What is one of the biggest challenges facing mid-sized businesses in 2023? Cost management. With unstable financial markets forcing businesses to cut costs, optimizing workflows is crucial to staying ahead and creating the space to innovate. 

In a recent interview, Darren Moquist, UnitedHealthcare CEO of Local Markets, tackles the question at the forefront of many employers’ minds, “How can I lower the cost of healthcare?” Now, while healthcare might not seem related to telecom and technology, there’s a valuable lesson we can learn from this interview, which is that Moquist believes in a combination of health plans and network design to both improve health outcomes and reduce cost. This keeps UnitedHealthcare competitive while helping both the insurance company and the organization for which they are providing services: strategic management. 

Why does this matter to the average business? Because a concept called Total Expense Management works in the same way. The goal of this concept is to provide strategic guidance that reduces expenses, improves visibility, and increases compliance for businesses across industries. When businesses are faced with budget cuts and streamlining efficiency, Total Expense Management steps in to create a solution that makes the most out of what is available.

What is Total Expense Management? 

Total Expense Management is a comprehensive approach to managing all of an organization’s expenses. Total Expense Management is more narrow than general expense management—a term that refers to any process or system for tracking and managing expenses.

Total Expense Management typically includes a wider range of features than traditional expense management systems, such as expense policy management, expense approval workflows, and expense data analysis. This makes it a more robust tool for organizations that want to improve their expense management and achieve their financial goals.

Total Expense Management allows organizations to:

• Identify and reduce unnecessary expenses
• Gain better visibility into their spending and help them make more informed decisions

• Comply with regulations, including those related to data privacy and security
• Streamline expense management processes, freeing up time for other tasks

Who Needs Total Expense Management?

Total Expense Management solutions are used by organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. Total Expense Management is particularly beneficial for organizations with complex expense management requirements, like those with a global workforce—not all that uncommon in 2023. 

How Is Total Expense Management Different from Telecom Expense Management (TEM)?

Total Expense Management and Telecom Expense Management (TEM) are distinct concepts, with TEM focusing specifically on managing telecom-related expenses. In contrast, Total Expense Management encompasses a broader scope, extending beyond telecom expenses to include all types of expenditures within an organization. While TEM primarily deals with the optimization of telecom costs, such as voice and data services, Total Expense Management takes a holistic approach to expense management, incorporating areas like travel, utilities, office supplies, software licensing, and more. Total Expense Management provides a comprehensive solution for organizations to gain control over their entire expense landscape, enabling them to reduce costs, streamline processes, enforce policies, and maximize financial efficiency across all expense categories.