Take the Pain Out of Travel with Clear Policies

If one of your business travellers tries to put a third checked bag or the cost of replacing a forgotten toothbrush on an expense report, your reaction might be, “You’ve got to be kidding.” But even so, how can the employee truly know if your company doesn’t spell out what’s allowed and what isn’t?

Having clearly defined and readily adaptable travel policies and processes is critical in today’s changed business environment. Clear travel policies can help give employees the flexibility and choices they want. And, as a result, businesses of all sizes can manage costs and ensure the wellbeing of travelers, turning each travel decision into a moment of confidence.

Our ebook, Guidelines for Effective Business Travel Management, examines how your company can create effective travel policies and processes and the role an automated T&E solution can play in delivering both compliance and better satisfied travellers. It discusses topics and tips involving policies, from formalising them to ways they can cover flights, lodging and other travel-related expenses.

Before exploring those topics and tips, here is some recent research on trends and results that can inform the conversation:

• 100% of travel managers anticipate changing policies in the coming year allowing business travellers to book travel and accommodations that meet their needs and allow them to feel safe on trips.¹
• 94% of business travellers are looking to take their own steps to ensure greener travel over the next 12 months.¹
• 72% of companies agreed an automated T&E solution allows better response to business challenges thanks to improved visibility of company spend data.²
• 34% of businesses instituting T&E management automation saw a reduction in the number of reports rejected due to issues with receipts.²

Start by clarifying and formalizing T&E policies

Moving beyond informal guidelines should be a company’s first step. Create unambiguous policies that your employees can readily understand and locate. Be sure to get input from travellers about their experiences and preferences to write and adjust the policies. And set reasonable expense limits and mine your spending data to get better deals from vendors.

Getting there safely and affordably

Which suppliers and booking methods are preferred? Is there a greener choice that satisfies both the employee’s inclinations and your company’s sustainability goals? Is a neighborhood safe to stay in?

Those are policy and practical questions an automated travel solution can help answer while increasing compliance and the ease of booking and safely taking a trip.

Accommodations: balancing cost and employee happiness

Where a traveler can lay their head greatly affects how they feel about a trip. Policies can spell out preferred hotel chains and booking methods, maximum daily room expenditures, and other more specific matters such as what happens if the traveller upgrades their room or stays with relatives. And with a T&E solution that makes itineraries and other travel information visible, your company can locate travellers if problems arise.

Food and entertainment: separating essential from what’s not

Because meals and entertainment are easily confused – and abused – categories, it’s important to be clear on what is acceptable and how much detail a traveller must provide on an expense report. Spell out when and if alcohol can be claimed and set per-diems for meals with and without clients. A mobile app incorporated into an automated T&E solution can snap pictures of receipts and funnel charges onto expense reports, easing the workload for travellers and improving spending visibility for the company.

Be specific but be flexible, too

When creating clear and enforceable travel policies, it’s important to cover as much ground as you can. Be specific on what’s an acceptable tip percentage. Or whether you’ll reimburse parking - but not the parking fine - when the employee forgets to feed the meter.

At the same time, recognise that there are gray areas, so build in flexibility, too, so travelers don’t feel like they are left holding the bill. That, along with a clear chain of command to resolve issues and take suggestions, can result in smoother travel and more satisfied employees.

Digging deeper on policy

Read the ebook to learn more about how travel policies can satisfy business goals, control costs, and decrease risk and how an automated T&E solution can help enforce compliance, increase efficiency, and make life easier for travellers.

1. 2022 SAP Concur Global Business Travel Manager Survey

2. Analysys Mason 2022, Travel, Expense, and Vendor Invoice Management Study