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For as long as I have been in the travel management industry, there has always been one consistent topic of discussion - What is the best data source for my travel spend data?

I¡¯ve heard arguments for using Travel Management Company (TMC) data, I¡¯ve listened to ideas for using corporate card spend data, and I¡¯ve heard arguments for using supplier data.

But what I¡¯ve come to learn over the years is this - The true single source for ¡°Travel Spend Truth¡± is, without a doubt, your expense data!

Expense data is where you¡¯ll find all spend that¡¯s not going onto corporate credit cards and all spend that¡¯s going supplier direct.

Another significant realism about travel spend data is that the expense data is tied back to your company¡¯s General Ledger (GL) data. Why is that important, you ask?

Well, it¡¯s important because the GL information is used by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) when reporting a company¡¯s monthly and quarterly earnings.?

As travel managers, ask yourself: ¡°What information source does my CFO trust more? The travel data I provide - OR - the GL data coming from a financial analyst?¡±

I believe the answer is obvious!

While travel is undoubtedly the more appealing aspect of the Travel & Expense (T&E) world, expense is where the rubber meets the road. Your travel program responsibilities do not stop with the booking process and supplier management.

Consider the last time you sat down with your expense manager to strategize how your two departments can work more closely.

In my book, if you already have/do, you¡¯re a progressive, forward-thinking travel leader! And if you haven¡¯t ¨C well, now is a good time to start.

Taking action

It would seem to me that the ultimate question you as a travel manager has to consider is, what can you do to become a trusted provider and advisor of T&E spend truth at your company?

Here are four great tips to consider:

1. Align with your expense manager or team and determine how you two can work more closely with the expense data
2. Determine how much your expense data can be dissected and what reports are available to work with
3. Work with the finance data analyst to determine what GL categories of spend the expense data get allocated to
4. Restructure your travel reports to align with the GL categories of spend

Aligning your travel reporting with expense data and GL rollups will help you obtain more accurate travel spend data, gain credibility, and become that trusted adviser across your company¡¯s organizations.

Be a builder of bridges, not silos, and the results will speak for themselves!