UK drivers most likely to submit mileage claims on same day, says SAP Concur

Business drivers in the UK are the most likely in Europe to submit mileage claims on the same day, research from SAP Concur has found.

The expense, travel and invoice management solutions provider surveyed 1,130 business employees responsible for authorising claims across Europe.

It found that 23% of UK respondents could submit a mileage claim on the same day – the highest percentage from any one country.

The survey also found that, across Europe, 56% said that mileage expenses were rarely or never queried in the sign-off process. Only 13% looked into the accuracy of claims often and 31% from time to time.

The research found that 29% of those surveyed with the authority to sign off mileage expenses considered themselves to be very confident in the accuracy of mileage claims; 54% were rather confident and 17% were either so-so or not very confident.

Emma Maslen, UK MD enterprise, SAP Concur, said: “Millions are spent on reimbursing travellers’ mileage expenses every year – and yet it would seem that businesses are taking what can at best be described as a relaxed approach when it comes to ensuring they’ve got the right checks and balances in place. This throws up two potential issues.

“Firstly, and rather obviously, they are losing cash like a leaky bucket and secondly, mileage could be acting as a ticking duty of care time bomb.

“Every time a member of staff travels for work, companies have a legal duty of care to predict the risks they face and be able to respond to them.

“Understanding the mileage your employees are doing is about more than simply improving cashflow visibility and streamlining admin – it’s about people.

“Companies need to be able to integrate mileage into their view to ensure that they are eliminating blindspots and doing their best by employees. The survey suggests that, at the moment, that’s simply not happening.”

SAP Concur data shows that last year the average European business traveller claimed for 1,978 miles and in the UK £170 million was spent on mileage reimbursement.