2015 Webinar:A Guide to Effective Expense Management Strategies

This year, 2015, is the year for every company (startups like Serzfus Startup Technology or those who have already established its foot on the ground), should adopt a cloud based expense management system. It is crucial for businesses today to have an effective expense management strategies for their operation. If you are one of them who don't want to be left behind by the latest technology, check out this following webinar schedule.

 Webinar spots fill up quickly—click here to register.

 Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Time: 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time

Duration: 1 hour

Recommended CPE Credit(s): 1 Field of Study: Specialized Knowledge and Applications

Craziest Business Expenses in 2014 [Infographic]

Here's an infographic from Certify.com showing the top 10 craziest business expenses in 2014 made by 60,000 business travelers.  You will be surprise by the list and added on the list is the 5 worst excuses why the spending happens.

Click on the image below to enlarge it. Original infographic source: https://www.certify.com/2015-01-21-Infographic-The-10-Craziest-Business-Expenses

The list of expenses made is quite funny but too serious not to look at by organizations and failing to manage these spending properly will surely lead to a much bigger problem for the company. Related article: The Importance of Expense Management in Business and Great Startup Tips from Various Entrepreneurs.

Which of these list did you encounter during audit, reimbursements or when you travel? Now I am wondering what will be the list will look like for 2015 spending. Leave your comments below for that.

Travel For Less: How to Look for Free or Reduced Cost Accommodations

One way of managing your expenses is having a well planned travel. The following is one good read regarding how to look for low cost accommodating saving you a lot of money and hassles. Check it out now.

You always dreamt of travelling abroad, but the problem is, you don’t have enough budget to do such thing. You haven’t prepared for the travel expenses that you are about to spend when you travel abroad and this is quite a thing to consider. But when you are just wise enough to consider and anticipate these problems and budget issues, then you won’t have any problems.

Mind you, if you are just willing to do a little homework and if you have a schedule that is flexible enough to take advantage of the last minute opportunities, then you can surely travel for less and on a budget. You can still travel on a very cheap or low price and still have a very satisfactory experience that you’ll never imagine to have. But the question here is how?

Travel Expenses: Costs you May Deduct for Reimbursements

Business trips are often costly not just for the company, but also for your personal savings. When you travel, sometimes, what the company gives us is not enough for our travel expenses and we still need to withdraw from our savings account just to compensate the extra or emergency expenses that may arise during our business trips. But you must not worry because this can be included in your list of reimbursements for travel expenses. Right now, what you need to do is to determine which costs you may be able to deduct and which are those that can be reimbursed by your company as soon as you get back.

One thing that you can deduct and be reimbursed is your transportation fee. Always keep in mind that you can deduct costs to travel by train, bus or airplane between your tax home and your destination. You may also deduct costs of operating and maintaining your car, if you bring it along with your business trip. If you will be using the standard mileage allowance, you can also deduct tolls and parking expenses. The fare you pay for taxis and buses are also refundable.

In the meantime, baggage and shipping fees can also be reimbursed. Costs for baggage delivery or for shipping business materials between your regular work location or tax home and a temporary work location are also deductible. And lastly, lodging, hotel fees, and meals are also included or part of your trip so these things are also deductible. I’m sure you won’t be worrying about having business trips because every travel expense that you make is being paid by the company.

Expense Management Tips on How to be an Effective and Profitable Business Owner

If you are a business owner, of course, the only thing that you wanted to happen is for your business to become successful in a way and for you to increase your profit each month, if possible. Who would want his business to fail, right? But it is given the fact that before you achieve something great, you will first deal with a lot of stress and anxiety in dealing with your business.

Here are some of the expense management tips that you might use in order for you to become an effective and profitable business owner who knows how to reduce stress of managing his or her business.
It is very stressful to manage a business but what you really need to do is to learn how to manage your anxieties. Be smart in how you deal with your business problems. Do not try to tackle everything all at once.

When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, break the task into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and it will increase your chances of success. You surely want to succeed on your business, right? Then you must learn to overcome these problems and anxieties. Learn to take it one day at a time instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week or coming month, try to focus on it today. And when the time comes, you’ll just get used to it and you will now develop the skills on how to deal with the situation.

Expense Management: Learning How to Manage Expenses for Home Business Opportunities

Usually, most of the business owners give little attention to home business opportunities when they are starting on a new business, and usually, they take "expense management" for grated, leading their business into a failure. Basically, most of the promoters of a business opportunity only talk about the income opportunity and seldom if ever discusses the expenses that will be incurred while running a home business opportunity. They should not take this for granted and they should also learn that whatever management skills you have in a home business, it is still being considered, and most of the discussion usually falls on how you manage your time, your employees and your customers as well.

Learning how to manage your business expenses is quite important. Your business will surely fail if you mismanage your expenses and worse, it will even put you further in debt. I guess you don’t want that to happen, right? What you need to do then is to always keep in mind that managing your business expenses is the very essence of conducting your business, and therefore, you should receive your serious consideration and planning prior to establishing your business.

The first thing that you should consider when you manage your business expenses is your budget. How much money are you going to spend on production? What is your advertising budget? It is important for you to plan for these and other expense contingencies for you to become prepared for future expense. Then, you can also consider having multiple sources of income because in this way, you may be able to cover the expenses running your own website and possibly also generate additional income to expand your products and services. Lastly, your home business will grow more steadily when money flows smoothly in your business. The bottom line for any company is profits and most of the time you will need to spend money in order to gain profits for your home based business opportunity.

- Expense Manager Blog

Expense Management Stress: How to Cope with Anxieties on Managing a Business

Having and owning a business can become stressful and can cause you panic attack sometimes, especially when you are having stress problems with your expense management skills. It is unavoidable to have stress when you deal with finances on your business. A lot of business owners experience this kind of stress and it can become challenging for you to make your business turn into a success.

We have cited in this article some of the ways on how we can reduce or eventually eradicate stresses of owning and managing a business. And the first thing that you should consider is to manage your expenses by paying your bills on time. This will help you cope with your expenses and not to double the payment the next time you need pay again.

You need to develop a budget and do not spend more than what you make. Also, learn to reduce your expenses as much as you can and learn to pay your bills on a regular basis so that your customers will not be bothering you later on getting paid. It is also important for you to learn to manage your responsibilities by assigning certain tasks to others, say for instance, to your employees. You cannot do this all alone. You need help. Let your assistance do the accounting if you can’t do it yourself or if you don’t have time and only do what is important and learn to delegate the rest. And probably the most important thing that you can do is to develop a business plan and follow it because being organized and oriented can really help. Always remember that managing a business can be really stressful, but the key is knowing how to manage your anxieties and continue to make solutions for any problem.

Keeping Track of Your Expenses Through an Effective Budget Plan

One of the key factors in making your budget work for you is to keep track of your expenses every day, for the entire week, and even for the whole month. How will you be able to determine how much you have overspent if you do not know how much you have spent each month, right? So the key for you to keep track of your monthly expenses is either you get yourself a written ledger or a tracking system. Either way, whatever is comfortable for you to use, is applicable as long as the main goal is for you to keep track of your expenses and avoid overspending.

You can create your own tracking system or budget plan and it’s quite simple. The first thing you’ll have to do is to have your budget with you. have yourself a new notebook in which you can jot down all your expenses for the month, categorize it if you wish for it to appear more organized, and by the end of it, you can erase or crash down the things you think you do not need to spend some money on.

Next, you will need to take time each day to record all your expenses and as you record each expense in every category such as food, utilities, rent, etc, you will need to keep a running total of how much you have left in that category. Next, simply subtract the amount that you have spent from the current total and record the answer. This way, you will not just be able to track down your expenses but you will also determine how much you have spent.

Finally, when you keep on tracking your expenses, then you will know when you already need to stop spending especially when you see that you are already out of money. This is the most important phase when you want to stay on your budget, unless you wanted to take a little amount from your savings account. I guess you never wanted to do that.

Related read: http://digitalfrenzied.blogspot.com/2013/02/budgeting-means-lesser-expense.html

Dying to Get Rid of 'Unexpected Expenses'

Did it ever occur to you wherein you spent some money on an unwanted expense you should have not made? There could be hundreds of situations which may lead to having unexpected expenses and this is inevitable. However, in cases like these where you think you can’t avoid having unexpected expenses, then you can at least try to identify where you can reduce your expenses so that you can save money which you can also use in times of emergencies.

One basic example of the unexpected expenses is the medical expenses. When you get sick, you need to seek for consultation or worse, you need to be hospitalized and stay inside the hospital for a few days. If you have no money, how will you be able to pay for the hospital bills and buy your medicines? Think about it!
Another unexpected expense relates to your car and your home. Say for example, when your car breaks down, when your water heater doesn’t work and you have a leak on your roof, your finances can also be ruined at once and you cannot do anything about it.

Money can be easily earned, but it can also be easily spent. If you have nothing to buy for this month, then why don’t you at least save some of your income and prepare it in times of unexpected expenses! Always remember that it is always good that you spend less rather than you have overspent!

Expense Software on The Cloud to Go!

Well, having an expense software on your pocket PC, mobile PC or phones is much of a convenience. Specially if it is featured with sophisticated enterprise-level expense functionality, travel integration, ACH reimbursement, and a lot more.

Having an expense software system that is said to be "on the cloud" is much practical and economical compared to self-hosted ones. Why? Of course you don't need to maintain very expensive servers, pay highly skilled software developer, database and server administrator. What you just need an account where you can use online anywhere you want it. The data - expense details, receipts captures by scanner, reimbursement details, etc., are all saved in a server maintained by "cloud" experts.

One of the company that is known for its featured-rich expense software is Certify.com which have been in the T&E (travel and expense) industry for many years already and serving a lot of businesses from small, medium to enterprise level of needs. You can check on their video demos on http://www.certify.com/Certify_OnDemand_Demos.aspx to have a glimpse of what will be provided for your business today.

From the image above, you will see how Certify simplified the tasks involving expenses. Browse http://www.certify.com right now and find out what lies ahead for your business today!

A New Home for Certify Wallet is Now Live!

The leading expense management provider, Certify.com, just released a new website for its free online invoicing and automated travel expense report systems. It can be found via http://www.certifywallet.com. The said website is a dedicated site for their free services involving expense reporting and tracking receipts through the use of mobile phones.

This expense management system is well suited to individuals who are always on the go and having trouble of getting receipts organized and accounted. The free Certify Wallet system is available in different mobile platforms such as Apple iOS using an iPhone, Blackberry's OS, Windows 7 mobile and the open source Android OS. What is nice with this newest innovation of Certify to help individuals that is always mobile, is that you can download it for free.

For Corporate or Enterprise users, it is still available on their website at Certify.com and for a minimal fee.

What are you waiting for, grab a copy of the free expense management system of Certify and manage your receipts with ease with simple clicks and push on your touch or mobile phones, whenever and wherever you are.

Free Expense Management System Released by Certify

Today, Certify.com, the leading expense management provider, just released a free expense management system for single users specifically independent Contractors and Sales Reps for T&E, time tracking and invoicing. Here's the official press release by the company regarding this newest feature by the company:

Certify, a leading online expense management company, today announced the Certify Single User version available for no charge to all users. This service includes the Certify Single User account and also the Certify Wallet mobile application.

Certify allows individuals to manage expense reports and capture receipts and expense data from mobile devices. The Certify Wallet mobile application is available for iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Phone7, and Android devices. Users can download the mobile app and begin using the product immediately after a basic new account registration process.

“We are extremely pleased to offer our single user clients free access to our application,” said Robert Neveu, president of Certify. “Not only have we made free access available, we have increased the functionality for our independent contractor market allowing users to track their travel expenses, record billable hours worked, and then invoice their clients all from within the same application.” The new Certify Single User solution provides this functionality at no charge without any limits on usage, number of clients or number of invoices. Users can submit expense reports to their company to get reimbursed, or use the service as an independent contractor and send invoices to their clients to get paid.

Certify also allows users to Rate and Review their travel experiences using the new “Certify Spend Smart” technology. By sharing travel knowledge with other Certify users, Certify is helping its client base reduce travel spend and identify the best business travel vendors and suppliers. - Source: http://www.certify.com/GameChange/PR_CertifySingleUserFree.aspx

Now you can enjoy the system with ease, convenience and what is really the best of it is it so free.

Know More About Certify

There's a new article about the expense management company, Certify.com and it is talking about how they started with their mobile apps. It is entitled as How Our Mobile Apps Grow Our Business?. Here's the first few sentences of the write-up about the company:

My tech start-up, Certify, offers streamlined online expense reporting for business travelers. Our main product is Web-based, so developing a mobile app seemed like a perfect fit for our business. And it has been a perfect fit — but building those apps has been a real challenge.

Read more about the features of the expense management software from Certify and their receipt scanner device at http://www.certify.com/

Certify Can Now Be Integrated With QuickBooks

Yes, finally! Certify.com - the leading expense management solution provider for small to mid size companies today announced that Certify can now be integrated with Quickbooks systems for free.

The following are the excerpt from the said press release (Certify Offers Free QuickBooks Integration. New Delegate User Feature Resolves Client Challenge)

Certify, a leading online expense management company, today announced Certify QuickBooks Integration. The new solution will improve productivity and efficiency for businesses by automating the process of synchronizing expense data and linking employee and vendor information between QuickBooks and Certify. The company also added a new Delegate User feature into its platform. The functionality allows Certify users to provide authorized account access to assistants and management to create and approve expense reports on behalf of other personnel.

This vast improvement on the features of the expense solution they provide can surely makes the expense report preparation and tracking much more easier. This is how the company build a better and much convenient life for every corporate users in the world.

Certify Join Hands With Travelocity for Much Simpler Expense Management

In a press release dated March 2, 2010, Certify announced that they have team up with Travelocity - a full-service corporate travel management company to deliver much simpler expense management system to small and mid size businesses. The team up makes the expense report preparation much easier to people who travels a lot and wants to track their expenses. Here's the excerpt of the said press release:

SOUTHLAKE, Texas – Travelocity Business(R) today announced an agreement to work with Certify, a provider of online expense management services to small and medium-sized businesses. The growing travel management company will integrate with Certify to deliver a seamless travel and expense solution for its small business clients. Additionally, Certify will offer its clients direct access to Travelocity Business from within the product for quick and easy travel scheduling.

Certify allows companies and individuals to manage each step in the expense reporting process from receipts to reimbursement. Coupled with Solveras for electronic payment processing, the new Certify ACH Service extends the Certify platform creating a more automated, productive solution for customers looking to manage the entire expense process.

Read the rest of the press release here > Travelocity Business Teams up with Certify to Simplify Expense Management

Certify - the leading expense management software today is really making its service more and more efficient and simplified as ever. Visit them now to subscribe with their services.

Certify Wallet on My New iPhone

As I have mentioned on my previous post (Certify's Free Business iPhone Apps on Top 10 of iTunes) and just the other week I bought a new iPhone 3Gs and tried to download the said free business iPhone app. I really find it easy to use and much to my surprise its free. I thought I need to pay for it for a dollar or two but I just need to subscribe to Certify.com for a Personal account or a corporate expense software account. Its free for 30 days and once you are satisfied with the use of the expense management services, you can easily subscribe to its most affordable service that provides the most comprehensive method in accounting system.

Now with Certify integrated with ACH Reimbursement system, the ability to reimburse your employees for their approved expenses via direct deposit is now possible. The ACH service will debit your company checking account and credit each employee the exact amount they are owed for reimbursable expenses of approved expense reports.

Certify's Free Business iPhone Apps on Top 10 of iTunes

Good news guys! I have read from the official press release of Certify.com entitled "Certify Wallet Mobile Ranks Top 10 in Finance Application Downloads for iPhone/iTunes" that they manage to make their mobile iPhone apps: Certify Wallet to the top 10 of the finance category for iPhone on iTunes (as the title clearly stated). The said application is free for use and compatible to any kind of subscription you have on Certify. Imagine the leading expense management solution is in the palm of your hands and can be used with several touch of your fingertips. That's cool right?!

If you haven't yet it on your phone and you want to start capturing your receipts and manage it on your phone easily, get your the apps now http://www.certify.com/Certify_Wallet/GetTheApp.aspx. This is best for people who is always on the go but wants to have a peek of what is happening with their business everywhere and anywhere.

Certify ACH Services, Simplifies Reimbursement

Certify, the leader in providing SMB expense management solutions today, announced the newest service that will simplify the expense reimbursement. I am referring to the Certify ACH Service which collaborates with Solveras Payment Solutions, leading provider of electronic payment services for businesses to allow Certify Corporate clients to automatically reimburse approved employee expense reports with direct deposit. This is what they've said from their official press release which can be found here> Certify ACH Service.

This feature will surely provide a great convenience to all the subscribers and will surely improve the processes involved. Get yourself a trial of this service and experience the innovations they provide. Visit Certify.com and Solveras.com for the detail of this newest service.

Will Certify Wallet Can Be Used with Nexus One aka Google Phone?

Today, Google announces its release of its newest phone dubbed as Nexus One. Its an Android Phone that can be purchased online directly from Google's website at http://www.google.com/phone/ and can get unlocked or subscribed from T-Mobile. Now, Certify Wallet is usually available to almost all smart phones in the world which includes the popular iPhone and Blackberry. As of this very moment that I write this article, Certify doesn't confirm nor announce yet the compatibility of their Certify application on the said newest unit from Google.

I will update you with news if Certify's famous expense management system can be implemented and used in Nexus One unit. Well, I guess based on what I have heard, the phone's 3G capability is only available for T-Mobile subscribers and AT&T users can only use 2G for unlock phones which can't use a fast internet connection over the said phone.

What is Your Plan with Your Business this 2010?

The year 2009 just ended and a new beginning has open for your business this 2010. What are your plans this year and how would you deal with the problems left by the previous year? Are you ready for the change or just go on with the old ways? If you still can't decide right now on what system to apply to your business in relation to travel expense report generation, reimbursement processing and approval plus tracking your operating expenses, then try to think more openly this year. Having a system that could really deal with how you deal with your paper works can really make your operations much efficient.

Productivity will be increased and in return profit will come. Make use of the new tools for your business and open a great opportunity to gain more from this investment.

Happy new year everyone and may you have a great year ahead of you!