¶ … 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 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…
