Even if you’re the most seasoned business traveller, travelling for business can be incredibly stressful. And the stress doesn’t end when you get back home: then starts the tedious chore of managing and filing your expenses…
You want to maintain corporate policies, but the tedium of writing everything down, rustling through bags for receipts and creating a report is certainly no fun. KDS, a European technology leader, recently surveyed 1,235 UK white-collar employees about their attitudes towards managing expenses. And guess what… They’re not happy. Responses to how these employees experienced the expense process ranged from ‘painful’ to ‘boring’ and ‘slow’.
Most travellers said they felt aggravated when faced with delays in approvals for submitted claims and delays in reimbursements. They also said they were being made to feel under suspicion when it came to claiming their expenses.
Did you know that almost half of corporate travellers still struggle with complicated spreadsheets for expense claims? This is definitely not the most efficient process and will cost your employer time and money. According to KDS, 63% of employees using automated expense management tools take less than 30 minutes to file claims and 34% receive reimbursement within seven days. Only 51% of spreadsheet users file claims in less than 30 minutes, and only 17% are reimbursed within seven days.
So, what can be done to take the headache out of submitting expense claims?
Your ASATA travel agent will be able to advise you on software or mobile apps that can assist with recording expenses, imaging receipts, and submitting expense reports from multiple devices. These apps are perfect for busy business travellers who don’t have time to keep up with receipts or the resources to create comprehensive documents.
Although your ASATA travel agent is the best positioned to help you with an app that is best suited for your company, here is a little taste of the apps out there:
Expensify and Concur Mobile are both free apps that allow you to upload and store receipts, compile information into a report and send the report to your company. If you’re happy to splurge about $6,99, BizXpense Tracker allows you to track multiple types of expenses throughout your trip, which you can then compile into a PDF.
Otto de Vries
CEO: ASATA