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Article #208: Business Owners: Five Surprising Changes That Affect Business Travel

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In 2003, I took my business on the road two. 3. Plastic. During our 2003 trip,
for three months while traveling by car we had to keep hitting up ATMs for cash,
around much of North America. In 2007, I because quite a few places where we had
took almost as long for a road trip from to pay for things did not accept credit
Massachusetts to Alaska and back. In cards. In 2007, the only places where we
those four years, several things changed really had to have cash were a few tolls
that significantly affected some and a few tourist attractions. We had
practicalities of taking care of business one Canadian ten-dollar bill with us left
when away from the office and one's home over from the previous trip, and apart
base for that long a time. If you're from that we were able to charge nearly
planning extensive business travel and everything. When a panhandler tried to
haven't been on the road in a couple of hit us up for cash, we were able to say
years, some of these changes might come truthfully that we had none. We were
as a surprise to you, too. 1. Internet putting everything on plastic, sorry! 4.
access. In 2003, high-speed Internet was Cell phone coverage. Our surprise here
a specialty item in the hospitality was that there wasn't as much improvement
industry, restricted to a few name-brand in cellular service for the more remote
hotel and coffee-shop chains. Before I sections of the U.S. as we expected.
left on my 2007 trip, several people told Along interstate highways, you can pretty
me blithely, "Wi-fi is everywhere now." much expect to get a signal. But
I'm glad I looked skeptically at that otherwise, where population density is
assessment. During ten weeks of travel low or nonexistent, cell phone coverage
in Canada and the U.S., only one-third of is usually likewise absent. A big
the time did wi-fi work conveniently and exception was national parks. I had a
right away in the room where we were long conversation with a friend back home
staying. Another third of the time we from Denali National Park in Alaska,
were able to use wi-fi after quite a bit where the whole county has only 1800 or
of technical fiddling or by going to the so full-time residents. 5. Mail
motel office or restaurant. And the forwarding. This change isn't the
other third of the time, we would have progress toward efficiency that you might
been without Internet access had wi-fi expect. It took longer in 2007 than in
been our only option. I had three backup 2003 to get postal mail forwarding going
options for this contingency: going and longer to stop the forwarding. My
online on dialup with the modem in my postmaster explained that forwarding was
laptop; using my handheld phone/computer now centralized and computerized.
(an AT&T 8525) to pick up email; and Whereas previously, individual post
telephoning my virtual assistant to ask offices had been in charge of forwarding
her to check my email for me. 2. mail addressed to residents in their
Receipts. If you're planning to deduct service area, now this was handled at the
business travel expenses on your taxes, regional mail processing facility. My
then you need to save receipts and you postmaster could put in the request to
need a written record of the expenses and start or stop mail forwarding, but he had
their business purpose. What changed no direct control over the process, and
since 2003 in this regard is that more it took 7-10 days for the forwarding and
and more businesses provide receipts on the no-more-forwarding orders to take
thermal paper whose ink fades and smudges effect. Be prepared for these and other
with the least exposure to sun or changing conditions, and you'll have a
friction. This means that if you better, easier and more prosperous time
shoe-box your receipts into a pocket or a away from home.
compartment in the car before you record Marcia Yudkin is the author of Web Site
your expenses, you could be unable to Marketing Makeover and 10 other books.
decipher your evidence. I'm not sure She publishes a weekly newsletter on
what the IRS's take on this development creative marketing, Marketing Minute ( ).
will be, but I'm glad I had the Find out more about her report "Take Your
discipline to record the expenses in a Business On The Road" at .
little notebook at least every day or






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