Tracking travel expenses can be a headache. But it’s a necessary evil, and critical to ensuring every dime spent is reimbursed. Business travel is easier with some tried and true tips to track travel expenses while on the road and free expense tracking software.

Tracking Travel Expenses

  • Updating an expense statement on the road is by far the most efficient way to stay on top of business expense reports. In this “perfect world” scenario, business travelers leave for a trip with an open expense statement and update it every evening.
  • Keep an envelope handy to hold receipts while on the road. Make a note on every receipt that indicates what the business expense was for, e.g., “lunch with client.” This is a pain, but paper receipts are still a necessary evil and typically have to accompany a completed expense statement.
  • A PDA can come in handy when creating expense statements, especially if it features Documents to Go or another software program that’s compatible with expense tracking. Tap notes about expenses as soon as the purchase is made or the meal is completed.

Expense Reports

Microsoft Office offers a wide variety of free expense tracking software on the Microsoft Templates website. The expense statements can be quickly downloaded and are in an Excel spreadsheet format unless otherwise noted.