Expense Reports That Don't Suck

For anyone who has ever had to keep track of their work expenses or have seen their parents scrambling looking for their receipts from old business trips to turn into their office, your responsibilities to keep track of these receipts and expenses have just become a lot easier. Expensify app allows users to record their expenses by taking a picture of their receipts and then sending them to the company. The app also has a built in GPS so when traveling for work, your miles are being tracked without any effort. The company can view this information so their employee does not need to physically turn anything in for just $9 per month for a corporation and $5 per month for active users of the app.

            I found it convenient that Expensify is able to keep all of your receipts and expenses together on the app without having to carry around physical receipts and papers from each trip or event. I think this makes it easier also for businesses to keep track of exactly what their employees are spending money on because it makes it easier to compartmentalize these transactions when they are all together. Instead of having to hire employees in charge of expense reports, the app allows for an electronic employee that is less likely to make simple math mistakes than humans.

            Something I thought could be a problem with Expensify is the problem of hackers getting ahold of credit card information and expense reports of other companies. Although most of the world has their personal information on the web and on their cell phones, putting it on an app seems like it might be easier for hackers to locate this information. Also, in the Expensify article it said if you lose your receipt, “Expensify lets you import your credit card transactions and automatically creates an IRS guaranteed eReceipt for all purchases under $75.” This makes me wonder if this is allowing the app to get too much data from your other credit card purchases if it will then have access to your credit card statements. I think Expensify seems like a great new IT invention that makes it easier for businesses and employees who need to report their expenses often. According to the WSJ, Expensify raised $17 million in venture funding so I am curious to know if the app has seem positive results since launching or has made any significant profits from this app. Also I am curious to hear feedback from users of this app to know if they found it helpful or worth the investment.

Below are the links for the Expensify App and article:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2012/05/29/10-brilliant-apps-small-businesses-should-use/#1fb4b1744fc9

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.me.mobiexpensifyg&hl=en

http://www.capterra.com/expense-report-software/spotlight/97594/Expensify/Expensify

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/07/27/expensify-launches-venture-arm-with-part-of-17m-new-round/