Chrome River CURRENTS

Many companies have employees who regularly travel for business. Top execs may need to be on-site to manage multiple offices, specialists may need to attend conferences and give workshops, and sales, customer service, and technical support reps may need to visit customers to generate sales and foster business-client relationships.

Airline travelers currently getting the go-ahead by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff to go through the PreCheck (or Pre√) security free of charge will soon be back in the regular line. For those unfamiliar with PreCheck, the TSA Pre√ program makes it easier and faster for travelers to go through pre-flight airport security screening. Fliers signed up with TSA Pre√ keep their belts, shoes and lightweight outerwear on and don’t need to walk through body scanner machines. They also don’t have to take their laptop out of its carry case and can leave toiletries inside their carry-on bag. These simple steps have done much to speed people through security at 118 U.S. airports.

In July, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), a trade organization for corporate travel and expense managers, held its annual meeting in Los Angeles, California.  Topics that generated the most buzz at the meeting were the huge increase in corporate travel globally and the risks of managing corporate travelers across disparate global destinations.

With employee travel and entertainment (T&E) spending accounting for up to 6% of total corporate costs and continuing to increase, it's wise for companies to monitor T&E spending. Lack of careful T&E oversight can open the door to fraud, policy violations and corporate waste. Consider the below tips to keep your corporate T&E spending in check. 

Expense accounts used to mean lunching at trendy bistros and dining with martinis and wine. Not anymore. Corporate workers have shifted from expensing restaurants that are high and mighty to those that are fast and cheap. The overall average cost of an expensed meal these days is around $18, with the top five expensed restaurants listed below.

Need socks, groceries and pet food? Sure, that’s fine. Feel the need to buy some new golf clubs or maybe a teepee? Hey, that’s your concern. Want to gamble on the lottery — or a cosmetic surgery procedure? It’s no big deal until you try to slip them past your employer as expense claims.

Finance departments already routinely use online platforms to collaborate and communicate with users. Now, new mobile apps are proving useful for employees who work on the go, an article on AccountingToday.com reports. Whether your organization needs online expense reporting, document access or just a quick way to look up data, a mobile app may offer the most convenient connection to your accounting department.

On a recent US Airways flight, we pulled into the gate later than our expected arrival time.  The flight attendant, no doubt in an effort to sound considerate, asked everyone on the plane to please let those passengers trying to make connecting flights disembark first.  I thought, ‘What a ridiculous request!  Though I’d be more than happy to oblige, how will the rest of the passengers—all of whom will be jumping out of their seats as soon as we come to a stop—know exactly who among us meets that requirement?  Would it be the people who look exhausted, flushed, nauseated or annoyed?  That would include everyone!’

There isn’t a business out there that isn’t looking to find a way to operate more efficiently. After all, in the current economic climate, keeping a close eye on the bottom line is more important than ever. You can’t afford to let any efficiency-maintaining opportunity to cut costs slip past. Whether you’re the CEO of a major corporation or operating your own small business, you’re probably looking for ways to streamline your expense management.

One of the best ways to do this is to make sure that you have control over who gets to use an expense account and which items are permissible. Too often, companies neglect to ensure that only authorized expenses are reimbursed. It might not seem like much when the costs are only a couple of dollars, but when those dollars are multiplied by various individuals over the course of a year, it can mean a substantial loss. By making sure that you’re controlling what is allowed, you’ll help ensure your bottom line stays strong. If you find that employees are failing to comply, you can provide them with concrete information on reimbursable vs. out-of-pocket expenses.

Another way to streamline expense management is setting up an expense overview schedule. Every quarter, take some time to go over the year-to-date expenses, find out which areas are costing the most, and make adjustments accordingly. For example, if you find that lodging is costing more each quarter due to price increases on the hotel end, you can research comparable lodgings at a lower cost. By reviewing expenses on a regular basis, you’ll make sure that you’re not caught off-guard by cost overruns.

One of the most effective ways to cut costs and save time is to automate your travel and expense reporting system with a product like Chrome River EXPENSE. Your company might be spending too much time and creating too many problems by using outdated expense reporting procedures. Chrome River EXPENSE shows employees precisely how much they can spend, which expenses will be covered, and when an expense falls outside the guidelines for reimbursement. Having an automated expense system allows you to easily submit expense reports, analyze spending data, and produce proper documentation when it comes time to submit annual budgets and file tax returns.