New Program for Tracking Expenses

¶ … sales representative's bane is oftentimes the paperwork that has to be completed before he or she can be paid. This is true whether the forms are product related or, in many cases, reimbursement forms to be compensated for funds spent by the sales rep. Many companies still request that the sales rep keep receipts until the end of the month, fill out an accompanying form and turn the forms in, stapled with the receipts of course, and then be reimbursed within a couple of weeks.

Such a scenario is very tedious, time-consuming and aninefficient method for the sales reps as well as the company. There are a number of rules that must be followed when determining whether a business expense is truly reimbursable or not. One requirement deals with the allotted time that an expense can be submitted. As one article states "the substantiation of expenses and the return of excess reimbursements must be handled within a reasonable time" (Accountable, 2005, p. 23).

A reasonable time according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is 30 days in some circumstances and up to 60 days in others. If the 30 day deadline is applicable, then a sales rep who has receipts from the beginning of the month, and has to turn them in by the end of the month, could be brushing up against the legal deadline. A more appropriate and timely manner for submitting expenses would likely alleviate the deadline concern, as well as ensuring a more efficient and less costly methodology.

Today's modern technology could be the answer to this situation. As one recent report finds "the rapid acceptance and ongoing development of hand-held technology is leading to an evolution in the way information is dispersed" (Zurmehly, 2010, p. 179). This dispersion is true in a wide variety of fields and endeavors. The most common hand-held device referred to by Zurmehly is the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

The PDA can best be described as a "rechargeable, battery-operated, handheld computer that usually includes an address book, calendar, notes, calculator, music player, document reader, and a variety of additional options or cost-added applications" (Cassey, 2007, p. 122). Cassey also states that the PDA can be used for personal and professional tasks, while Zurmehly describes the PDA as a "wireless device with capabilities ranging from database entry to Internet referencing, with IR to share files" (p. 179).

The main selling point for sales rep usage is that the PDA can easily connect to the Internet and share files. One manner in which a sales rep could be assisted through the use of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) would be to immediately transmit the information to the company for processing. This can be economically feasible as well as easily accomplished by purchasing PDA's for all outside sales representatives.

The sales rep could then upload receipts immediately upon completion and type in all information that the company could require for reimbursement. An application for the PDA can be purchased that would walk the representative through the process in order to ensure that all the necessary information would be entered into the system. PDAs also provide the user with the ability to take pictures, which in this case would provide the necessary substantiation.

Because the rep would be required to follow the program's steps, missing information would no longer be an issue. One issue that might crop up (but is becoming much less likely) is that the representative would be responsible for finding access to the Internet, which might not be readily available. Huffstulter et al. states that "providing a central point for high-speed access to the Internet will facilitate the retrieval of up-to-date information (Huffstulter, Wyatt, Wright, 2002, p.

271) but that is not nearly as much a problem as the rep finding Internet accessibility out on the 'road'. One key to ensuring that the representatives complete their duties is by emphasizing the fact that the sooner they transmit their information to accounting, the sooner they will be reimbursed. The accounting department would only have to access the program on the Internet and download all the files for a particular representative, print them out, approve them, and cut a check.

In most cases a program for accomplishing the accountant's tasks can be purchased as well. One of the best things about this type of system as compared to the old paper and receipt.