With receipt scanning apps making it easier than ever to digitise paper receipts, is the future of travel receipts fully electronic?
Frequent work trips create an abundance of travel receipts, the necessary documentation to support expense tracking, approval and reimbursement. And if your team is still submitting physical receipts for travel expenses, you know just how time-consuming the process can be.
Although paper documentation can be frustrating at times, mobile apps and automated expense platforms are transforming the way businesses manage travel receipts. Our data shows that while 16% of decision-makers are still using spreadsheets, 35% have switched over to dedicated expense management systems. Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and AI-driven data extraction, it’s now easier than ever to go paperless.
With the right digital tools in place, finance teams benefit from a transparent, streamlined expense tracking system. Yet at the same time, some manual oversight is often needed. Relying on AI tools alone can sometimes lead to compliance issues. This is because while AI is excellent at applying rules, it’s not completely reliable when it comes to interpreting them. And Al systems aren’t always up to date with changes to tax laws and expense categories, either.
Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of going paperless, as well as the key features to look for when choosing an expense management app.
Technology is driving the digital evolution of travel expense management. In the past, approval and reimbursement involved collecting paper receipts for travel expenses and filling out forms manually.
Today’s business travellers are increasingly comfortable with automated expense tracking applications, with 88% finding this technology to be trustworthy. Spend management software helps process invoice and receipt data, pulling out relevant search terms while identifying discrepancies in real time. AI systems can automate the travel and expense process by pulling data not only from travel receipts and invoices, but also historic itineraries to accurately link expenses with corresponding trips and projects.
Receipt scanner apps also streamline the travel expense tracking and approvals process. Using mobile software, business travellers need only take photos of receipts, then upload them directly to expense management platforms for immediate processing.
Organisations gain time and productivity when foregoing paper receipts. A survey of 235 companies in the Nordic region found that businesses spent an average of 14 minutes processing each paper receipt. By switching to direct digital receipts, the processing time was reduced by up to 12.5 minutes – saving a full working day for every 275 receipts processed.
Modernising the expense management process makes recordkeeping more accurate. Rather than sifting through files of paper receipts to verify a travel expense, finance teams can search for digitised records in a few clicks. Digital recordkeeping enhances legal and tax compliance, with less chance of business travel receipts going missing.
Transitioning away from paper receipts is a necessity for today’s remote workforce. When your company’s working with contractors, freelancers, and remote workers in far-flung locations, a uniform digital format keeps travel expenses organised. Workers can simply scan receipts and upload them in real-time,
Finally, a paperless office is more sustainable. Many paper receipts are printed thermally with chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) that cannot be recycled, plus reducing printed expense receipts saves water, energy, and trees.
They’re being phased out, but some countries still use paper receipts.
For all the reasons above, an increasing number of businesses are digitising their business travel receipts and expense reports. And some governments are following suit.
For example, France’s Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy includes a ban on the systematic printing of paper receipts in hospitality and retail settings, beginning in 2023. While customers can still ask for paper receipts if preferred, the law aims to phase them out.
Of course, in some countries like Germany and Japan, paper receipts are still the most accessible and preferred method. Providing a physical paper trail of expenses improves transparency and security to encourage financial compliance, without the real or perceived risk of digital tampering. And when business travellers visit countries with limited internet connections, retaining paper receipts for manual input might be the most realistic option.
If you lead a team engaging in frequent business travel, receipts can quickly pile up. There are two main ways to organise receipts electronically.
1. Use receipt management apps for on-the-go travel expenses
The easiest way to keep travel receipts organised is with receipt scanning apps. These quickly create digital versions of paper receipts while travelling, which can be instantly uploaded and retrieved from digital systems using filters and keywords.
Once the app is downloaded on a travellers’ phone, they can use the smartphone camera to take a picture of each travel receipt. The app’s OCR technology digitises text and numbers to create a secure digital version.
2. Organise high-volume paperwork with document scanners
The transition from paper to digital expense reporting can be time-consuming, particularly if working with older legacy systems. For quickly growing businesses dealing with a backlog of receipts for travel expenses, it may be worth investing in a business document scanner. These scan and digitise large quantities of paper documents to move existing travel expense reports into your new, digital system.
There’s a wealth of expense management software on the market, and many will have tools dedicated to scanning travel receipts. Here’s a shortlist of key features to look for:
Here are five spend management solutions that can help your team scan, track, and organise travel receipts more effectively.
Expensify’s SmartScan technology makes it a user-friendly choice for business travel with a high number of integrations. To capture travel receipts, all users need is a smartphone camera. Then, the technology automatically extracts important details like the merchant, date, and total.
It pairs with ridesharing services like Uber and also has a mileage tracking function for self-driving travellers. Expensify also partners with Tripeden.com for Business to streamline travel expense management. When travellers use a company credit card to pay for travel expenses, Expensify automatically matches scanned receipts to the correct transaction.
Is Expensify free?
While individuals can use New Expensify for free and enjoy unlimited SmartScans, businesses will need to subscribe to the Collect or Custom plans to access full features like expense categorisation.
Finance teams will already be familiar with QuickBooks accounting software, which comes equipped with a full spectrum of bookkeeping and expense management features.
The tool’s receipt-scanning function offers a comprehensive way to scan receipts and automatically integrate them into expense reports. It’s best for larger businesses in search of a comprehensive accounting solution.
Dext makes it easy to automate travel expense tracking with its built-in receipt scanner app. When travelling employees scan their travel receipts, information is digitised and sent into a central repository for analysis. The tool integrates into Dext’s full selection of accounting and sales services.
Dext’s receipt scanner app is simple to use and integrates seamlessly with accounting platforms like Xero and QuickBooks. The tool is more costly than some others on this list, with basic small business plans starting at £23 per month.
Suitable for Android and iOS, Wave’s receipts scanning app uses OCR technology to extract and organise data from printed documents. Once downloaded, the app not only lets you scan unlimited receipts, but it also includes a bulk import option to manage high volumes. Travel receipts are safely stored in the cloud for easy retrieval through multiple devices.
Cloud-based receipt and expense management software eliminates much of the need to store paperwork in a physical form. Yet before eliminating paper receipts entirely, it’s important to consider legal and tax regulations to remain compliant.
Many tax organisations, including the United States’ IRS and United Kingdom’s HMRC, encourage an electronic, paperless expense management system. Some, like Sweden have only recently switched over to permitting electronic documentation, with its Receipt Act only passed in 2024.
Others have strict regulations regarding secure data storage. For example, Japan requires that all scanned receipts should be retained in tamper-proof storage with timestamps, while Germany’s GObd requires the use of certified accounting software to retain digital records.
Simplifying travel receipt management starts with using the right tools. Digitising travel receipts streamlines the expense tracking and reporting process. You can also reduce the time spent on managing travel expenses by choosing tools that integrate directly with your travel booking platforms for easier data retrieval, like Expensify with Tripeden.com for Business.
Here are a few best-practice tips to streamline approvals while encouraging compliance.
1. Make your processes mobile-friendly
If you want travelling employees to document travel expenses in real time, you’ll want them to be able to do so from their mobile devices. Create a mobile-friendly travel and expense process that includes receipt scanning and tracking apps.
2. Create a clear corporate travel policy
Your company’s travel policy provides an outline of approved expenses to expedite the reimbursement process. When creating your policy, make sure it references the digital tools your team should be using to capture and submit receipts for approval.
3. Automate workflows
Use automated expense management software to reduce the time and cost of manual processing. With automated travel management solutions like Tripeden.com for Business, you’ll be able to set up a custom approvals workflow that fits in line with corporate travel policies.
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