Excel Expense Report Template – This is going to sound crazy, I know.
There are a lot of accountants, and bookkeepers who process expense reports for companies the old fashioned way. The old fashioned way might include using a paper based ledger or more likely an Excel Expense Report Template.
It’s 2014 and people are still inputting data by hand, and it makes no sense to me at all. And to top it off they are using methods and work flows for gathering receipts, copying the data over to their Expense Report Template, then manually checking credit card receipts and statements against those paper receipts, getting a manager’s approval, and finally cutting a check for reimbursement. I’m left scratching my head in wonder why some folks still needlessly waste their time.
Time is Money. We’ve all heard the old adage, that you can be penny wise and pound foolish. And in this case you’ve got to wonder if people in charge of expense reports think it costs nothing to manually input data and jump through all those other hoops to pay employees back for their legitimate expenses.
How on earth do busy people get expense reports done? Simple. Use Expense Report Management Software to do the job.
By now most of the civilized humans in this country have a pretty sophisticated smart phone. Doesn’t matter if you have an iPhone or an Android, you can download a free mobile application to capture your receipts out in the field. You go out on a business trip, and photograph the dinner receipt where you entertained a client. It’s a legit business expense so record it. You could then email yourself the resulting image of the receipt, but that’s another waste of time if you have an Expense App. Open your app and use it to make the photo of your receipt, and hit the Submit button.
Your expense application will then automatically categorize your expense and load up the total. You can make notes if you desire, assign to a project etc. Any data entry is optional and determined by the administrator. It can literally be a simple couple of clicks to capture a receipt and submit for reimbursement. Back at the office the approver can immediately transfer reimbursement to your credit card or integrate with quickbooks, or Intaac or Bill.com, etc.
It’s time to ditch the expense report template and move up in the world of labor saving and automation.