Study reveals hidden admin costs of travel expense reporting

An investigation has discovered the hidden costs of processing expenses, in particular those related to travel and taxis.

The research, commissioned by Cabfind, believes that employees could be unnecessarily losing over an hour a month to taxi expense administration. Examining travellers’ behaviour as well as internal company processes, the on-demand travel service discovered that expense forms took an average of 10 minutes to complete, with the typical staff member processing seven taxi receipts a month during work hours. A significant majority of those surveyed admitted their expenses were checked by a second person, with one in three believing the process was monitored by two or more people.

Cabfind’s UK Taxi Expenses Review 2017 raises concerns about just how much time and money is being committed to the relatively small amount of admin work. One issue troubling the company was the amount of money potentially being wasted by rounding up a blank receipt. While 36% admitted they forgot the taxi’s cost before they wrote down the expense, more than half confessed to rounding up the cost of taxi journeys by around a quarter, with senior members such as directors most likely to do it. With 55% of firms not having a defined taxi policy, Cabfind is warning businesses that the wasted time and money can add up significantly.

“The hidden costs relating to processing and administration can be surprising,” said Cabfind commercial director Daniel Price, who revealed that an annual taxi expenditure of £500,000 could be facing hidden costs of around £33,000 in admin.

“With a managed taxi service, one consolidated invoice is far easier to manage and allocated to the necessary cost centres, it can save organisations hours in expense processing and allow for better budget control.”