Keeping track of mileage, transportation, and accommodation business costs can be a full-time job for field adjusters, and if anything slips through the cracks, it's money out of their pockets come reimbursement or tax time.
That's why Virtual Management, a provider of voice-based services, thinks its verbal expense tracking system will be successful. Their service allows subscribers to call an 800 number and verbally log expenses immediately following a meeting or other tax-deductible event. Once the call is finished, an assistant puts all the expenses into a report to be used at a later date, something that could be useful if an adjuster is audited by the IRS.
Priced at $49.95 a month, though, the service does not come cheap. With the help of independent adjuster and Claims contributor Kevin Hromas, we surveyed several property/casualty claim adjusters and managers to see if they would consider it money well spent.
“When I was adjusting, I used the tried-and-trusted 'envelope method' of tracking expenses. One new envelope each week, with mileage, etc. written on the outside and all receipts placed inside. Worked just fine, and probably cheaper than this.” — John Durham, retired adjuster
“Great idea but I don't think it will work, especially at that price. I can't get adjusters to report expenses in a timely fashion, let alone make a call every day to report them.” –Jim Lakes, owner, third-party adjusting firm
“Interesting concept and surely a life saver, but what about receipts? Also, are all conversation transcriptions copied to the tax payer right after entry so that they can be checked for accuracy?” — Joe Lombardo, independent adjuster, Fla.
“Seems to me to be pretty pricey. It also seems like there are other methods which would be equal to and comparable in ease of use in keeping track of expenses, such as Palm Pilots or digital tape recorders.” — Jim Flynt, independent adjuster, N.C.
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