Friday, November 28, 2014

The thing you can Benefit from Expense Reporting Software

br> Managing your business expenses doesn't require you to learn accounting principles or hire many people to keep accounts who use formulas and crib notes to prepare the spreadsheets. You can now get expense report management software as an easier solution to exercise better control on your company's expenses.
Various online expense report software are available in the market, which offer absolute process automation and complete cost control over a company's accounts payable operations. By merging financial systems experience and the latest internet technologies, these expense management solutions make tracking and reporting expenditure a cakewalk by automating and streamlining the entire procedure. Thus, you can enjoy the benefit of powerful reporting along with tremendous configuration and ease-of-use.
If you are still in a dilemma about using expense reporting software, here are some of the benefits that the move can bring to your business:
Increased accuracy: You can decrease manual errors by using expense report software to import personal and corporate credit card transactions directly to expense reports.
A simplified process: Both report processors and report filers need to invest less time and effort to enter and track expenses.
Easy creation and management of invoices: You can design and create professional invoices faster with expense management solutions, which can then be printed or sent to clients via email so that you get paid sooner.
Working with teams at different locations: If you need people from different locations to collaborate, or multiple users to access the accounts, you can specify permission levels to control such access to data, and let people work as a team despite being situated at different locations.
Keep track with business overview: Many of these software offer businesses a company snapshot where a single screen displays how your business is doing. Starting from what you are earning and spending, to how you are doing compared to last year, you can get to know all these and more. With this one-click visibility, you can make informed financial and business decisions.
Better customer service: You can store and easily access your customer and supplier data with such software. By knowing more about your customers, you can identify who your best customers are, and see who buys what, how often and when. All such data would help you to offer better customer service to your clients.
Reduced costs: You can save up to 40% on expense report processing fees paid to professionals with automated expense reporting software.
Easier compliance to your company's expense policies and other statutory rules, instant access to critical reports and information, trading and handle multiple currencies are some other benefits that such expense reporting solutions can offer. So, start using one today to see how it can change the way you manage your business funds.

Rising Corporate Hotel Rates & New Booking Strategies for 2015



Recent research led by Bjorn Hanson at the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism and the School of Professional Studies shows that negotiated rates are on the rise for 2015. Due to business meeting demand and a corporate rate growth plateau over the past five years, the research forecasts the rates will more closely parallel the industry’s rising leisure rates.

Based on Hanson’s findings, “From 2009 to 2011, corporate rates didn’t change much, so now the sales side needs to catch up.” Despite an increase of 1.5 million group rooms sold from 2013-2014, corporate rates have remained relatively stagnant.

Post-financial crisis trends include fewer meeting attendees and shorter meeting lengths. Meals are often scheduled during the meetings (in place of large banquets), leaving evenings open for business travelers. Because corporate negotiated rates account for nearly 20 percent of occupied room night revenue in the U.S. hotel industry—and 30 percent of the U.S. lodging industry—Hanson estimates that rates will rise by 5.5 to 6.5 percent in 2015. The average increases for 2014? 4.5 percent.

A Change in Booking Strategies A common practice in the last several years: travelers often seek last minute lodging or airfare to find the best possible rate. As demand is rising for both business and leisure, hotels are no longer as eager to fill unoccupied rooms for a low cost. Longer booking windows are a better strategy to attain corporate negotiated rates, allowing business travelers to book in advance.

Another advantageous strategy for corporations is to integrate policy compliance with a travel booking system—especially if business travelers are booking their own accommodations. With online booking sites, noncompliant charges often slip through the cracks, and with travel agencies, fees can be a costly expense. Combining automated policy reinforcement with self-service travel booking will impact many aspects of corporate travel as the hotel industry evolves.

At Certify, we tackle compliance issues through our tight integration with the top travel agencies for corporate travel. Click here to see how our online travel booking system works. To learn more about Certify’s cloud-based expense management.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Expense Software the way in Controlling your Employee Expenses



There are numerous activities on which money is spent by various organizations. All organizations which make some kind of product need to spend money on purchasing raw materials, hiring labor, operating production process etc. If expenses are not done with proper planning then companies may end up spending a lot more money than they should spend on various activities. No organization would want such a thing to happen because if they incur more costs then their profits will surely decrease. In order to maximize profits, costs must be reduced to the maximum possible extent.One of the major areas of expenditure by companies is employees. The salaries and incentives which are paid, the traveling expenses etc; all are costs to an organization. However, it is very important to take care of the needs of all the employees otherwise they will not be satisfied with their jobs. If the employees of an organization are happy then they will work in a desired manner. This is important for the success of any organization. In order to stay ahead from the competitors, organizations take several measures like spending heavy money on promotions etc.

Various efforts are done by the marketing departments of different organizations to make sure that their companies get a lot of business. A lot of traveling is involved sometimes when employees need to go to other cities and countries for making new clients. These expenses are to be paid by the organizations. You might have heard about the expense software; which is used to track the expenses made by employees while they travel for business. The expense software is very important software which is used by a large number of organizations at present.

One of the most important questions which someone may ask about the expense report software is the source from where one should buy this software. There are many companies which claim that they are offering the best kind of software for tracking employee expenses. However, one should know that proper research needs to be done when it comes to finding out the company from which an organization should buy the expense software. Organizations should take the help of the internet in order to know about the best websites which offer reliable software for tracking employee expenses.

The benefits which are offered by the online expenses management are numerous. A large number of organizations have become able to control their expenses on business trips of their employees by using the software for recording employee expenses.Organizations which are not using any kind of software to record the expenses done by their employees on business trips should consider the option of buying such software. The online expenses management is all about keeping a close eye on the expenses which are done by various employees of an organization. These expenses are to be paid by organizations and they should make sure that its employees are spending its money in an appropriate manner.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The Expense Reports and its Roles in the Business



Expense reports play a vital role in the business organizations in many ways. They become important part of record for the employer for the tax purposes. The total income of an organization comes after all the expenses are deducted from the total revenue earned by such organization. That means the expenses mentioned on the expense report also become part of total expenses of an organization and they are not subjected to taxes. The expenses shown in the expense reports go into the expenses and they can be shown to tax authorities at the time of need.

An expense report is usually in shape of forms which are filled up by the employees when they spend from their pockets during representing the employer or organization for the purposes of business. The expenses usually are of travelling, eating, staying and similar ones which are mentioned on the expense report. The employer reimburses the employee with the expenses so made and the expense report eventually becomes an important part of the record for the organization. Even some of the good employees give bonuses to employees who spend wisely while spending on behalf of the employer.

The expense report is a way which strengthens the relationship between the employee and the employer. Expense report shows credibility of both the employee and the employer. Good employees spend wisely while representing the organization and they fill up the expense report honestly. Similarly the good employers pay the employees in less span of time the expenses so mentioned on the report. If both of them keep working honestly then things shorten up the distances and relations between the two improve.

The expense report can perform as performance evaluator for the employee. It shows an employer clearly how extravagant or wise an employee is. The employer can track various kinds of expenses made by the employees during staying, eating and traveling to different destinations for the organization of the employer. The expense report can serve as an important tool for reducing the expenses for future when the employees are out to spend on behalf of the employer.