions, bulk entries via the Expense Log page, and integration with project-related records. This versatility ensures that whether expenses are directly related to a project or general business costs, they are efficiently captured and processed. The ability to attach expenses to projects enhances the visibility of project costs, facilitating better budget management and financial reporting.
Key Features of Expense Management in Mission Control
Mission Control’s Expense Management feature is packed with capabilities designed to simplify expense tracking and approval processes. One of its standout features is the ability to apply markups to project expenses. Users can set a standard markup percentage for the entire project or customize it for individual expenses, ensuring that all costs are accurately reflected and aligned with financial expectations. This flexibility is particularly useful for agencies or businesses that need to account for additional costs beyond the base expenses.
The feature also includes robust approval workflows. Users can configure whether expenses require approval from the Project Owner or Role Manager, providing control over who needs to review and approve expenses. This setup is crucial for maintaining accountability and ensuring that all expenditures are scrutinized according to organizational policies. Additionally, the integration with the Salesforce Mobile App allows users to log expenses and upload receipts on-the-go, making expense management even more accessible and efficient.
How to Use Expense Management in Mission Control
Using the Expense Management feature in Mission Control is intuitive and straightforward. To create an individual expense, navigate to the Expenses tab or the Expenses related list on the project detail page. Click the ‘New Expense’ button and enter details such as expense type, date, amount, and mileage if applicable. For bulk expense entries, utilize the Expense Log page accessible via the Mission Control Console’s Progress Pad tab. Here, users can record multiple expenses at once by filling out the necessary information in a single interface and creating the expenses in bulk.
When it comes to submitting expenses for approval, users can choose between saving an expense as ‘Pending’ or ‘Submitted’ based on their approval requirements. For non-project related expenses, the ‘Expense Approver’ field must be populated to ensure proper review. Expenses can be approved via the Expenses Object Tab, where users can manage approvals directly from the list view. This process ensures that only approved expenses are attributed to the project, maintaining accurate financial records.
Conclusion
Tracking expenses against your projects with Mission Control offers significant benefits, including enhanced financial visibility, improved budget management, and streamlined approval workflows. By leveraging the integrated expense management tools, businesses can ensure that all costs are properly recorded, approved, and reflected in project budgets. This not only helps in maintaining financial control but also supports more accurate project forecasting and reporting, leading to better financial decision-making and overall project success.
