Let's pretend for a moment that airport security screening doesn't exist and there is no such thing as a flight delay or grounding. With that fantasy in mind consider the fact that traveling for business has really never been as easy as it is now. The office is now truly mobile, and not simply because of laptops and notebooks. The smartphone is leading the team of time saving digital devices in its ability to manage business tasks while on the move. Invoices can be composed, emailed, paid and synced with the home computer. Calendars tell you where and when to be, what to wear and how to get there. Expenses, projects and time spent with clients is tracked and documented. These are all daily forms of assistance that are useful anywhere, but if you are traveling away from home there are a host of other apps that can make your business trips even more efficient. Let's take a look.
Flight Update - Live Status
As previously stated, one of the most frustrating parts of travel either for business or personal is the flight delay. Flight Update is your up to the date, live monitor of flight schedules and departures for over 1400 airlines world wide. Simply enter your airline, flight number, the date of the trip and the app will track the status of the flight. If there is a delay or change, you will be alerted. But that is just the beginning. There are weather updates, baggage claim information, SeatGuru to assist you in choosing and finding your seat, the ability to search other flights if you experience a cancellation and easily email your itinerary to anyone in your contacts. You can even track flights as they travel across the continent. This app is designed to be a proactive tool for business travel rather than a reactive one. Plus, we hear the developer's customer service is excellent.
AroundMe
This app is designed to find whatever you need within your immediate vicinity, whether it be at home or abroad. The GPS locater in your phone tells the app where you are and quickly downloads business information, maps and contact details. Need a rental car? Follow the directions. Want to email the location and phone number to a colleague? No problem. Need a drycleaner that is close by? Easy. There is even a feature that allows you to use Wikipedia as a search engine to find points of interest around you. Never again will you be lost in a strange city.
Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker and Reader
Unless you are an accountant, most people who travel for business loathe the thought of compiling and recording all the expense receipts when the trip is over. There is always at least one that got lost, or that you forget to claim. And, if you are not a seasoned expert on expense claims, there is the inevitable phone call from the company accountant (or worse - the IRS) asking for a receipt to go with that $50 client dinner you claimed (that's the one that got lost). Now imagine paying for that client dinner and before leaving the table you discreetly take a snapshot of the receipt and log it into Shoeboxed. The app then reads the receipt and enters it into your expense form, so when you get back to the office just print out the snapshots and expense form. The digital receipts are even accepted by the IRS! No more lost receipts! No more stern calls from accounting!
Worldcard
Do you have the memory of a goldfish? When meeting someone new do you forget their name before the handshake is over? Here is a hint: ask for their business card, scan it with your iphone. Worldcard will then convert everything on the card to text and enter it into your contacts - correctly! No more embarrassing "I'm sorry, what was your name?" or losing the business cards of important business contacts.
These are just a few apps available for the average traveling business person - there are literally thousands more. The reviews of the above apps were from real users, and were all very positive. Try them out, what's the worst that could happen?