futureproof
Don't forget to pack the Apps
With business travel back on the agenda, Acuity app guru Heather Smith FCA looks at some apps, technologies and gadgets you don’t want to leave out of your suitcase.
Before you leave
Before embarking on a business trip, I check all my apps are up-to-date and all podcasts, audiobooks and music are downloaded so as not to blow out my data plan. I ensure my smartphone is fully charged as well as my slimline battery pack for charging on the go.
I use the relevant plane app for checking in, boarding pass, flight details and potential travel changes. It may also have helpful information, such as the destination airport map and rideshare pick-up location. In addition, some airlines have a separate entertainment app – worth checking ahead of boarding.
I ensure all meeting times and locations are in my Google Calendar app, so I can easily use the Google Maps app and also make sure I have a rideshare app that’s available in whichever location I’m heading to.
It's also worth mentioning a few travel accessory discoveries I've recently added to my list. Travel compression bags for vacuum squashing clothes, Apple AirTags for bag tracking and a Cabeau neck support pillow to aid with relaxation. If you are going overseas, consider purchasing a prepaid SIM from SimCorner and remember to take a paperclip to swap the sims.
With all this in motion, I’m ready for take-off.
Google Calendar
GOOGLE
MAPS
Cabeau
SIM CORNER
before you leave
business back home
Datamolino
MMC Receipt
Xero
MinuteDock
Business back home
Operationally, my business is ticking over while travelling. Of course, my starting foundation is that my entire business operates and is accessible in the clouds. I use MinuteDock to track billing hours against clients, tasks, or projects while travelling. A summary of the information can be pushed into Xero as an invoice.
I'm currently trialling MMC Receipt to scan business bills and expenses, extract summary information, push the data, and scan documents into my online accounting solution, Xero. Other options include Datamolino, Dext Prepare and Hubdoc. The Xero mobile app has extensive functionality, but while travelling, I tend to only do the easy bank reconciliation lines and monitor the reasonableness of the dashboard.
Upon returning to home base, I update and refine my travel checklist. Did anything slow me down? Did I see something that could have enhanced my journey? Like travel itself, technology is constantly being refined and upgraded and no doubt by the time I next jump on a plane, there’ll be another app to make my trip more efficient.
Splitwise
Airwallex
Weel
GOOGLE WALLET
Payment hacks
My credit cards are loaded onto my Google Wallet app, handy for cashless payments and tap-and-go on public transport. (If travelling with physical credit cards, ensure you have an RFID blocking device to protect your cards from being skimmed.)
I recently incurred bill shock when I was charged an extra A$100 for what the hotel referred to as free amenities, such as the free coffee served in the reception area. I could have prevented this if I had set up a Weel virtual card with a prepaid amount of A$600 and given it to the reception at check-in. Weel app (formerly DiviPay) is a prepaid virtual expense card that sits in your mobile wallet.
Once you have a Weel account, setting up a new virtual card takes a few minutes. Then, the hotel would not have been able to charge beyond the agreed charge and, I suspect, I would have found out about the total costs they would land me with at the check-in stage rather than the end of my visit.
payment
hacks
GOOGLE PHOTOS
Checking in
Whenever I check into a hotel, I take a photo (Google Photos app) of my door and room number. Blank white card keys frequently don't list the room number and when I return late at night, it's reassuring to know I'm in the right place.
I recharge at every possibility: if I’m chatting with a fellow traveller in the hotel lobby or stopping for coffee at a cafe, I'll plug in and recharge. As a result, I never inadvertently find myself in a strange location with a low battery.
Why have I not mentioned a digital business card app? I’ve never found them to be effective. I prefer to connect with new acquaintances immediately on LinkedIn, there’s no need to add another app into the process.
CA LIBRARY
LIBBY APP
GOOGLE PODCASTS
CA ANZ
PODCASTS
CPD on the go
I use actual travel time to catch-up on professional development and get me in the right frame of mind with edutaining podcasts, including the CA ANZ podcasts. I use the Google Podcasts app. I like that I can queue episodes in the order I want to listen to them and it maintains a history of what I've heard. I speed listen to podcasts at a comfortable comprehension playback speed of 1.5x, so I need more hours than I plan to travel for. I use the Libby App and link it to my Brisbane library and CA Library membership to access a wide variety of audio and ebooks.
checking
in
cpd on
the go
name here
title here
name here
title here
click here to listen to the podcast
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Before you leave
1. before you leave
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CPD on the go
2. CPD on the go
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
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Checking in
3. checking in
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean rutrum ligula varius ligula fermentum, in porta sapien pellentesque. Mauris orci orci, iaculis quis nulla ut, pulvinar lacinia tellus. Curabitur consectetur orci non metus bibendum, sed auctor nulla semper. Sed felis lacus, bibendum id ipsum ornare, pharetra dapibus velit.
Payment Hacks
4. payment hacks
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
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Business back home
5. business back home
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
App Name here lorem
LINKEDIN
Listen to Acuity app guru Heather Smith FCA in conversation with Weel co-founder and CTO Russell Martin as they discuss how businesses can control spending when on the road:
The Airwallex app saved me while I was overseas and needed to make a credit card payment. For example, when I tried to pay for a car rental in England, a verification code was sent to my Australian mobile phone, which I didn't have access to while overseas. So, in a matter of minutes, I set up an Airwallex virtual credit card in the local currency, transferred money into the account and made the payment.
To keep track of shared expenses and balances with friends, to show you who owes how much to whom, Splitwise, Splid or Splittr are handy apps.
Splid
SPLITTR
Dext Prepare
Hubdoc
Before embarking on a business trip, I check all my apps are up-to-date and all podcasts, audiobooks and music are downloaded so as not to blow out my data plan. I ensure my smartphone is fully charged as well as my slimline battery pack for charging on the go.
Before you leave
BUSINESS BACK HOME
PAYMENT HACKS
CHECKING IN
CPD ON THE GO
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
GOOGLE
MAPS
Google Calendar
CPD on the go
I recharge at every possibility: if I’m chatting with a fellow traveller in the hotel lobby or stopping for coffee at a cafe, I'll plug in and recharge. As a result, I never inadvertently find myself in a strange location with a low battery.
Why have I not mentioned a digital business card app? I’ve never found them to be effective. I prefer to connect with new acquaintances immediately on LinkedIn, there’s no need to add another app into the process.
Checking in
I recently incurred bill shock when I was charged an extra A$100 for what the hotel referred to as free amenities, such as the free coffee served in the reception area. I could have prevented this if I had set up a Weel virtual card with a prepaid amount of A$600 and given it to the reception at check-in. Weel app (formerly DiviPay) is a prepaid virtual expense card that sits in your mobile wallet.
Payment Hacks
Business back home
Acuity Special Edition December/January 2023
See full issue
Listen to Acuity app guru Heather Smith FCA in conversation with Weel co-founder and CTO Russell Martin as they discuss how businesses can control spending when on the road:
Acuity Special Edition December/January 2023
See full issue
My credit cards are loaded onto my Google Wallet app, handy for cashless payments and tap-and-go on public transport. (If travelling with physical credit cards, ensure you have an RFID blocking device to protect your cards from being skimmed.)
I recently incurred bill shock when I was charged an extra A$100 for what the hotel referred to as free amenities, such as the free coffee served in the reception area. I could have prevented this if I had set up a Weel virtual card with a prepaid amount of A$600 and given it to the reception at check-in. Weel app (formerly DiviPay) is a prepaid virtual expense card that sits in your mobile wallet.
Once you have a Weel account, setting up a new virtual card takes a few minutes. Then, the hotel would not have been able to charge beyond the agreed charge and, I suspect, I would have found out about the total costs they would land me with at the check-in stage rather than the end of my visit.
Operationally, my business is ticking over while travelling. Of course, my starting foundation is that my entire business operates and is accessible in the clouds. I use MinuteDock to track billing hours against clients, tasks, or projects while travelling. A summary of the information can be pushed into Xero as an invoice.
I'm currently trialling MMC Receipt to scan business bills and expenses, extract summary information, push the data, and scan documents into my online accounting solution, Xero. Other options include Datamolino, Dext Prepare and Hubdoc. The Xero mobile app has extensive functionality, but while travelling, I tend to only do the easy bank reconciliation lines and monitor the reasonableness of the dashboard.
Upon returning to home base, I update and refine my travel checklist. Did anything slow me down? Did I see something that could have enhanced my journey? Like travel itself, technology is constantly being refined and upgraded and no doubt by the time I next jump on a plane, there’ll be another app to make my trip more efficient.