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Let Software Help With Expense Report Drudgery
By Ted Needleman
If you feel that the worst part of a business trip is coming home and having to prepare an expense report, you’re not alone. Many organizations have developed an expense account spreadsheet template, but most of these still require that you sort expense receipts and frequently add them with a calculator as well.
If you are a frequent traveler, you might want to consider expense report software. These applications let you enter your receipts as you accumulate them, print out a detailed report or reports on your return, staple your receipts, and submit. It’s not completely painless, but this type of software can take a lot of the sting out of the process of submitting reports and getting reimbursed.
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One affordable approach is ExpensAble form ExpensAble, Inc. (www.expensable.com). Available in Desktop, Handheld, and Enterprise editions, and starting at an affordable $79.95 for a single-user copy, this easy-to-use application makes it easy to enter and organize your receipts, print reports, and track reimbursements. If your credit cards offer it, you can even download expense data directly into the software. A free 30-day trial version of the Desktop edition is available for download, if you want to try it before you buy.
Even easier is NeatReceipts ($229.95 from www.neatreceipts.com or kiosks in many airports). NeatReceipts is more expensive than ExpensAble, but comes with a slim USB scanner. This scanner is powered by the USB port, and comes with a cloth bag so you can take it on the road with you.
The reporting and reimbursement tracking features of NeatReceipts are similar to those in ExpensAble, but the centerpiece of the application is the scanner. This lets you scan your receipts, and once scanned they are put through an OCR (optical Character Recognition) engine that extracts the date, payee, amount, and even sales tax from the receipt. This process is not 100% accurate, but was more accurate than expected. The receipt images can be saved in PDF format, so if your expense report and receipts are lost or misplace, you can print off an additional copy.
Check with your organization’s expense reimbursement person before you purchase either application to make sure that they will accept the reports generated instead of the organization’s standard form. Many will, and in fact, may even decide to adopt the application for other frequent travels.
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This article is from NPT TechnoBuzz, a publication of The NonProfit Times.
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