Concur Small Business Survey Reveals Surprising Habits for Expense Reporting; 59% of Respondents Admit to Making Mistakes

REDMOND, Wash., October 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Concur (Nasdaq: CNQR), a leading provider of on-demand travel and expense management services, today announced the findings of its survey on expense reporting habits of small businesses, revealing that for most, expense reporting is both time-consuming and prone to errors. In addition to releasing the survey results, Concur kicked off its "$61,354.03 Expense Tracking, Not Stacking Tour" to address the very pain points small businesses noted in the survey.

To glean further insights into the expense reporting habits of small businesses, Concur polled 500 employees of businesses in the U.S. with 100 employees or less. The survey asked respondents to address many facets of expense reporting, including: time spent on creating reports, the average cost of reports, as well as where reports landed in terms of priority.

Among the most significant findings, 59% of respondents recalled making at least one mistake on an expense report they've submitted in the past 12 months, while more than a third owned up to five errors or more in the same timeframe. Nearly half of the respondents admitted to having lost receipts, while 36% don't always remember the purpose of certain expenses. Additional findings include:

• Expense reports are low on the priority list. Not surprisingly, filing expense reports was among the least popular tasks on the daily to-do list. Respondents claimed they'd rather answer phones (26%), clean the office bathroom (10%) or even take out the company trash (18%) if it meant they'd never have to do another expense report.
• Expense reports are time-consuming. It isn't just employee mistakes that make expense reports difficult to handle. More than half of small business employees can name at least one problem, if not more, with the way their employers deal with expense reports. The biggest complaint? According to 36% of respondents, the time to process expense reports is simply too long.
• Expense reports are still largely manual. One fifth of all respondents do not have any type of specific expense reporting process in place. Of those that utilize a defined process, almost half (42%) of respondents use spreadsheets or paper-based systems to manage their expense reports.
• Expense reports add up. More than a third of respondents have filed an expense report that totaled $1,000 or more, attributing the amount to procrastination and/or lack of time set aside for expense reporting. 

"It's clear from the survey results that the expense reporting process represents an efficiency hurdle for busy small businesses for a variety of reasons," said Elena Donio, executive vice president & general manager, small and mid-market for Concur. "We're excited to hit the road and meet firsthand with the country's many small businesses. We look forward to tracking our expenses along the way and demonstrating just how easily Concur Breeze helps alleviate the pain associated with expense reporting."

As part of the "$61,354.03 Expense Tracking, Not Stacking Tour," a team of Concur "Breezers" have set off on a five-week motorcycle tour of the United States to prove that expense reporting for small business doesn't need to be hassle. Additionally, the Breezers will be treating America's small businesses to things like printing supplies, footing the bill for a happy hour for customers, or buying a simple cup of coffee all while demonstrating how quick and easy it is to keep track of all those expenses using the online expense reporting capabilities of Concur Breeze.

To follow the Breezers' journey across the country, check out www.trackingnotstackingtour.com. You can also read live updates from the road @concurbreeze as well as on Facebook.  

About Concur Breeze

Concur® Breeze is the simple, cost-efficient expense reporting solution designed specifically for small businesses. Quick and easy to setup, Concur Breeze helps save time, reduce errors and manage cash flow. Best of all, it enables small companies to spend more time making their businesses successful.  A free 30-day trial of this powerful yet intuitive online solution is available at http://www.concurbreeze.com.

About Concur

Concur is a leading provider of integrated travel and expense management solutions for small, mid-sized and large organizations. Concur's adaptable Web-based and mobile solutions help companies and their employees control costs and save time. Learn more at www.concur.com.

SOURCE Concur