Introduction An effective policy can be a critical success factor for any Purchasing Card (PCard) program.  While the investment in time and resources to create a new policy (or update an existing one) can be significant, this effort can result in streamlined program administration, better controls, higher overall levels of cardholder satisfaction, and increased card […]

Introduction Standardizing on a common system platform with as few instances as possible is an important enabler for streamlined processes, in addition to reducing technology support costs.  What is true for your company’s ERP system is also true for bolt-on applications, including systems and processes for managing the travel process. For Shared Services organizations, paying […]

With an increasingly competitive labor market for new hires from the best universities and graduate programs, simplifying the process for job candidates to travel for onsite interviews is important, particularly when candidates may not have easy access to cover big-ticket items like hotel and airfare expenses.  Have you considered the different approaches that might make […]

Introduction As more companies transition to global designs for Shared Services, one of the most significant impacts is on the business travel process, where the majority of employees most impacted are typically either upper management or are otherwise directly involved in sales and marketing efforts.   As these employees shift from one region or business unit […]

Timely submission of expense reports by employees can help improve the quality and efficiency of the overall Travel & Expense process.  The longer an employee waits, the more likely there are errors or omissions, or lost receipts that require special handling for approval.  Given that frequent travelers are most likely either senior-level company employees or […]

Providing front-end travel services for trip reservations and the back-end processing of completed expense reports is an increasingly common responsibility of Shared Services.  Not surprisingly, because frequent travelers include senior-level employees, investing in improvement solutions for the travel process can be a high priority, even if the actual dollar savings are difficult to quantify.  With […]

The organization that ultimately owns a work process provides clues for how the process is both managed and integrated.  While one size doesn’t fit all, there are lessons to be learned by better understanding the approaches of your peers.  For example, the use of a credit card product by employees to buy travel services, or […]

With the introduction of sophisticated Travel Expense software, complete with pre-populated expense line items, and automatic checks of merchant category codes (MCC) for appropriateness; combined with the move from cash advances and the requirement to have all expenses on a credit card, the risk of loss due to errors or intentional fraud has been reduced […]

The utilization of Purchasing Cards (PCards) is an undisputed best practice for small-amount purchases. However, the requirement for retention of physical receipts related to Purchasing Card transactions can vary significantly between companies, with a number of viable options available. Recently, Peeriosity performed custom research using the iPollingTM functionality to request feedback from members responsible for […]

While it is important to have a well-designed process and system for the Travel Expense function, without a strong policy that properly balances the needs of both the company and the traveler it becomes difficult to have a successful program.  Unfortunately, there is no universal policy that will work for every company.  In fact, it […]