How To Choose Business Travel Management Software For Small And Medium-Sized Businesses

Companies that assign their employees on the road need help with business travel management. It’s not just about making bookings – there’s a lot of other stuff that needs to be taken care of, like creating travel policies, managing risks, meeting obligations, dealing with disruptions, and figuring out how much to pay for each trip.

It can be overwhelming, so that’s why businesses that need a lot of help with travel-related tasks work with service providers who offer full-service travel management software. But how do you pick the right one from all the options available in the marketplace?

Essential Features Required In An Ideal Travel Management Software

If it’s time to find the perfect travel management software for your small and medium-sized business, remember to keep in mind these key features and elements.

Hassle-Free onboarding And Simplified Usability

If you are a small or medium-sized business looking to get your business travel management program up and running quickly, be careful. You need to ensure you’re onboarding and migrating from similar tools fast. Many corporate travel management solutions can take months or even longer to establish.

That’s why it’s critical to figure out what your system needs, how it should work, and the support you may need. Before committing to anything, think about how easy it is to use, how soon you can get it up and running, and it is easy to use for business travelers, finance teams, and managers.

Adoption And Enhancements

If you are looking for enterprise software, you probably expect it to be more strict and designed with large companies in mind.

But if you’re looking for software that works for small businesses and is better equipped to make small changes fast, you’ll want to look for something to manage business trip schedules for your employees and your team. Also, it should be able to automate the whole expense reporting process for business trips.

Transparency And Scaling

If you want to get the most out of your corporate travel management system, you should ensure the solution you pick is adaptable enough to grow with your small business. Enterprise software usually doesn’t have many integrations, so make sure your travel management software integrates with your tech stack.

It should keep track of your company’s travel spending data across different departments and cost centers and show you what your travelers are up to and what their trips have been like in the past. It should also help you measure how effective your travel policy is, and it should be able to grow with your business.

Speedy Bookings

It doesn’t have to be a hassle to book a corporate trip. Your business travel management system should keep track of everyone’s information so you can save yourself a ton of time.

Large Inventory Of Service Providers

If your employees don’t have access to the same kinds of inventory that they get on commercial booking sites, they might get frustrated and look for other ways to book travel.

You should ensure your travel management software has access to a wide variety of inventory from many sources and has intelligent automation that shows them personalized results for their business travelers.

Keeping travel compliant means ensuring your inventory is easy to access with clear policies and approval processes. If your software doesn’t have budget hotels or flight service providers, you’re missing out on some of the most cost-effective benefits. Gen Z and Millenials love budget hotels, so it makes sense to give them options.

Find out if your travel management software lets employees book their own travel – all in one place. Your system should match supplier-direct pricing, corporate rates, and consumer rates. It should also have search technology that automates your employees’ personal preferences, loyalty, and previous booking behavior.

Omnichannel To Track

Organizing all your corporate trips in one place makes it super smart to keep track of business travel management. The main goal of any travel management solution is to integrate travel.

So, what else does your business travel management need? In most cases, the solution will let you log in and see bookings, violations of policies, etc. You’ll need one platform for approval, schedule info, cancellation notifications, etc.

Ensures Company Policy Compliance

Choose a travel management software that makes it easy to follow company rules. When you comply with your travel policies, the travel manager doesn’t have as much to worry about. That means less stress at work, more affordable travel, saving money, and streamlined approval requests. In addition, your in-app travel policy should be customizable according to your company guidelines.

The Business Traveler Repertoire

Selecting the perfect travel management software is insignificant if employees do not take the time to use it. Business travelers today expect a convenient and user-friendly process when booking and reimbursing for their trips. If employees do not take advantage of the platform, they will not be able to see what they are booking and spending money on, and your small business will miss out on the benefits of its investment.

Your Employee Safety And Protection

Now more than ever, small businesses need the right tools to ensure the health and safety of their traveling employees. The term – duty of care- describes a moral and legal responsibility of a company to care for its employees while they are on the road.

In addition to visibility of when and where an employee is while traveling, a well-designed travel management system allows for fast responses and helps companies manage business travel.

A live traveler map should be part of your travel management software. The software should be capable of communicating with traveling employees both separately and in groups.

A well-designed system should also collect crisis information. Also, self-service support should be included in the travel management software, allowing an employee to contact live agent support at any time.

Final Thoughts: Does Your Travel Management Software Fit You?

If you are a small or medium-sized business, ensure your pricing and features stay competitive. Travel management software like ITILITE tailored to small companies, have more affordable and customizable pricing options that don’t require contracts.

They should also have features that make it easy to comply with your company’s travel policies. The software should be easy to use and have access to a wide range of airlines and hotels globally. It should manage business trip schedules for individual employees and teams and automate the expense reporting process. Make your business travel management process a seamless experience.