TRAVEL MANAGEMENT TOOLS: 2023 Guide

There are software management tools that help you centralize and automatically handle travel bookings for your clients. If you’re researching this software category for the first time, this post covers everything you need to know about the key features, vendor options, and the market as a whole. Stay tuned as we list the top corporate travel management tools.

Travel Management Software Tools

A travel management tool is software that allows users to plan, purchase, and track their travel spending. Companies use this software to streamline purchase decisions, centralize employee travel expenditure data, and manage corporate travel budgets. Instead of employing individual agents or sending self-purchased receipts to expense management software, travel management tools provide users with a platform for scheduling and automatically reporting their travel purchases.

Travel management tools promote visibility between managers and employees regarding company travel, as well as allow accountants and managers to conduct reports and compensate employees. It also guarantees that employee work-related travel is in accordance with business policy.

Which Travel Management Tools Do Businesses Need?

Travel management software has evolved into an essential resource for modern enterprises. This is due to the fast-paced nature of the business environment, globalization, and the requirement for travel. Although distant communication is possible, many scenarios necessitate face-to-face meetings to develop business connections. As a result, corporations must occasionally send corporate representatives on business travels. This is where travel management tools may help. Businesses can choose from a variety of travel management solutions based on their specific requirements, which can streamline and improve the entire corporate travel experience.

There are several types of travel management tools available, each with a unique set of capabilities. The following are the most common types of travel management tools:

#1. Corporate travel management tools

Corporate travel management tools provide businesses with a comprehensive platform for managing their workers’ business travel. These applications often incorporate travel booking, itinerary management, and policy compliance monitoring all in one consolidated dashboard.

#2. Planning and management tools

Business travel planning and management solutions are meant to help businesses plan and manage their workers’ business travel. Travel booking, itinerary management, offline access, and automatic Itinerary sync with other applications are common aspects of these products

#3. Expense management tools

Expense management solutions are meant to assist individuals and businesses in tracking, organizing, and managing all of their travel-related spending. Invoice scanning, automated expense reports, and interaction with accounting software are common aspects of these tools.

#4. Itinerary management tools

travel itinerary management software lets customers consolidate and organize their holiday plans in one location, making it easier to manage and keep track of all their travel arrangements. These apps and websites often collect trip information from email confirmations or booking sites and produce a master itinerary that can be viewed via an app or website.

What to Look Out for When Vetting for Corporate Travel Management Tools

Travel management tools that cover everything from traveler data administration to booking to policy development to automatic expensing and more are without a doubt the greatest solution on the market. However, they differ substantially in terms of usefulness and the cost reductions they may bring to organizations, with access to low-priced goods being the primary motivator.

Here’s a checklist of what to look for while evaluating business travel management software:

Self-booking feature.
Free, round-the-clock assistance
Travel inventory.
A tool that can scale and adapt in the future.
Travel assistance is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via phone, chat, and email.
There is no additional cost for travel assistance.
Invoice consolidation
Reporting on travel expenditures

Top Corporate Travel Management Tools

Most business travel booking software lets employees book flights, vehicles, and hotels from one interface. Here are some popular corporate travel management tools.

#1. Expensya

This travel and expense management system (TMS) that is hosted in the cloud assists businesses in managing expense reporting lifecycles, invoices, and T&E reimbursements. Employees can use the image recognition capabilities of Expensya to extract amounts, dates, and merchant information from their travel and entertainment receipts.

#2. Circula

The expense management app offered by Circula assists businesses in effectively managing per diems, cash expenses, travel expenses, and out-of-pocket expenses related to vacations. In addition to its travel management features, which include rules for allocating funds, corporate credit cards, and automated compliance audits, the solution includes employee benefits as one of its features.

#3. Airbnb

Airbnb for Work guarantees to simplify the process of booking and managing travel for your company by providing access to local and global listings suitable for both short and long-term business trips. Although it is not a dedicated TMS, the solution does offer some of the same features as those offered by dedicated TMSs, including spend tracking, shared payment methods, and bookings.

#4. TripActions

TripActions is able to assist firms in automating their corporate travel by providing options for reporting, booking management, and invoice generation. In addition to approval workflow, other features include expense reporting, reminders, vacation planning, and mobile access. TripActions makes it possible for teams to send trip invitations to guests as well as candidates for open positions. A dashboard also gives you the ability to monitor your annual spending and budget.

#5. TravelBank

TravelBank is an expense tracking and corporate travel management program that combines both of these functions into a single platform. Its user-friendly design, prompt expense reimbursements, and travel reward program all assist organizations in establishing and putting into practice cost and travel policies. The TravelBank tool is available in both mobile and desktop formats.

#6. TravelPerk

TravelPerk alleviates the stress associated with business travel by providing customers with the largest assortment of booking options across the globe at affordable prices. It provides customer care around the clock, and with its FlexiPerk program, you can get a refund on any trip you take.

#7. SAP Concur

SAP Concur is the most widely used integrated system for managing travel expenses, business invoices, and other associated costs around the world. With SAP Concur, employees are provided with an app that is highly regarded to assist them through every journey, and automated invoice approvals are also provided. Integration of data in near real-time and the use of artificial intelligence to assess the accuracy of business transactions can help companies prevent budget deficits.

#8. Fyle

Fyle makes the promise that it will assist employees in adhering to the T&E policy of your company, while also providing finance teams with credit card management and receipt management software to help them keep total T&E expenditures under control. A mileage tracker, the ability to split employee expenses, per diems, and trip reports are some of the additional features that are included in Fyle’s travel management capabilities.

#9. Emburse

Emburse eliminates the need for laborious manual processes, enhances the management and visibility of expenditures, and offers free support. The software’s Certify Expense includes a spend request and card issuance workflow that is integrated together, as well as mobile receipt recording and inbuilt audit tools.

#10. Spendesk

Spendesk is a solution for managing expenses that assists businesses in the booking of business trips, the monitoring of employee spending, and the automation of expense reports. This travel management tool enables users to request approval from management and book securely on any website, just like the rest of the travel management tools on the list.

#11. Egencia

Egencia is a TMS that provides capabilities for reporting expenditures, administrator access, a mobile app for added convenience, and client invoicing. In addition, Egencia offers information on travel policy settings at the country level for countries affected by the epidemic.

#12. Rydoo

Rydoo gives its users the ability to monitor and manage their spending in real-time and from any location in the world. The software is compatible with a variety of accounting applications including Oracle, Xero, and Quickbooks. Integrations with Uber and Lyft are also available on this platform, making it much simpler for staff members to schedule transportation to and from the airport.

#13. Zoho expense

Customers are able to manage all aspects of their workers’ business travels with the assistance of Zoho Expense, which is a component of Zoho’s expansive software portfolio. Also, Zoho expense solution gives its users the ability to construct comprehensive trip itineraries, book flights, and hotels, and set up pre-travel permissions, and traveler profiles.

#14. Pairsoft

By providing a booking engine that shows travel content to your staff, Pairsoft makes it easier to handle travel arrangements. It combines a company’s travel policy for negotiating with airlines, hotels, and vehicle rental agencies, and it synchronizes all of the travel information with the solution for expenses that the tool provides.

#15. Expensify

The ability to begin a conversation with a concierge and then book travel arrangements such as flights, hotels, and cars is one of the most useful aspects of Expensify. The travel management solution provided by Expensify includes a number of features that were useful for business travelers in the era of COVID. These features include travel risk services, medical advisories, and emergency transportation. Take into consideration the fact that the solution enables employees to book with the airline, hotel, and frequent flyer program of their choice, which may have repercussions for the total amount spent on travel and entertainment.

How Does a Travel Management System Work?

A business travel management system streamlines bookings by bringing all hotel and ticket choices together on a single platform. Furthermore, the system provides an easy-to-use user interface that allows business travelers to book everything on a single platform rather than navigating through multiple websites, saving time.

What are the four C’s of Corporate Travel management?

The four C’s of business corporate management

Culture.
Collaboration.
Cost.
CFOs.

What are the Steps in Managing Corporate Travel Management?

If your organization manages frequent corporate travel, the five actions listed below will help to streamline the process and minimize problems.

Select a corporate travel management tool.
Create policies for your employees’ travel.
Provide assistance to your team.
Make a financial management plan.
Simplify the approval procedure.

What are the Objectives of Travel Policy?

The goal of the Travel Policies is to offer clear policies and procedures that are in accordance with state and federal standards, to promote safe travel, to allow for reasonable and manageable travel expenses while retaining essential controls and accountability, and to ensure that all of these objectives are met.

References

Kippa

ramp.com

spendesk