As business travelers, unless we work on a per diem basis, we regularly have to deal with expense reports. Expense reports are, by their very nature, a pain in the neck. Many of you are probably required to enter detailed data in some outdated spreadsheet for you accounting department every week. That’s all fine and dandy, but there is a better way.
SamePage Solutions allows users to do all sorts of timesaving things with your expense reports using their new program ExpenseWire. Now, this is something you’ll need to get approved through your accountant or whoever makes those decisions, but if you can make it happen it can make things easier for everyone involved. It’s super easy to use, both as an administrator and as a user.
This program allows all expenses to be processed online. If set up with your account information, you can drag and drop transactions directly from your online credit card or bank statement into your expense report. No more keeping up with your receipts for weeks to itemize them on your expense report.
You have the option of billing expenses to a particular client account (in which case client information can be pre-loaded) or not. Common expense types are provided in a drop-down menu. I don’t like that the “Description” for each item is a required field, but I’m sure this can be easily edited. The application is linked to the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and automatically converts currency for foreign travel. It will be available for Firefox next month and for Safari in January.
If you keep up with your expenses while on the road rather than turning in your report once you’re back in the office, this could speed up your reimbursement time considerably. What’s my favorite part? ExpenseWire provides the option of electronically approving expenses and reimbursing via direct deposit. I despise going to the bank and this means no more special trips just to deposit the weekly expense check.
Get your accounting department to try it free for 30 days. I’m sure they’ll love it just as much as you do.
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