Corporate Travel Is Growing. Are Your Travel Expenses Compliant?

Do you spend too much time reviewing and approving employee travel expenses? At times, travel and expense policies are too confusing, making it difficult for employees to claim expenses. Too many organizations have out-of-date policies and procedures that no longer work.

This can result in duplicate expense claims, questionable expenses and fraud, not to mention the amount of time the finance departments spend on verifying these expenses.

Ideally, the expense policy should cover a broad range of possibilities, but still, it should be simple, and easy to understand. This can be challenging for many organizations, which is why you have to carefully outline travel and expense policies.

T & E Policy

You should have a good understanding of what falls under the corporate travel policy and all the nitty-gritty involved. Corporate travel and expenses are not always expected so it is important to cover all possible scenarios that may arise in the future.

Processing Reimbursements

So, what is needed for reimbursement? Receipts, right? Do employees need to attach expenses to jobs or client codes? Or do they have to present a list that explains what each expense is for? All these should be outlined clearly in the policy to avoid any reimbursement issues.

Who is supposed to Pay?

At times, the team meets clients for lunch. When different levels of employees meet together, who is going to pay the bill? Outlining protocol for these kind of scenarios will help avoid any awkward moment at the time of paying the bill.

Preferred Booking Methods

Is there any preferred booking method or airline you want your employees to use? Do you want your employees to book trips in a certain time period? Ensure you clearly state all these in your policy. And, what if there are multiple flights going to the same location?

Is it required for employees to take the flight with the lowest airfare or can they opt for the most direct flight? All these should be mentioned in the policies, so employees will go with the right procedures while making bookings. Outlining a clear policy takes the stress out of business travel. The best expense policy covers everything from corporate cards to add-on trips.

Creating a complete and easily understandable expense policy can help avoid out-of-compliant expenses from being submitted.

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