Company Profiles: Spotlight on Travel and Tech

Who enjoys filling out an expense report? They are time consuming and often messy. And let’s face it, it’s difficult keeping track of all those receipts. Like it or not, though, they are required by many employers.

Is the mere thought of Internal Revenue Service scrutiny enough to give you nightmares? For many Americans, it is. In a recent survey of more than 2,500 taxpayers, TaxAudit, the nation’s largest audit defense service, found that 47 percent feel anxious when they receive correspondence from the IRS. And while 65 percent are confident that their tax returns are error-free, 29 percent still worry the IRS will audit them.

Small businesses—defined as independent businesses with fewer than 500 employees—make up 99.7 percent of employer firms in the U.S. according to the Small Business Administration. The millions of new jobs they create each year are extremely important to our nation’s economy, yet traditional lending institutions often fail them when an unexpected opportunity knocks or cash is tight.

Most people have probably thought about ditching their jobs and spending months traveling around the world. It’s also likely that the vast majority of these people don’t follow through with those plans. Instead, they put their dreams on hold to live a more conventional life, filled with offices, homes and bills. But if you are seeking a more adventurous lifestyle, do not despair.

There is a way you can hit the road, make money and live the dream, achieving a lifestyle that people will envy for decades to come. That’s what Jeremy Jones is doing. He and his wife Angie are the authors of the blog, Living the Dream.

As Jones told RewardExpert, “Don’t keep thinking about it, commit to doing it!”

The launch of ecommerce has been a game-changer across the globe and is now something most people can’t live without. It has simplified lives and how we shop by saving us time and money.

For many years, ecommerce megastores dominated the online space, but the availability of ready-to-launch ecommerce platforms and services now make it possible for any company of any size to launch an ecommerce store.

PureFormulas.com (PF) is a health and supplements ecommerce store that officially launched in 2009. We spoke with Daniel Moure, CMO of PureFormulas, to learn more about how they got started and to understand their unique selling proposition.

In the digital age, online security is a fear for many consumers. Credit card information for millions of Americans is routinely hacked, wreaking havoc on those who thought they were secure. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, the retail banking sector suffered 17 different incidents in 2017 — the highest number of attacks experienced in the industry as a whole. That’s a jump of approximately 80 percent when compared to the previous year.

Spring break is here, which means families from all across the U.S. will be vacationing to warmer locations via car, plane or even train.

Planning a vacation or cross-country trip is no easy feat, especially when you’re organizing an itinerary for the entire family. The process can be tiresome and it can be hard to come to an agreement on what events everyone should participate in. To ease the burden, notably for parents, an app called Cozi helps families stay organized so everyone is on the same page before taking off for vacation.

It can be tough for busy parents to stay on top of their finances and just as tough for them to find time to teach their kids about money. However, there is one Arizona-based company that is offering a way to do both. With BusyKid, chores, allowances and finances all come together into one easy solution.

Imagine a world where one person or one organization could really make a difference. Imagine if their efforts to end poverty and war had a global impact. You don’t have to imagine that anymore. Meet the people at Abt Associates.

Abt Associates was founded by Clark C. Abt, a German immigrant who came to the U.S. at the age of eight. He earned a degree in aeronautics at the age of 22, which was soon followed by a masters in writing. After that, he completed a PhD in political science from MIT in 1965. He created Abt Associates the same year with one purpose: to create a world free of war and poverty.

Are you having trouble making your monthly credit card payments? Do you—or a friend or loved one—dread answering the phone for fear of another collection call? If so, you’re not alone.

According to a survey conducted for the Global News last year, the average Canadian owes $8,539.50 in consumer non-mortgage debt. Even more troubling, 12 percent report consumer debt above $25,000, and 14 percent are carrying consumer debt between $10,000 and $24,999.

Fortunately, the Credit Counselling Society can help. The non-profit—with offices in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan—has assisted more than 500,000 Canadians with solving their debt problems and improving their finances.

Have you ever tried shopping around to get the best quote on auto insurance? If so, you’ve probably spent hours online jumping from one carrier to the next, each promising to be the lowest price, and each failing to live up to your expectations.

EverQuote is dedicated to helping everyone find the right insurance. Their team of analysts, engineers and business development representatives are partnered with some of the best insurance providers to help consumers find the right fit for their needs.

The next time you need to see how much you spent on coffee in the past month, or are wondering how much you have left in your bank account, all you have to do is ask. That’s because artificial intelligence is playing a bigger role in the financial services industry and is helping financial institutions and their customers spend less, save more and dramatically improve their financial lives.

Would you repeatedly visit a website that makes you shirk with visual disgust? Most people probably wouldn’t. And they shouldn’t, either.

Branding is everything these days. When something looks good, it appeals to more people. If those people are enthralled with what they see, they’ll keep coming back for more.

People are smart, but machines can do so much more. And they’re here to help, when we let them.

That’s where the services of Dynamic Yield come into play. They use personalization technology to help marketers increase revenue by automatically customizing their customers’ online experiences.

Checkr Communications Director David Patterson said his company’s mission is “to build a fairer future by improving understanding of our past.”

The background screening platform makes it easy for thousands of customers to hire millions of people every year, staying up to date with the fast flow of the gig economy.

In today’s world, it’s often the consumers themselves that influence other consumers’ purchasing choices, rather than the companies and businesses who provide the actual products and services.

With this consumer-to-consumer environment, also known as C2C, marketers are finding it difficult to reach target markets with messages that relay trust and relevance, which in turn affects results at scale.

Have you ever wondered where the world’s super-smart people go to share ideas and learn about new possibilities? Is there a secret coffee shop that only brainiacs know the location of? While this may exist somewhere, there is also a website that is designed for this very purpose.

From hurricanes to flooding and wildfires, last year was the costliest year on record for natural disasters. Damages totaled at least $306 billion from 16 separate natural disasters, although other estimates are closer to $400 billion.

In today’s world, it’s harder than ever to grab the attention of buyers with so much information already at their fingertips. Lots of businesses are spending untold amounts of dollars on marketing efforts, but not getting the results they want due to fierce competitiveness and distractions by so many other ads.

Organizations do not have to spend a fortune to hold a first-class convention or major gathering. Nor do they need to head to major cities like New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco. Cities like Cincinnati, Ohio provide companies with choice and convenience.