Frequent business travel may seem like a glamorous ideal, but when it forms part of your everyday life, the bloom can quickly go off the metaphorical jet-setting rose. The truth of the matter is that it can be disruptive, tiring and create a whole lot of paperwork that you really don't have the time for.
A recent survey by the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) found that travel expense reporting was the third-most commonly cited annoyance associated with a lifestyle that requires frequent journeys abroad. On average, about 41% of the survey participants still had to submit their expense reports manually via spreadsheet - an exercise that took them up to an hour of active business time to complete (not counting the time it took to gather and safeguard the supporting documentation throughout their travels).
Fortunately, there are quite a few useful mobile apps out there that can streamline the reporting process for frequent business travellers. These include:
If you really want to bring out the big organisational guns, the Sabre app should be at the top of your list. This award-winning mobile solution seamlessly integrates bookings, itineraries, messaging, virtual payments, expense reporting and even travel risk management.
Receiptmate is integrated with the Evernote platform and provides an on-the-go receipt scanning solution that transcribes the data automatically, tracks expenses by category and generates the necessary reports.
Certify is tailormade for small businesses that want to keep track of their employees' travel and day-to-day expenses by rapidly capturing the data and funneling it into a cloud-based approval system. It allows for receipt capture via mobile, fax, scan and add-on software like ReportExecutive.
Shoeboxed is great for businesses who like to prepare for tax season ahead of time. Like most of the apps listed here, it allows users to capture the data on the receipts they generate on the fly. The kicker is that once the data is captured, it then becomes possible for the business' accountant to accurately categorise these expenses. An added benefit is that the platform also enables users to capture data off business cards to create a digital contact list without the need for an additional app.
When it comes to travel expense reporting, the TravelManor team are standing by to take a sizeable chunk of paperwork off your plate. Let us take care of everything relating to your flights and accommodation, so you only have to keep track of the day-to-day expense tracking while you're on the road. Get in touch with our consultants to find out more about our services and how we can streamline your corporate travel experience from start to finish.
