Lodge Cards offer a simplified approach to managing corporate travel expenses, particularly for airfare, car rentals, and hotel accommodations. Designed to ease the travel process for employees, Lodge Cards also aim to reduce administrative overhead by centralizing billing. The question often arises: should these Lodge Card transactions automatically flow into expense management systems like Concur Expense?
Implementing Lodge Card integration to directly feed itinerary details into Concur Expense could inadvertently create extra work and potential confusion for employees. Since employees are not personally responsible for reconciling Lodge Card charges, importing these items into their expense reports might necessitate unnecessary manual deletion or categorization. This additional step could detract from the intended efficiency gains of using Lodge Cards.
Regarding the associated invoices or e-receipts, the process for their integration with individual traveler accounts can vary. While it’s technically feasible to route Lodge Card transaction data to user accounts, many organizations using Lodge Cards opt not to enable this feature. However, for companies seeking comprehensive trip tracking, an alternative approach involves designating Lodge Card transactions as “Company Paid” within Concur Expense. This setting allows for total trip cost visibility without requiring employees to seek reimbursement for Lodge Card charges. This method ensures accurate expense tracking for the organization while maintaining a streamlined process for the business traveler.
Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to integrate Lodge Card data directly into Concur Expense hinges on balancing data visibility with user experience. For Fcm Travel and similar corporate travel programs, prioritizing a hassle-free expense reporting process for employees often outweighs the benefits of automatic Lodge Card data integration into individual expense reports. It’s about optimizing for simplicity and clarity in business travel expense management.
