In today’s world, 83% of companies have switched from paperwork to a real-time expense tracking tool. This enables faster, quicker, and more reliable reimbursements. Instead of waiting until the trip is finished, expenses are reimbursed as quickly as they happen. This gives more transparency and instant visibility to the employee and the employer.
But what exactly is real-time expense tracking?
A Quick Guide About Real-Time Expense Tracking:
Real-time travel and expense management is a modern solution that allows every swipe, scan, or expense to be tracked and processed instantly. In the past, employees often had to wait weeks or even months for their reimbursements to be approved. But with this game-changing technology, every financial move is recorded and managed within seconds, making the process fast, seamless, and stress-free.
Travel Expense Automation Vs. Traditional Expense Tracking
Over time, the shift toward expense reporting software became inescapable. As businesses grow more remote, manual processes can’t match the pace of real-time decision-making and on-the-go expense reporting.
The following are a few challenges that gave birth to the need for real-time expense tracking:
Too much paperwork: Receipts, forms, and credit card statements used to pile up quickly.
Manual errors: More paperwork means higher chances of human errors, resulting in employee dissatisfaction and frustration.
Slower process: To get things perfect, the finance team may slow down the process, resulting in delays.
Lack of visibility: Finance teams couldn’t track spending until well after the trip.Â
Policy violation: Without expense reporting software, it’s easier for employees to overspend or unknowingly break travel and expense policy.
Now that we’ve unpacked the struggles of traditional tracking, it’s easy to see why businesses are making the switch. But this shift isn’t just about avoiding headaches; it’s about unlocking smarter, faster, and more efficient ways to manage travel spending. Let’s explore the real benefits of real-time expense tracking.
Benefits of Real-Time Expense Tracking for Corporate Travel
Here’s why businesses around the world rely on these automated systems for corporate travel management:
Real-time visibility:Â
Businesses can actually review real-time travel data and spot out-of-policy expenses before the expense is logged.
Cost control:Â
You can actually set a fixed budget and control business travel costs for better overall financial visibility.
Faster reimbursements:Â
Employee travel reimbursement couldn’t get quicker with real-time expense tracking! Everything’s sorted within seconds.
Policy compliance:Â
You can make sure that the employee sticks to the travel policy and does not misuse the allotted budget.Â
Improved employee experience:Â
Transparent processes and quicker reimbursements ultimately result in employee satisfaction.
How Real-Time Expense Tracking Has Transformed Corporate Travel - No More Mindnumbing Spreadsheets
We are in an era where expense report software is no longer a luxury; rather, it is a necessity. It is safe to say that real-time expense tracking tools have transformed corporate travel management. The table below sums up how corporate travel has taken a new turn with a real-time expense tracking tool.
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Aspect |
Without Travel Management Software |
With Travel Management Software |
Expense Logging |
Without real-time expense tracking, employees have to wait until the end of the trip to claim expenses. This can result in forgotten entries, incorrect amounts and missing receipts. As a result, the spending comes out of the employee’s pocket. |
Expenses are logged instantly at the moment they happen. Since expense report software is accessible on mobile phones, employees can log in and submit expenses from taxis, hotels or even client meetings. This results in quicker and more accurate reporting. |
Receipt Management |
During the trip, it can be difficult to keep expense receipts safe. They’re often crumpled in luggage and forgotten in hotel drawers. Manual attachment to reports creates a hassle for both employees and finance staff. |
Expense management software allows you to click a picture of every receipt, which is scanned and submitted quickly. Bills are stored in the cloud, which is safe, accessible and ready for audit. |
Time Spent |
On average, manual reimbursements take 2 to 4 weeks, and this time period can be extended if the employee submits the receipts late. This leads to frustrated and unhappy employees. |
With instant receipt submission in a real-time expense tracking tool, reimbursements can be quicker and can be approved as soon as claimed. This improves employee satisfaction and enhances their trust in the systems. |
Policy Control |
During the trip, companies have limited control over expenses until the employee submits the report. This can result in frequent overspending and out-of-policy claims. |
With real-time expense tracking, policies are automatically applied in real time. This reduces the chances of overspending and out-of-scope purchases. This enables better control. |
Finance Team Workload |
Manual reporting required significant back-and-forth between finance, employees, and managers. Reviewing, verifying, and approving expenses could take hours per report. |
Reviewing, verifying and approving expenses could take weeks or even months. With automated real-time expense tracking systems, manual checks are reduced to a minimum. Â |
Accuracy |
Manual logs can be wrong due to potential human errors. The chances of duplicate claims, altered receipts and exaggerated mileages are tough to identify. |
Every entry is accurate as it is logged in real time. This can reduce the chances of fraud by 43%. If real-time expense tracking is used, finance teams can rely on the data they see. |
Policy Compliance |
If we opt for manual budgeting, it is forecasted on the basis of outdated data. Due to this, annual trip budgets can be inaccurate, insufficient or allotted more than required. |
Real-time analytics provide accurate spending trends by department, project, or destination. Companies using automated travel systems have improved forecasting accuracy by up to 25%. |
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ExpenseVisor | Award-Winning Travel Expense Automation Tool
No doubt, this expense tracking tool has fully changed corporate travel and for all the right reasons. But here’s the catch: not every expense reporting tool delivers on its promise. That’s why smart businesses choose trusted platforms like ExpenseVisor. With powerful features, global reliability, and built-in compliance checks, it doesn’t just track your expenses; it takes the stress out of managing them.
