Co. Tests Travel One's Expense Reporting Software

<FONT SIZE="+3"><B>Co. Tests Travel One's Expense Reporting Software</B>

By Mary Ann McNulty

<I>Mt. Laurel, N.J.</I> - Okidata last month became one of three companies to pilot test Travel One's new ExpenseOne automated expense reporting software.

The move is welcome news to Okidata's field sales representatives, who have been clamoring for years for the Mt. Laurel, N.J.-based company to improve its expense reporting process, which relies on hand-written reports and lengthy payment cycles.

Automating the process is expected to benefit travelers by easing the paperwork and reducing the cycle time. Travel services expects to shave 10 to 12 minutes off the time it takes to process an expense report, checking all the math and accounting codes. The department processes 200 reports a month, so the time savings are projected to be substantial. Sales administration also is anxious to get its hands on the reports, allowing for greater spending analysis, said travel services supervisor Ginger Trefz.

Becoming more proactive in seeking to find ways to streamline expense reporting as travel responsibility moved to finance in recent years, Okidata researched off-the-shelf and third-party options. But it never found products that could solve its problems long-term, Trefz said.

By attending industry events, Trefz learned about systems that could automate all travel processes, from reservations to bill payment. When Travel One told Okidata's CFO and other executives about plans to develop a T&E solution, they immediately said, "we want to be part of this pilot, and we want to be part of helping to develop a product," Trefz said. Okidata, with about $2 million in annual air billings, has been a Travel One customer since 1983.

Getting IS On Board

In January, both companies finalized plans to test the software beginning in the summer. Trefz and Travel One executives immediately began developing an implementation plan, lining up support from information services and mapping the existing manual process to be able to identify the benefits of automation.

Information services involvement was crucial early on, Trefz said. Although she has learned much about technology over the past 10 months, Trefz said, she found that IS types speak a different language. "IS people need to communicate answers clearly, so they understand what we have and what we need," she said.

Trefz advises other travel decision makers interested in automating to begin researching their company's technological capabilities now, before proposing anything to senior management. Outdated hardware or software might make any automation financially unfeasible, and travel managers need to know that up front, she said.

Travel managers are increasingly going to encounter such questions as they implement any new technology, said Allan Brown, vice president of business systems for Travel One. Brown. "In the old days, technology meant a CRS drop, a dedicated line and a terminal," he said. " Technologically, things are much more intertwined now."

Okidata started the pilot in phases. In late July, IS began installing software on the computers of four field sales reps, two managers who approve their expenses, Trefz and an associate who audit each report.

As soon as server connections are made at Okidata, credit card data will be downloaded to pre-populate expense reports and begin the test. Then, travelers in the test can approve or explain card charges that appear on their expense reports and electronically send them to their managers, who can approve and forward them to travel services.

Travel services will then audit the report, verify the accounting codes built into the program and print the report for manual entry into the accounts payable and general ledger software.

In phase two, Okidata might choose to implement electronic funds transfer.

Trefz anticipates testing the software for six to eight weeks before surveying all testers on what they like and don't like about the system. Only then will management decide whether it wants to give the software to 120 people who process expense reports early next year.