Build an Ideal Travel and Expense Policy for Your Employees

Have you reviewed your travel and expense policy recently? A travel policy with too many limitations is frustrating for both the employees and employer. On the other hand, an ambiguous travel policy could lead to over spending. It is not always easy to strike a balance between the two.

Here’s something that you can do to create an ideal travel policy for your employees:

Keep your policy simple

Keeping your policy simple will be highly beneficial. You can divide sections in your travel policy like air/road travel, lodging, dining, entertainment, car rental, and miscellaneous. If your policy is hierarchal, set the booking options accordingly to avoid confusion later. A salesperson could be allocated INR 2000 per day for a room and a sales manager can be allocated INR 5000 per day for a room. If a salesperson tries to book a room of INR 2500 he should be prompted with a notification that it is beyond his allowance.

Maintain a threshold for all

Do not have excessive checks and controls on all expenses made by an employee. When you send them for a business trip rely on them and this will make them feel important as well. Keep a threshold of expenditure for all employees based on hierarchy. Give your employees some amount to spend for their needs without any approval and maintain a threshold for it. Based on designation and experience, a salesperson may be given INR 500 to be spent in a trip which requires no approval from his manager. However a manager may be given an amount of INR 5000 to be spent on trip as miscellaneous cost without any approval from higher management.

Keep the ‘NO’s clear

There are lots of ifs and buts in a travel policy so keep all doubts clear and avoid hesitation in the future. Employees may want to travel with their spouses or they may want to extend their stay for a day or two for personal work, or something else similar. Answer these type of questions clearly in your policy for employees’ and employer’s convenience.

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