When traveling the world for business you look like a rockstar to any outside spectator. You know those big shot CEOs with their private jets and all the bells and whistles? It looks so glamorous, right? Even your friends and family might envy your lifestyle, but what your Instagram profile doesn’t show them is the exhausting, stressful and lonely side of business trips.
Most of the time it just seems like you, your suitcase and your phone are all alone against the whole world. Scooting through airports and city traffic to various meetings in different countries, multiple flight delays, lost luggage and so on must get you into thinking on how you could make traveling easier. Don’t worry, technology is here to help. Nowadays you could find apps that will help you solve almost every problem business travelers are facing.
Here are the top 5 apps to download for your next business trip in case you are experiencing any of the problems mentioned above.
PDF to Word Converter with OCR
When you are on the go, there is no easy way to deal with all the electronic documents you are constantly getting, especially when traveling light only with a phone in your pocket. Don’t let us start on how hard it is to edit them, especially if they are in PDF. Â Well, in those situations this app can help. It will effortlessly convert PDFs to editable MS Word files so you could be able to make those urgent changes.
The app can convert documents right from your mobile device, Gmail attachments or from supported cloud services like iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox and more. With the latest update, the app got a document scanner with automatic border detection which means that there is no need of having separate document scanner app anymore.
Price: Free
DUFL
This app is bringing light traveling to a completely new level. It represents business service that stores, launders, and ships your business attire. The process is pretty simple, they will send you a suitcase which you will then fill with all your belongings and request a pickup. After the suitcase arrives in their warehouse, they will clean, photograph and inventory all the items from the suitcase.
Those items will then be shown right within the app in your virtual closet. The next time you are preparing to travel, just enter your arrival date and the hotel you are staying in, pick the items you want from your virtual wardrobe and you are done. Your bag will meet you there, which means you can travel without any bags carrying with you. The app is free, but the service is paid.
Price: Free
LoungeBuddy
What every business traveler undoubtedly need is to rest and spend some quality time between flights on the airport. This app allows you to view, book and access various airport lounges within seconds. You will be able to see real photos, and reviews from other travelers using this app. There is no more worrying about what is behind that frosted glass lounge doors, simple use this app to find out and book if you like what you see.
You can pay directly within the app either by using Apple Pay or major credit cards. There is an option to filter lounges by amenities or you could use Lounge Access Wizard which will tell you which lounges are the best and cheapest for you based on the credit cards, memberships or elite status you might have.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS
Google Drive
Google Drive is one of the best options when it comes to cloud storage and document management. It allows you to store all your files in one centralized place online making them accessible on various devices wherever you are. This also means that you don’t have to carry bulky hard drives while traveling. The free version gives you 15 GB of storage with an option to upgrade for more.
There is an option to search for documents as well to search for certain words in documents and you can also share files right within the app. Business users will be happy to hear that the app supports collaborative working which means that you would be able to work on the same document with your colleagues from various locations and at different times.
Price: Free
Expensify
If you own a small business this app is right for you. Keeping track of all the expenses, especially those your employees are making can be really hard. Expensify is one of the best expense tracking software that is also available on mobile devices. The app allows you to streamline the process of approving, reporting and exporting expense data.
You or your employes just need to take a photo of the receipt they just got and the app will do its magic. Behind the scenes, the app is using some pretty innovative technology, which automatically reads receipt and adds the total amount so there is no need for manual entry. Credit card transactions can be imported as well.
Price: Free
International business travels are never going to be easy. These apps can at least give you the power to overcome the most common problems business travelers are facing today. So the next time you plan a business trip, think of these apps.
