According to a recent blog post from EPM Channel, these are two characteristics of savvy mobile device users: If you get annoyed when people pass out paper reports instead of displaying electronic versions on their tablet or laptop, that’s one clear indicator. If you prefer using a tablet for business tasks instead of being tethered to your PC, that’s another sign.
To get the most from today’s cloud-based business tools, proficiency with mobile devices is a must. Here are five good habits to cultivate if you want to manage online expense reporting from a smartphone or tablet.
- Use your device regularly. Getting comfortable with using tablets and other mobile devices requires regular use and practice. Get used to taking your device with you every day, and plan ahead for using it to take meeting notes and connect to projectors.
- Back up your device. At many organizations, employees are encouraged to use their own mobile devices, and they may be on their own when it comes to backing them up, according to EPM Channel. That doesn’t eliminate employees’ responsibility for maintaining the business data on these devices, so make sure you cultivate the habit of backing up your device.
- Keep your applications updated. If you don’t keep apps current, or if you only update a few here and there, it can result in software failure and lost productivity. Either make a habit of updating your smartphones and mobile devices at least once per week, or configure the settings so that all apps are constantly updated in the background. Chrome River utilizes a web application for expenses that never requires updating. In fact, it looks just the same on your smartphone as it does on your tablet, laptop, and desktop. And all your data is secure - even if you lose your phone.
- Protect your device with passwords. Mobile devices are easier to lose (and steal) than a desktop PC. When using a mobile device for business, use a strong password to lock the device and the apps you use for company business.
- Carry multiple chargers. Using mobile devices regularly for online expense reporting and other business tasks can help you become more productive during your spare time. But a dead battery can quickly undermine that advantage. To ensure continuous productivity, savvy mobile users stash chargers in various locations — at home, at work, in the car or other places.
Whether you’re managing expense reports from a tablet or using your smartphone to reply to email, it’s important to develop good habits — and overall proficiency — when using mobile devices for business.
We’d like to hear from you. Please share any additional tips in the comments section!
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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.