Traveling can be stressful, and traveling for work requires even greater efficiency and focus. Knowing how to make your journey as hassle-free as possible gives you more time to concentrate on the purpose of your trip — so you can keep a clear head for that big pitch meeting or marketing campaign update. Whether you’re embarking on your first work trip or you’re a seasoned pro, these 12 business travel tools will serve you well.
If you’ve been frustrated by ever-changing airline loyalty programs, you’ll appreciate Points.com. This free app allows you to consolidate all those frequent flier miles you’ve gathered from different airlines so you can actually use them. You can also exchange miles with other users or buy more to help you get the rewards you want.
Seat Guru helps you scope out the best in-flight situation possible by letting you search for seats with power outlets, in-flight entertainment and amenities, flight status alerts, and more. The free, easy-to-use site is like having a personal assistant to make your business trip as comfortable as possible.
If the thought of using the underground train system in a foreign location fills you with dread, AllSubway is the anti-anxiety remedy you need. For just $0.99, you can access a database of subway maps in more than 100 cities around the world to quickly and easily find your way around any town — whether or not you have an Internet connection at the time.
Filling out expense reports is probably the last thing you want to do at the end of a hard day working away from home. For $5 a month — or $9 per user per month for a corporate account — Expensify will import your expenses straight from your bank or credit card and compile them into a PDF expense report for you. You can even scan the receipts of cash purchases and track mileage, billing hours, and other reimbursable expenses.
If you’re going on a trip that involves networking, FullContact Card Reader is your new best friend. The free app allows you to take a quick picture of any business card and create a contact on your phone and in hundreds of different apps, like Evernote, Salesforce, and LinkedIn. FullContact uses human transcription rather than OCR systems to ensure accuracy.
Quickly convert money with the help of XE Currency, a free currency conversion app. It stays up-to-date with current rates to ensure you always get the most accurate conversion possible. View currency charts and historical rates, get daily exchange rate emails, and calculate prices on your phone for free.
These days, a professional without Wi-Fi is a professional unable to do their job. To avoid getting stuck without Internet access when you need it, use Wi-Fi Finder to locate the nearest free or paid Wi-Fi spot. Get detailed information about the quality of the signal and reviews of the locations that house the hotspot.
When dinner is paid for, you want to eat somewhere delicious. Yelp allows you to check out local eateries in any area without having to wander around the city. You can find out a restaurant’s prices, get recommendations from other people who have eaten there, look at pictures of their meals, and write your own reviews.
Well-established and used by businesses large and small, Dropbox is a great tool whether or not you’re traveling. You can access files from anywhere — which is especially useful when you’re not present to keep track of employees and sign off on work in person.
Manage your Microsoft® Office® files on the road with the Polaris Office app, winner of PCMag’s Editors’ Choice Award. With a free basic version or a Pro version for $5.99 per month, you can easily share documents with your team, exchange ideas via chat, and work from anywhere.
Protecting your company from a cyber attack is always important, and the burden may fall on you more heavily if you’re the owner of a small business. Stay in the know about cyber data breaches around the world with Next Gov. The free app provides information and commentary that can be tailored to business or industry specifics, helping you keep an eye on your business’s cybersecurity even while traveling.
Slack describes itself as “team communication for the 21st century.” The app allows you to streamline communications between various employees, giving you the option to make some conversations public to easily distribute information while others remain private. You can also share files and easily search archived messages to find what you’re looking for in a hurry.
Wherever you’re traveling next for business, these 12 business travel tools will help you stay focused and productive.
