The vast majority of expense submitters use a mobile device for at least some part of the process. Whether it’s simply capturing and submitting a receipt image on their phone, or creating and submitting entire expense claims, business travelers rely on having an expense solution that can support their needs while they’re on the road. This is why optimizing the mobile experience has always been a central pillar of our development strategy.
Our approach to mobility has been somewhat different to many of our competitors. While they have taken a native app-based approach, we’ve focused on a web app approach, which allows Chrome River to be accessed via any mobile device’s web browser. To the uninitiated, they may seem very much the same at first glance – you access them by clicking on an icon on your phone, and they open up a slick-looking interface.
However, using a web app offers several benefits over a native app. Users get the same functionality and language availability regardless of what type of device they use (as opposed to the stripped-down functionality of a native app), there are no differences in the UI [read: training and support challenges] for various users in the organization, customers don’t need to worry about configurations being different between the mobile and desktop versions, and the immediate availability of updates.
Learn more: Why Native Apps Don’t Work for Expense Management
However, one thing we occasionally heard was “but I can’t find the Chrome River app in the app store, so how can I use it on my phone.” And while the simple answer was because it wasn’t a native app, we wanted to make things even easier for our millions of users around the world to access Chrome River on their mobiles. This is why we’re delighted to announce the latest way to access Chrome River on a mobile device: the Chrome River hybrid mobile app.
So, what exactly is a hybrid app, and why are we taking this approach? Basically, it’s the best of both worlds. Users will still get the full Chrome River experience on their mobile – the same functionality, look-and-feel, and access in 34 languages. In addition, they will be able to use biometric authentication (thumbprint or facial recognition) instead of a password to open the app on their phone, making it even simpler to use. Our customers who use SSO (single sign-on) to access enterprise apps will be able to include Chrome River in their mobile SSO solution.
Of course, not everybody needs to use such a full-featured mobile solution. Travelers whose expenses are filed by assistants, or those who simply prefer to create expense claims from their office instead of completing them on their mobile while on the road, often just want to quickly capture and submit a receipt image and then move on. We also have those travelers covered, too! Our Chrome River SNAP utility tool was created as the simplest way to submit expenses into Chrome River, and just takes three taps: one to open the app on your phone, one to take the picture, and one to upload it and submit it to our powerful OCR engine. From there, all the relevant transaction data will be extracted for you to easily create and submit expense claims without having to type in any purchase details.
No matter how you submit your expenses while you’re on the road, Chrome River helps you get the job done quicker. Chrome River lets business flow.
Follow these links to download Chrome River's mobile apps:
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Our choice of Chrome River EXPENSE was made in part due to the very user-friendly interface, easy configurability, and the clear commitment to impactful customer service – all aspects in which Chrome River was the clear winner. While Chrome River is not as large as some of the other vendors we considered, we found that to be a benefit and our due diligence showed that it could support us as well as any large players in the space, along with a personalized level of customer care.
We are excited to be able to enforce much more stringent compliance to our expense guidelines and significantly enhance our expense reporting and analytics. By automating these processes, we will be able to free up AP time formerly spent on manual administrative tasks, and enhance the role by being much more strategic.