The cost of global business travel is expected to hit an incredible $1.6 trillion by the end of 2020. That’s more than the entire GDP of Australia, as of 2013. This huge sum of money is spent on plane, train and car trips for employees. However, in today’s technological age, travel is becoming less important.
By being clever about the trips you do make, and reducing the amount you travel during the year by making use of new software solutions, you can save your legal firm a substantial amount of money. These three simple ways to cut travel costs will allow your firm to work more efficiently and cut back on needless, pricey expenses.
Use Regional Airports
A neat trick to save money on your flights is using regional airports. These smaller airports tend to cater more to business travelers, with smaller planes, smaller lines at the airport, and smaller price tags. All this convenience coming at a lower cost is a win-win situation, especially for smaller law firms.
A regional airport will more than likely be able to cater for your trip, given that most business trips are less than 250 miles in length – according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Currently, around 16% of all business travel is done by airplane, meaning that your trip might also be more affordable by car or train.
In order to find the best flights, it’s also a great idea to talk to a travel agent who specializes in business travel. These travel agents have access to more deals than price comparison websites, so they’re definitely worth considering.
Work During Your Trip
Your employees might not thank you for this, but turning a business trip into a working trip can stop you spending on replacement staff, or missing out on important working hours. Using PracticePanther – an online legal case management system – law firms can access files, sensitive data and emails from any device, anywhere in the world. On your iPad or Android tablet, cell phone or laptop, you can work on reports, send important files to your colleagues with just a couple of clicks, and even manage your schedule whether you’re in your office or on a Spanish beach.
Using PracticePanther, a trip that might have simply involved an evening meeting with a potential client, can become more productive. This ensures that your clients get the quality service they deserve at all times, with no interruptions.
Use Web Conferencing Instead to Reduce Travel
Reducing the frequency of professional travel is one of the biggest savers, and using online tools like web conferencing can make it possible.
Instead of traveling out for short meetings with colleagues, consider using services like Skype, or improving your virtual communication through PracticePanther’s integrated email and calendar system. By improving colleague communication, and making files and sensitive information available on a private and protected cloud network, any law firm can improve efficiency so much that meeting in real life becomes less important.
