Expense Cos. Tool Up Wirelessly

Expense management providers—including Concur Technologies, Captura and Gelco Information Network—recently revealed a number of new products in efforts to allow travelers to enter expense data wherever and however they want.

Redmond, Wash.-based Concur Technologies this month launched its mobile device platform for the business traveler, allowing personal digital assistants that use the Palm operating system to integrate its existing expense entry applet with the Concur Expense application. Expense data are transferred from a handheld device to a computer through synchronization, which leads to the complete automation of the expense reporting process. Concur said it is planning to roll out software for other PDA operating systems as well.

Also this month, Kirkland, Wash.-based Captura rolled out version 5.2 of Captura Expense, adding program support for Research In Motion's Blackberry product and Microsoft's Pocket PC operation system. The new version now works with about 95 percent of all wireless products, said Randy Olson, Captura director of corporate communications. Concur also is planning a voice-activated response system for this summer.

Though voice-activated software still is not a widespread application, it is well-suited for expense reporting since the vocabulary involved is generally limited, according to Elena Donio, Concur vice president of product management.

Captura is not yet working with voice recognition. Olson said the technology still has difficulty distinguishing words from background noise.

Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Gelco Information Network currently is gathering feedback from clients on traveler experiences with its voice-activated expense reporting pilot test, according to vice president of product strategy Dave Rotman.

Gelco already offers the ability to input expenses via a Web browser, phone, PDA or remote offline computer, and last year partnered with WalletWare to create a software package for Palm handheld computers.

"A wireless product that is comprehensive is ideal, since the logic is to make it available to the traveler whenever possible," said Bob Lichtman, a partner in Incline Village, Nev.-based Corporate Solutions Group. Moreover, miscellaneous cash expenditures often only are remembered in the moment, he pointed out. "Just try to come back from an extensive week and remember your tips. That's where I often cheat myself," Lichtman said.

Emeryville, Calif.-based Extensity—the developer of Web-based Extensity Connect—in mid-2000 launched its mobile product for PDAs, laptops and Sprint, Nextel, Motorola and AT&T Digital PocketNet devices. The application enables travelers to input expense data, check the status of their expense reports and receive on-the-road manager approvals.

"One Extensity customer used to hand an air sickness bag full of receipts to his secretary each time he returned from a business trip and needed to submit an expense report," said an Extensity spokesperson.

Although many products do not require companies to have a standard device, the lack of such a standard in most companies has roughened the road to mobility. Partly as a result, some major players still are staying out of wireless, for now.

"We are off looking at the intricacies required to make some of these PDAs and voice technologies work, but quite honestly there isn't a common input vehicle today across the enterprise, which has to be carefully considered," said Ray Curatolo, practice leader for IBM Expense Reporting Solutions. "So, the unanswered question is, 'Will companies settle on a particular device?' "

"Companies don't have to standardize a device for their travelers using Captura," Olson said, an advantage for travelers who already are comfortable with a device of their choosing.

~Additional reporting by

Jay Campbell