If your company has benefited from your P-Card program, you aren’t alone. According to the Institute of Commercial Payments (IOCP), switching from a traditional means of handling expenses to a P-Card system can mean efficiency savings that range from 55 percent to 80 percent of the traditional process cost.
P-Card programs are effective, both in time and costs. And if your program is currently complementing your business well, you might be at the point where you’d like your P-Card program to grow even bigger and better.
But can it be done? As you might already know, internal controls are extremely important in keeping your P-Card program successful — and your current commitment to those controls have probably contributed to your program’s success.
A big part of those internal controls is monitoring use for improprieties — a necessary step for your program to maintain its efficiency and continue to be worthwhile. But you might be finding that much of your time is already being used looking over your P-Card users’ transactions, to make sure they aren’t using the system to their own benefit for their own personal expenses.
Managing such controls takes time and manpower — and so does growth. Trying to do both could be detrimental to your P-Card program. How can you focus on your program’s growth while still monitoring its users and their purchases?
At Card Integrity, we’ve talked about outsourcing internal controls to support your P-Card program. Check out another article on the subject below.
Solution to P-Card Program Limitations
There are several factors that may lead you to considering outside resources to supplement your P-Card program controls, such as a lack of resources available internally to dedicate to improving controls around cards. Short staffing is a big problem. For more on the impact of limited resources on internal controls, check out the article below.
Expanding Limitations
Every business has limitations. Outsourcing for your P-Card program allows businesses to grow and expand — despite those limitations.
For P-Card programs, Card Integrity offers a specific solution — DataWISE. DataWISE alleviates the need for your managers to monitor P-Card activity by taking on that responsibility, thus freeing up your staff to concentrate on growing your P-Card program.
DataWISE also allows for greater flexibility and growth of the P-Card program itself, with the ability to monitor many more transactions than you might be currently handling via your in-house management.
And, using an outsourced program such as DataWISE provides your P-Card program an independent, third-party review of expenses to help further protect your program.
Achieve P-Card Program Growth
To create a healthy, strong, successful card monitoring service, one that delivers all the benefits you’ve come to expect, it makes sense to take advantage of everything that will benefit the program itself. Check out the free eGuide we’ve prepared below for more information and best practices about P-Card monitoring. And if you’re interested in taking the next step with Card Integrity, or even if you’d just like to learn a bit more or schedule a demo, contact us today!
Post originally published in 2016. Updated 9-4-2025 with new resources and information.
