Common Business Travel Problems Encountered

Business travelers face a number of complications when they're on the road. Sometimes these issues are inconveniences, and sometimes they can even cause safety hazards. One fact is sure: when individuals go out on business trips, they're not going on the road for the sake of leisure. They can expect to work hard, and be faced with many challenges.

As a result, the Global Business Travel Association recently conducted a survey that aimed to track the top concerns, safety hazards and inconveniences that are faced by business travelers when they're out on the road. The company then collected the responses and averaged out the top concerns faced by travelers - not including expense management or other financial concerns - when they're out on the road. The most-often identified mishaps and inconveniences are listed below:

54 percent of travelers identified weather delays as a concern 48 percent identified delayed flight and train departures as a concern 40 percent identified airplane incidents - such as mechanical issues - as a concern

16 percent identified missing their connecting flight as a concern "Delays, cancelations and mechanical issues are an unfortunate, unpredictable aspect of business travel," said Joseph Bates, vice president of research at the firm. "Travel managers face all of these challenges and leading companies are working to address these issues. This research looks to provide travel managers with data that can help them uncover new methods and polices to ease stress for their business travelers." One such change that could help ease stress for business travelers would be the implementation of automated expense reporting technology. As flight delays, hotel booking changes and other factors alter the costs of a given business trip, the traveler would have to log and analyze every increase and decrease to ensure that they're still in compliance with company policy. With the help of digital expense reporting technology, such as the program offered by Certify, these changes would be entirely automated, with the employee notified if the new altered costs now violate company policy. That gives them more time to focus on the trip, instead of their travel expense report - minimizing the effect of the mishap.

Safety should always be a priority during business trips In addition to inconvenient mishaps, the GBTA study also investigated the many safety risks that business travelers are exposed to while out on the road for their companies. Travelers identified the below-listed risks as their top concerns, health wise, while they're out on the road:

50 percent of corporate travelers identified the location of their hotel was a top concern 36 percent identified airline safety records as a concern 35 percent identified safety of ground-based transportation as a concern 34 percent identified ignorance as to who they should call in case of emergency as a concern

Safety concerns may be of an even higher importance to business travelers than the possibility of mishaps such as flight delays and unplanned changes in hotel bookings. That's because, according to the GBTA findings, 46 percent of all respondents are not provided travel insurance by their company, and also have not procured such coverage for themselves via an outside agency.

Using Expense Management Software in Assisting Team Members

A company may hire team members worldwide, and each of these professionals could serve an important role within an organization. As such, employees might need to make purchases on the go, but there can sometimes be challenges that these workers could encounter.

For example, a business professional overseas may use a different currency to buy specific items. While these products are essential for this staff member to perform work, he or she may struggle if companies cannot account for various currencies in their expense reporting processes. Certify is incredibly valuable for international organizations because it enables them to handle multiple currencies with ease. This expense reporting solution provides real-time exchange rate calculations for 140 currencies, which makes it worthwhile for businesses that want to support team members around the globe.

An expense reporting solution that recognizes cultural preferences Each employee may have his or her own preferences for formatting numbers, entering dates or completing other procedures. With Certify, company leaders can streamline their expense reporting processes, making it easier for workers to interact with a system that uses familiar formatting. Certify automatically applies cultural preferences at the user level based on his or her browser settings. After a worker starts using the expense reporting software, he or she will not have to worry about configuring it. Instead, Certify acts quickly to adjust to each employee's preferences, which can reduce the amount of time it takes him or her to submit expense reports to a supervisor.

Expense reporting software that supports multiple languages A global organization may employ staff members who speak different languages. Team members could submit expense reports in their own languages as well, and thankfully, Certify is designed to help these business professionals.

By using Certify, workers can select a desired language when they set up their accounts. There are 64 languages to choose from, and the preferred language can be changed at any time.

Meanwhile, Certify's multiple language capability uses advanced machine language translation that further streamlines the expense reporting process for businesses. Each user can take advantage of the software to enhance automatic translations with specific localizations and develop quality expense reports at all times.

What Expenses need to be tracked under the Sunshine Act?

Under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, drug and medical device suppliers nationwide must track specific expenses. However, many firms might be unfamiliar with the regulation or its conditions, which can make it nearly impossible to avoid compliance issues.

A well-informed business operator could help his or her firm stay on track with its operating costs. Even a minor expenditure can have far-flung effects on a company, especially for a drug or medical device provider that must comply with the Sunshine Act.

With state-of-the-art receipt management software from Certify, a firm could prevent expense reporting errors. Sunshine Act compliance software may benefit both big and small firms, enabling these companies to manage their operating expenses for extended periods of time.

Monitoring expenses under the Sunshine Act The American Medical Association's Jeremy Lazarus points out that the Sunshine Act helps ensure transparency in physicians' interactions with members of the pharmaceutical, biologic and medical device industries. Because the regulation features steep penalties, however, companies are taking steps to ensure that they manage their expenses accordingly.

Under the Sunshine Act, any transfers of value or payments to physicians and hospitals greater than $10 must be reported to the federal government. These expenses include consulting fees, research costs and much more, and all contributions exceeding $100 will be published on a public website as well.

Meanwhile, a business that ignores the Sunshine Act may receive annual fines up to $1 million. Drug and medical device manufacturers can prevent compliance problems, however, if they invest in expense reporting platforms.

A high-quality Sunshine Act compliance solution To navigate the Sunshine Act, a firm can rely on Certify's high-quality compliance software. This platform allows companies to track expenses quickly and effectively, enabling these businesses to submit timely, accurate reports to the federal government. Certify's innovative expense management system makes it easy for employees to send error-free materials to managers. Additionally, supervisors can use the solution to report on all National Provider Identifier data by depending on a web-based platform.

On-the-go functionality also makes Certify's Sunshine Act compliance solution a first-rate choice for businesses of all sizes. Certify users can link multiple physicians to a single expense, create federally required reports and perform other tasks on their smartphones and tablets.

The Sunshine Act may seem confusing at first, but Certify is incredibly valuable to firms that must comply with this regulation. In fact, an investment in this expense reporting solution gives team members access to top-notch tools that may help them for years to come.

Finding the Best Time Making Travel Bookings

All traveling employees and managers worry about the travel costs that add up on a company's expense reports. Yet very few likely consider the effect that the time-of-day has on when they should book their travel accommodations. One recent report shows that prices fluctuate regularly at airliners - and that different times of day may be much better than others.

Skrift, citing data from Yapta, reported that more than 20 percent of all price-drops occurring at airlines in a given week occur during off business hours on Tuesday. Off hours on Wednesday followed close behind, accounting for 19 percent of all drops, offering savvy bookers an insight as to when they should be booking their seats. The study from Yapta also found that negotiated fares dropped more frequently than fares in any other class, accounting for 73 percent of price drops.

"Sometimes negotiated rates can open in a different class of service, which would open an opportunity for the company to save," a Yapta spokesperson told Skrift. "Also, often times companies will simply negotiate a discount off of the public fare."

Only 14 percent of all price drops took place on Saturday and Sunday combined, so clearly the weekend is not the right time to be looking for low airline prices. Some may think that these savings are insignificant, but the difference adds up on a corporate expense report: according to the study, the average savings for a ticket under $500 was $58, and the average savings for a ticket priced at more than $500 was $306.

"Just because corporations have negotiated fares with their preferred airlines doesn't mean these corporations don't have to be vigilant about carriers lowering their fares," wrote Dennis Schaal, of Skrift. "A lack of vigilance about these price drops means businesses are wasting money, and leaving themselves open to charges of wastefulness to foes in the corporation."

Another way to keep travel costs down: go to cities with low taxes. There's another factor that can have a surprisingly significant effect on the overall amount that your employees request for reimbursements on their expense reports: Taxes. A recent Fox News report, citing information from a Global Business Travel Association study, listed the top ten cities for tax costs.

The study took into consideration the amounts added on top of average car rental, restaurant and hotel booking expenses. The list is reproduced below. Clearly, executives need to know - if you send employees to one of these cities, you can expect a heftier expense report than usual to come back with them.

Expert to Tips Saving in your Business Trips

Even the biggest organizations have to pay close attention to the costs listed on their employee's expense reports. Corporate travel is an integral part of all successful business plans - but it can also be mighty costly. Employees going out on the road - and the employees sending them - may want to consider the tips offered by experts listed below. These might just help to get the amount being reimbursed to employees by way of expense reports decreasing significantly.

Multi-task whenever possible - it might just save you a trip in the future If you have any free time at all during a business trip, you can see if you can fill it with other work that will offer your employer a larger return on investment for the trip. For example, one seasoned business traveler spoke to monsterworking.com about how they often meet with colleagues in the cities they he travels to on business - even if he wasn't traveling to the city for the sake of meeting those specific colleagues. If that's not possible, the individual advises that travelers visit family or friends instead - basically, he suggest travelers do anything possible to get the most value out of their trip.

"When you go on a trip, you want to pack as many stops in as possible to get the most out of the cost of your plane ticket," Nick Friedman, of moving company College Hunks Hauling Junk, told monsterworking.com. "If I'm going to D.C. for a conference, for example, I'll also stop in to check on our D.C. franchise, meet with potential vendors, and spend time with family and friends in the area. Pack your time efficiently to make every travel dollar count." Don't spend on meals if you don't have to

One of the biggest costs on any given expense report doesn't have to due with airfare, though - it's the total cost of all the meals eaten by a traveling employee during a business trip. So, if they're willing, employees would do well to eat inside their hotel instead of at their destination city's fanciest restaurant. "The big thing for me is to find a hotel that serves a good large breakfast," Steve VanDenAkker, an electronics installation technician, told USA Today. "I usually take a box of cereal or some yogurt back to the room for my night-time snack."

In fact, don't spend on anything if you don't have to Just as you can eat your dinners and other meals inside the hotel, you can also cut back on other factors to keep your costs low. This might me staying in one night instead of catching a big show, or it may mean aligning your flights so that you can stay one less night at your hotel than originally planned. However you cut your corners, the result - a lower overall trip cost on your expense reports - will be worth it.

Expense Management Software and Customer Satisfaction Reviews

A company cannot survive without the support of its loyal employees. As a result, numerous firms frequently collect vendor satisfaction reviews so they can bolster their efficiency and provide dependable support to their work teams. With Certify SpendSmart, a business can get the most out of its expense reports by collecting customer happiness ratings and reviews over an extended period of time. This platform makes it easy to rank vendors, as employees can complete an optional survey whenever they submit expense materials.

Making informed decisions In the corporate world, smart business leaders can help their firms for years to come. These officials understand the challenges of the global economy and will take steps to ensure that team members are able to complete everyday tasks around the world.

Certify is perfect for companies that want to highlight their businesses' goals and values to workers. Because a firm might employ team members worldwide, this company can give employees access to first-rate expense reporting tools whenever they need them.

Using Certify can have both instant and long-lasting effects on businesses of all sizes. By incorporating this solution into its everyday operations, a company allows workers to send error-free expense reports to their superiors at any time. Meanwhile, a business can receive customer reviews from employees, which can help it make informed decisions about airlines, hotels and other travel costs in the future.

Boosting employee satisfaction levels A company that keeps its workers happy could reap the rewards of a productive staff. This firm may be able to boost its employee satisfaction and retention rates as well, thanks in part to this state-of-the-art platform. Employee feedback is usually valuable for organizations around the globe, particularly in today's challenging economic climate. As more firms search for top talent, company leaders who take steps to ensure that team members receive first-rate support at all times could help their businesses extend their reach. Forbes contributor Steve Cooper points out that happy workers commonly help their employers earn more money. If a business invests in world-class expense reporting software, it may be able to improve its employee satisfaction levels and increase its profits.

Defining Costumer Happiness at Certify

Managing a certain business takes a lot of effort to make it successful especially in the world that is full of competition. Most of the business people in the market are using the technology as an aid every businesses that they have especially for those having the hard time in managing the expense reports that you have in the company.

Here at Certify, we have two words that define our company culture – Customer Happiness. Since 2008, our goal has been to end the pain of corporate expense reporting. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that for decades now the entire corporate world has been groaning in pain when it comes to expense reports. But we wanted to go beyond just "ending the pain." We wanted to use all technologies available to actually make the dreaded responsibility of expense reports become... fun!

At first glance, creating a system that transforms expense reports from pain to fun seems to be a technical exercise. By listening to our customers, it quickly becomes evident that a system is not worth much if the end users of the system are not happy with it. Whether we have spent time philosophizing about happiness or not, when we deliver a system and then enhance it based on user feedback, we start to make people happy.

In the fall of 2010, a friend gave me a copy of Tony Hsieh's book Delivering Happiness. This book and the Zappos story made a deep and lasting impression on me, and so many others. As soon as I finished the book, I bought 7 hardcover copies for Certify's senior leadership team. The book had the same effect on each of us, and we soon found time to break away as a team on a corporate retreat, to dream together and focus our collective passion.

One of the central points in Delivering Happiness is that we all have to be ourselves. We cannot just imitate Zappos and magically become successful. During an annual corporate retreat back in 2011, we realized something special, even astounding to us. Since the first production release of Certify, we used to take time each month to focus on end user feature requests, questions, and complaints. Each month we would pore over lots of feedback we had received from all communication channels. These sessions were painful because it was like looking in the mirror the first thing in the morning and seeing all our faults at once! But we simply could not allow ourselves to focus on building nifty new features while we knew there were some end users grumbling as they used Certify. We felt the need to "clear the decks" by resolving every known bug and valid complaint possible. This was the only way that we could move forward and build new things with a clear conscience. We gave this monthly routine a name – we called it making a "Customer Happiness Build."

As the months went by, we found ourselves actually starting to look forward to these Customer Happiness Builds. Our Support team would circle back with specific end users and inform them that their wish had been granted, or that their gripe had been heard and that the problem has been solved. Those users would be thrilled and express their feelings with exuberance. We found that our own satisfaction from delivering a Customer Happiness Build was just as deep, maybe even deeper, than delivering some cool new feature. We all came to the simultaneous and collective realization that our company culture has always been and should always be, "Customer Happiness!"