If the computer was the great information advance of the 20th century, the Internet is arguably the big deal of the 21st. The ability to take information and place it online has made it possible for any computer, regardless of computational power, to get important, useful information, provided that a solid connection to the Internet is available.

Because of this, information has become easier and more portable than ever before, and it can now “keep up” with the people that use it. People that watch television programs on a streaming device at home before going to the airport can pause the film, go on their trip and arrive at their destination in another country entirely, only to set up a laptop, open up the same software, and resume watching the same program. People that read books on an e-reader can now, even if they forget their reader, simply pull up their phone or tablet, log in to their account and take up where they left off.

Keeping data stored and persistent online is now referred to as storing information in “the cloud,” and while it has a lot of personal conveniences, it has many professional ones too. Expense report software is one of them.

Always Up To Date

The persistent, online nature of the cloud means that when information is entered into expense report software, it stays there, and anyone with the right access can use it or view it. This means that expense reports themselves no longer have to be filed only when the trip is done, it can happen immediately after any expenditure, to make the data a “living document.” Moreover, people in finance don’t have wait for the final report to be submitted but can instead view and approve expenses as they are updated online.

This works wonders towards eliminating the “crunch” period where a lot of information suddenly appears and needs to be processed all at the same time. Employees now don’t have to spend a significant amount of time writing a report from scratch and collating all receipts. Similarly, the finance department doesn’t have to deal with an entire report submitted all at once, but can handle the expenditures piecemeal, preventing large pile ups of data from accumulating.

Thanks to the persistent and accessible nature of the cloud, information can now be put in, used, or taken out at the convenience of the people that need it, and not just as a deadline looms. It’s much faster, more efficient, more convenient way for everyone to work.