Travel Expense Reporting via App: Why Digital Submission and Accounting are Essential

Submitting travel expense reports often feels like a hurdle race: finding the receipt, typing in all the information manually and in compliance with regulations, keeping to all deadlines, etc. From “Where did I put that receipt?” to “OK” from the HR department, a lot of time and even more nerves are spent.
This not only annoys the users but also the admins.
A small device that we hold in our hands half the day provides a remedy: our smartphone.

An app for travel expense reporting is not just a nice-to-have, but essential in modern and current work culture. Why? As obvious as the answers are, they are fundamental.

For the following reasons, we incorporated expense and travel expense reporting into our app at the end of last year. It was clear to us that it perfectly complements our feature portfolio and makes the software even more valuable for our customers.

This post summarizes all the arguments for travel expense reporting via app. One thing upfront: don’t overthink it, just do it!

When it comes to the completeness of data and simplifying processes, an app offers advantages for all involved.

With the appropriate app, digital receipts and invoices can be uploaded directly. Analog ones are simply photographed. The photo is uploaded to the app and all data is automatically captured. This prevents receipts from getting lost and helps you maintain complete documentation. With the proper discipline, this is already done on the go, keyword: Mobile App.

Even if the complete report is sent to the HR department later, all receipts and invoices can be collected directly or uploaded to the app. This prevents a later search and – in the worst case – the loss of receipts and information.

Some apps work with special technology for image interpretation with which photos of receipts are basically scanned. Information such as invoice date, price, and so on are thus automatically entered in the app and do not have to be typed in manually. This saves the user effort and prevents incorrect data entry.

A major advantage of the app is a generally very uncomplicated and fast accounting process. After all receipts are quickly uploaded and all important data quickly entered, the report is submitted with one click. The admin receives a corresponding notification and can check everything directly and forward it to accounting with another click.

At absence.io, we fundamentally develop and optimize every feature for both the admin AND the user. For travel expense reporting, an app solution has special benefits.

One of the main arguments for digitalization is the almost complete elimination of paper. This not only saves money but also protects nature. A digital expense management solution reduces your company’s ecological footprint.
This also eliminates the need for a large part of the necessary storage space. Goodbye folders, welcome cloud storage!

This argument is a “no-brainer,” but it is still often underestimated. Digital processes reduce the necessary working hours and thus your costs IMMENSELY. We are currently working on an internal study to quantify this.

First and foremost, travel expense reporting is annoying for the “submitter”. An app provides good relief here.

The biggest advantage for the user is submitting invoices and receipts the moment he receives them. The need to store (where?) and the subsequent search (where?) are eliminated.
The train ticket arrives by email and is uploaded directly to the app via the smartphone. The entertainment receipt is photographed, the photo uploaded, and automatically scanned and captured by the app.
This feature alone is enough to outperform any other solution for travel expense reporting.

This naturally includes time savings and stress relief. “Where is the receipt?”, “Oh damn, I should have submitted this yesterday?”, “Where did we store the template for the report again?” All these questions become obsolete.

The software provider always stays legally up to date. Otherwise, his app is quite worthless. The HR department keeps the software up to date with internal guidelines. For the user, things like meal allowances or mileage allowances are never outdated, which significantly reduces misunderstandings and the like.

In the end, there’s nothing more to say than: Go for it. The travel expense accounting via app ultimately makes everyone happy, from the “submitter” to the Big Boss. One advantage follows another.

At absence.io, you can test your travel expense app for 14 days free of charge and without obligation. Alternatively, our product experts are available at any time for a free consultation or a product presentation. Let’s go!