Enrollment in charter schools has nearly tripled in the past decade, and it continues to grow. In 2006 and 2007, 1.2 million students were enrolled in charter schools in the United States. While the number of charter schools has since increased to more than 6,900 schools in 2016, demand for enrollment remains. More than 3.1 million students were enrolled in 2017, as stated in the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools 2016-17 report.

This continued growth in both the number of charter schools and their enrollment demonstrates continued demand for high-quality educational options and is evidence of a strong and growing industry.

However, along with increased enrollment comes increased costs, greater infrastructure needs, and a need for better spend management plans for school budgets. Due to limited budgets and resources, charter schools face challenges when searching for ways to cut costs while keeping pace with growing enrollment numbers.

The rise of technology makes it possible for organizations to focus on their mission, empower their employees, and grow through the use of automated AI tools. An automated invoice process, for example, allows charter schools to meet their goals through the use of intuitive online tools and mobile applications, which track every penny in one simple AP system that’s accessible anytime, anywhere.

Ensure the best cash flow to stay on top of your financials

Charter schools must carefully track payments, reimbursements, invoices, fundraising, and authorizations. By automating payables and reimbursement, charter schools can empower their staff and suppliers to better predict and manage cash flow. With a cloud-based, mobile invoice solution, they can turn paperwork into predictable cash flow by automating their invoice processes, tracking cash flow down to the penny by connecting invoice data in a single system. They can also eliminate manual entries that may generate errors and slow accounts payable, making fees and penalties a thing of the past.

Take control of spending

An automated mobile invoice solution provides numerous benefits to staff members, such as getting forward-looking and real-time insights into spend from invoices, travel, and other expenses. Taking control and having visibility over spending opens doors for transactional savings and insights by applying actuals to budget goals. Having access to greater visibility into spending makes it easier to track and control when payments are made.

Expand enrollments, not your staff

To leverage their business operations, charter schools need to eliminate wasteful spending, maximize their resources, and identify an efficient plan to meet their fiscal responsibilities. These tasks can be accomplished by acquiring more staff or using an automated solution. A mobile invoice solution puts power in the hands of spenders and approvers with a simple, automated app that scales as enrollments increase, allowing schools to focus on their mission of educating young minds, redirecting assets to education programs, and working more efficiently.

To find out more about the benefits of an automated invoice solution, view the infographic.

This article originally appeared in the SAP Concur newsroom and is republished by permission.

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