• The Business & Corporate Travel Management Platform | Roomex

How to manage business travel expenses

Almost everything you need to know. Table of Contents 1. Pre-trip Travel Policies Travel Management Platforms Traditional vs Modern Expensing 2. In-trip Pre-paid and Virtual Expense Cards 3. Post-trip Reclaiming Credit Review and Upkeep 4. Summary Managing business travel expenses is just one job of corporate travel managers today. But with rising rates of inflation, ongoing industry strikes, and decreasing levels of availability, it is a job that is becoming more and more difficult. For many businesses, the way in which travel expenses are managed has not changed. Excel spreadsheets dominate finance teams and travelling employees are left out of pocket, waiting for reimbursement. All of this means more time spent manually filing expense claims for the traveller and reconciling receipts for the finance team and travel manager. Business travel is changing, and so too is the way in which we manage it and its expenses. By taking control of your business travel expenses you can make your life as a travel manager easier, while also simplifying the lives of your travellers and finance teams. When looking at how to manage your business travel expenses, we find it easiest to segment out the different stages of business travel. Not only does this make it easier to plan your trips, but it will also give you greater insight into where and when you’re spending the most on your business travel helping you make informed, cost-effective decisions. Pre-trip Most of the cost saving changes you can implement come before any travellers have hit the road. By getting things right in this pre-trip stage, you are laying the foundations for a successful journey for all your future travellers. Travel Policies For organisations conducting business travel of any kind, a corporate travel policy forms more than just an important part of your duty of care, it can also be used to streamline costs, enhance brand reputation, and provide essential information for employees. What is a business travel policy? Simply put, a business travel policy is a set of rules and guidelines that assist your employees as they travel and specify how they can spend company money while travelling. These policies are usually created by the finance manager and travel manager and outline things like how far in advance trips should be booked or if any precautions are required for employees travelling alone. Why should you have a travel policy? There are numerous benefits that travel policies provide to your organisation and your travellers. Travel policies allow you to provide clear guidance to your employees and create trust between your organisation and its travellers. Here are some of the key benefits: 1.       Provides clear guidance For employees, work travel can be a minefield of dos and don’ts. Colleagues may wonder what expenses they can claim, how to make last minute cancellations, and what to do in the event of illness. Having a robust policy that’s easy to access allows employees to find information when they need it. It is important that your travel policy lays out the company’s policy on travel expectations, with no room for misinterpretation. For your organisation, this can also provide protection from certain liabilities. 2.       Reduces deviations from corporate policy Having a robust travel policy makes it less likely that employees will deviate from existing company policies, which can help you with cost savings and potential HR issues. Pairing this travel policy with an online booking system further reduces deviations as most of these travel management platforms, like Roomex, let your travellers know immediately whether a booking will be in or out of company policy. They will also tell you the overall company compliance, showing you if your travel policy is working effectively. 3.       Helps with cost savings No question about it, one of the greatest benefits of having a robust travel policy in place is the cost saving it brings to your organisation. A well thought out travel policy helps you to manage and control spend, while also providing a guideline for expenses and the booking process. This way your business can prevent unnecessary spend and make both time and monetary savings simultaneously. What should a travel policy look like? The main thing that your travel policy needs to do is provide your employees with clear guidance on the booking process, health and safety when travelling, per diems, expenses terms and conditions, and other frequently asked questions that relate to business travel. Before you begin writing your business travel policy you should decide what exactly the goal of the policy is. By deciding the goal of the travel policy you will be able to better structure the content within it. Is your goal to save time or money? Is it for the benefit of employees? Will it provide flexibility for travellers? No matter the goal of the policy however, there are four sections which should always be included. 1.       The introduction When introducing your business travel policy you should explain why you have created the travel policy and the reasons that your business requires employees to travel for work. Start by explaining what you want to achieve with your policy so that there is a clear understanding of what to expect from the pages to come. Here is where you should also define what exactly constitutes travel for your employees. How far do they need to travel to be eligible for expenses? What kind of trips are covered? Branch visits, site visits, events, talks, media appearances, and client meetings could all be included here. 2.       Bookings In this section you should outline who is responsible for booking trips. If you have a specified travel booker, maybe a secretary or finance manager, you should provide their contact details. If employees are allowed to organise their own travel, this is where you may want to outline how far in advance arrangements should be made, the type of tickets they can book, the amount of luggage covered by expenses, and any preferred hotels or airlines. If your business uses a travel management..

How to make business travel enjoyable for staff

Initially, the thought of business travel is one that’s met with excitement. The indulgence of staying in a hotel, not having to cook for yourself, and being within walking distance of your colleagues for getting work done can be exciting.    However, when you’re away for lengths of time, the gloss of travel can also quickly disappear. Yet, the importance of traveling for work is something that greatly benefits businesses, and it’s therefore in everyone’s best interest to make it an enjoyable experience.  If you’re tasked with the job of employee welfare, travel bookings or HR at large, this feature is for you. Here are eight ways you can make business travel a pleasant experience.    Make travel easy Lessen the administration of business travel with an easy streamlined booking process that allows colleagues to make accommodation and transport bookings with ease. Travel booking platforms are one of the best ways to automate the process, whilst ensuring that budgets are met and colleagues aren’t inconvenienced by unnecessary expenses. It’s also helpful for travel managers too, since staff can make amendments and cancellations 24hrs without any office support.     Gratitude Acknowledging the personal sacrifice of business travel can go a long way to dedicated co-workers. This means respecting that colleagues often give up many personal hours travelling back and forth around the country, as well as lost hours in the evening. For some this means missing family events and personal occasions. What’s more, 88% of people agree that expressing gratitude to colleagues makes them feel happier and more fulfilled. This is an easy win offer your colleagues time off in lieu, give them a bonus, offer them a business perk and simply thank them personally for their contribution. A little goes a long way.    Front end expenses With the cost of living crisis, it’s a worrying time for the commuter-heavy workforce. The uncertainty around having enough money to cover costs and expenses may even prevent them from traveling in the first place. Help your teams by offering a pre-loaded staff travel card that covers their expenses. The Roomex pre-paid expense card is one of the best business travel credit cards, which helps with expense management too. No more being out of pocket for your employees.    Provide helpful local information    When on location it can be hard to get your bearings, for some they just don’t have the time. Take this burden away by providing a local travel guide for colleagues. This could include information about local points of interest, nearby restaurant recommendations, local gyms and places of sport. It’s important to remember that it’s not just about work, but wellbeing too showing that you’re a responsible and caring employer will certainly make that trip more bearable.    Offer support in and out of office hours Being away on business has its tough moments when you’re in unfamiliar surroundings. Having someone that staff can talk to is an important way to support colleagues. This could be an out-of-hours counselling phone line for those on the road, or perhaps membership to a mental health group or expert, or perhaps even something as simple as subscriptions to calming podcasts or meditation apps.    Check in on team members Similar to the above, it shouldn’t always be left for the employee to ask for help. Encourage line managers to contact their teams while away for business and check-in on them. A quick phone call, or Zoom face-to-face is a touching way of staying connected and making the out-of-office experience more palatable.     Say yes to belisure You’ve heard of belisure travel for good reason. Giving colleagues the opportunity to tag on holiday to the end of a business trip, is a great way of bringing the feel-good-factor to business travel. Being able to experience a new destination is one of the great joys of work travel, allow colleagues to embrace it and see the difference it makes.    Wellbeing matters And finally, as we’ve already touched on personal wellbeing matters. When away for lengths of time from home, it’s important to keep employee morale and wellbeing up. To this end, offering free vouchers to local gyms, swimming pools or sports facilities is a great way to promote a healthy work-life balance, and one they’ll thank you for too.     To learn more about how Roomex can help your remote workforce, check out roomex.com today. 

Why business travel remains important in 2022

As Covid-19 brought the world to a standstill, one industry was struck the harder than the rest: business travel. For months upon months, many businesses were forced to press pause on all but the most essential travel.     Shows and exhibitions went virtual, meetings were held on Zoom, and it’s fair to say that a personal human touch was lost. This was especially challenging for workers in jobs that require a physical presence – from the construction sector through to the road-heavy workforce.  But as we find our feet in the new normal and try to get back to where we once left off, it’s clear that things have changed. And while virtual and online contact has risen to the challenge, there are some situations where face-to-face contact is essential. This is why business travel must once again be prioritised, for ourselves, for our businesses, and for the economy. Let’s take a closer look.    Face-to-face contact  We can say with some ease that there’s no compensation for face-to-face contact when it comes to getting business done. A Harvard report on business found that in-person requests were 34 times more successful than those by email. As sociable creatures, human interaction and relationship building is integral to the way we communicate and operate.  Take this away, and all you’re left with is a perfunctory process.   If you want to cut that deal, get that contract, or galvanise a team, you’re best bet is to be there in person.    Missed opportunities  Some jobs are not desk-based. This was seen during the pandemic, when roughly only a quarter of people were able to work from home. For those out in the field, such as the construction sector, it highlighted the importance of business travel for their roles. As the industry bounces back, so must investment in business travel, and this includes removing any of the barriers to achieve it.  New procedures and procurement measures adopted during the pandemic have had a knock-on effect on this, making sign-off slow and challenging. In some cases, business trips have been replaced by online meetings, or cancelled altogether. Travel managers have their role to play, as we pivot once again. Introducing an online travel booking system, and having a corporate policy book can certainly help get business travel back on track.   Because as we know, missing business travel is a missed opportunity. Whether attending a trade show, meeting a client, or attending on-site builds, not being present means missed opportunities.    For the economy  Let’s not underestimate the benefits of business tourism to the country either. Looking at the statistics from the World Travel & Tourism Council, business travel experienced a loss of 60% in 2020, and recovery since has been slow. Even though there are positive signs of growth and consumer confidence returns, forecasts still expect growth to be up just 34% this year. And worldwide the loss is immense, with the economy losing $810.7 billion due to the pandemic.  All this has a huge knock-on effect on the way we do business, both with inbound and local business travel playing its role. As we know, without a buoyant economy, businesses are forced to make difficult decisions. In short, investment in travel is essential in order for recovery and growth.    Talent recruitment  Over the past few years, the pendulum has swung in favour of the professional, making it a candidate-bias market. This means that companies have to work even harder to recruit and keep good talent.  Considering that business travel is widely considered as a perk, along with bleisure travel, then budgets need to be allocated accordingly. Roughly a third of millennial and Gen Z professionals wouldn’t accept a job unless business travel is involved.    In-person experience  As a final thought – and as the saying goes travel broadens the mind. And this is certainly true in business too. It enriches us with new experiences, and gives us the first-hand experience to appreciate how other teams operate and the challenges they face. Furthermore, it also offers us a new and refreshing perspective on matters, that no virtual meeting could ever replicate. Perhaps, this might be the richest of all benefits of travelling for work.    Roomex is one of the leading online travel platforms equipping businesses with the tools they need for business success. 

Login
Book a Demo