Expense report ping pong and outdated processes are a drag on travel and expense management, new research from Mesh Payments shows

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Nov 15, 2023, 08:15 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- New research on business travel conducted by Mesh Payments, the spend management platform for modern global enterprises, reveals employee frustration with complex expense processes and confusing expense policies, with 78% percent stating it's both time-consuming and manual. The research¹ comes amidst the rebound in travel and the rise in distributed and global workforces.

Employees are fed up with expense report ping pong, with 30% of those surveyed citing receipt collection and submission as a top frustration and some estimating that they spend 2.5 hours a month reconciling and submitting expenses. In addition, 45% of employees said they have trouble understanding their company's travel policies and approval processes, making it hard for them to stay within budget.

Compounding this expense report fatigue, over one-third (37%) of employees say they still have to use a personal card when they travel for business, while nearly a quarter (23%) of employees say expenses can take a month or longer to be reimbursed, creating what Mesh is calling 'reimbursement anxiety.'

Furthermore, despite the many benefits of virtual cards and mobile wallets — including increased security, flexibility, and spend tracking — nine out of 10 employees say their companies still do not offer the flexibility of virtual cards for business travel and expenses.

"The uptick in business travel has companies reassessing if their solutions are serving modern global business needs. Our research shows that 78% of employees find their expense processes time-consuming and too manual," said Oded Zehavi, co-founder and CEO of Mesh Payments. "Almost every company is looking to modernize their T&E platform in 2024. Embracing automation in travel and expenses can drastically reduce costs and time spent on manual tasks, while at the same time providing more accuracy and real-time visibility into expenses and reimbursements."

Earlier this year, Mesh Payments launched its breakthrough, TMC-agnostic travel management solution for modern, global enterprises with integrated corporate cards, automated travel policy enforcement, and robust AI-enabled expense management tools

To view the full report, download here or visit meshpayments.com to learn more about Mesh's spend and travel management platform.

About Mesh Payments
Mesh Payments is the only spend and travel management purpose-built for modern global enterprises. Smart corporate cards, AI-enabled expense management tools, and TMC-agnostic travel management make Mesh the go-to platform for finance and travel teams.

Mesh eliminates expense reports, a task that costs companies an average of $58 per report, according to GBTA. With its top-tier features and exceptional customer service Mesh is ranked in the CB Insights Fintech 100 and the G2 Fastest Growing Products 100. Mesh powers fast-growing brands like Monday.com, Hippo Insurance, Riskified, Sezzle, and Snyk.

¹Research survey was conducted by Mesh Payments from September 30-October 13, 2023, polling 256 business travelers at U.S. companies with over 1,000 employees. Findings were compiled using AI-extracted insights and analysis aided by new research tool Outset.ai.

SOURCE Mesh Payments