How To Focus On Non-Employee Expenses?

How To Focus On Non-Employee Expenses?

CFO Tech Outlook | Thursday, July 09, 2020

Earlier travel expense management mostly used to focus on permanent employees, but that left non-employees expenses. So companies are planning in different ways to focus on non-employees expenses as well.

FREMONT, CA: A critical shift can be noticed in the travel expense management world centered on non-employee expenses. Earlier travel expense management mostly used to focus on permanent employees, like salespeople, field techs and executives. But that left non-employees, including contractors, vendors, board members, job candidates, interns, and employees’ family members.

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Filling the gap

Most of the providers in the software market have noticed this gap between traditional employees and non-employees, and have started working to fill that gap. One prominent example: In 2019, BTN’s Business Travel Innovator Award and its People’s Choice Award both went to business travel software Pana, which focuses on helping companies with non-employee travel. Now, to stay ahead, companies are looking to deal with non-employee travel with newer software or other process changes.

Persistent pain points

Generally, most of the companies have different processes for employee and non-employee expenses. And even if the companies have a good T&E process, non-employee expenses can present different challenges with compliance, communication, and payment. It’s a tricky because usually organizations don’t have profiles or payment methods for many non-employees, and trips booked outside the process can also lead to inefficient spend and leakage with data and reporting.

More than that the reputation of a company may be on the line if a non-employee has a miserable travel experience. Some companies have proper arrangements in place to handle expenses of non-employee. All the firms want a more permanent fix as non-employee travel continues to grow and impact business reputations and bottom lines. 

What works for your company?

Every firm has a different way of working, and so different methods work for them, so all the companies should address how to address non-employee travel. That may include adding software, changing processes, etc. Of course, the method will largely depend on how much a company manages non-employee travel.

See Also: Top Travel and Hospitality Solution Companies

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