Fri, Jun 21, 2013 Could Your Paper Receipts Be a Health Hazard?

The advice “make sure you get a receipt” may now require an addendum: “But don’t touch it!” Handling crumpled register receipts certainly kills productivity, but these receipts may also be a health hazard. Mobile expense management software could help reduce your exposure.

Many receipts and boarding passes are printed on thermal paper, which has a silky feel. An article on The Huffington Post website reports that about half of this thermal paper is coated with the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), according to a new study. While BPA isn’t banned by the FDA, current research suggests exposure can affect the central nervous system and nerve cell development.

Handling a thermal receipt can transfer BPA to the hands, contaminating food or other surfaces. If your organization uses manual expense reports, such contact would occur multiple times as an employee transfers receipts between pockets and envelopes, sorts items, and assembles expense reports, and again when an approver reviews the expenses.

By adopting mobile expense management software, you can reduce or even eliminate contact with BPA-coated receipts. Take a business lunch, for example. When the waiter brings the receipt, an employee can use a mobile device to log the expense in real time, snapping a photo of the receipt without ever touching it.

With Chrome River MOBILE, there’s no need to handle a wadded-up pile of receipts to submit with your report after you return to the office. For each expense, you can set the date, enter the amount in the correct currency, enter the expense type and description, and allocate the expense to the applicable matter or project code. If a receipt is required, just snap a picture with your mobile device. When you’re done, touch “Send.”

Automated business expense tracking offers several cost and productivity advantages over manual processes. And now, with potentially hazardous chemicals revealed to be coating receipts, expense management software might also be good for your health.

We’d love to hear from you. Are you concerned about the possible hazards of BPA? Let us know by posting in the comments section!