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Budget travel tips and how to budget for a project that requires 50 people to work away

Accommodation, transport, meals and unexpected changes can quickly add up when you’re sending a large team to another location. Here’s how to build a realistic project travel budget and keep spending under control.

You’ve secured a six-week project that requires 50 employees to work away from home. The site is confirmed, the start date is approaching and now somebody needs to work out how much it will cost to get everyone there, accommodate them and keep the project running.

At first glance, the calculation seems fairly straightforward. Find a suitable hotel, multiply the nightly rate by 50 and add transport.

But what happens when ten employees arrive a week later? Or the project runs into a seventh week? What if the cheapest hotel is 40 minutes from the site, and everyone needs somewhere to park?

These are the details that can turn a reasonable travel estimate into an expensive surprise.

For construction, engineering, utilities and other businesses with mobile workforces, business travel expenses can account for a substantial proportion of project costs. Getting the numbers right before work begins helps protect margins, manage cash flow and make sure employees have somewhere suitable to stay.

Here’s how to put together a practical budget for 50 people working away, with an example you can adapt to your next project.

Start with the numbers that will affect your budget

Before requesting accommodation quotes, establish exactly what the project requires.

Fifty employees working away for six weeks could mean 50 hotel rooms every night, or it could mean rotating teams, staggered start dates and workers returning home at weekends.

Those arrangements produce very different budgets.

Speak to the project manager and confirm:

Workforce numbers: How many employees will be on site each week?
Project duration: What are the expected start and finish dates?
Working patterns: Will employees stay five or seven nights per week?
Location: How far is the site from suitable accommodation?
Transport: Will employees travel in company vehicles, use rail or need local transfers?
Meals: Will the company provide an allowance, arrange meals or reimburse actual costs?
Special requirements: Are secure parking, accessible rooms or self-catering facilities needed?

For longer projects, ask for a weekly workforce forecast rather than relying on the maximum headcount. This helps prevent paying for rooms that aren’t needed.

Build your project travel budget: a worked example

Let’s assume 50 employees need accommodation for six weeks, staying Monday to Friday for five nights each week. That’s 30 nights per employee, or 1,500 room nights across the project.

The following example uses illustrative planning figures rather than live hotel quotations.

Expense	Calculation	Estimated cost
Accommodation	50 people × 30 nights × £90	£135,000
Meals	50 people × 30 days × £25	£37,500
Return travel	50 people × £120	£6,000
Local transport and parking	Estimated project allowance	£4,500
Subtotal		£183,000
Contingency (10%)	£183,000 × 10%	£18,300
Total project travel budget		£201,300

This gives you an initial planning figure of £201,300, equivalent to £4,026 per employee.

Your actual budget will depend on location, accommodation availability, travel arrangements and the project’s working schedule. VAT treatment should also be reviewed separately, particularly where recoverable VAT affects the final net cost.

The important part is that every major expense has been accounted for before the project begins.

Why accommodation deserves the closest attention

In this example, accommodation represents almost three-quarters of the pre-contingency budget.

That makes the nightly rate particularly important. If you can reduce the average room rate from £90 to £85 without compromising location or suitability, the project saves £7,500.

Equally, if availability becomes limited and the average rate rises to £105, accommodation costs increase by £22,500.

For a team of 50, relatively small changes in nightly rates have a substantial impact on the overall budget.

Five ways to keep a 50-person project within budget

1. Look at the full accommodation cost

A hotel charging £80 per night may appear better value than one charging £95. But if the cheaper property is 30 miles from the worksite, additional fuel, parking and travelling time could outweigh the difference.

Compare accommodation based on:

Nightly rate and total stay cost
Distance from the worksite
Parking availability and charges
Cancellation and amendment terms
Access to meals, shops and laundry facilities
Suitability for employees staying several weeks

Self-catering apartments may also be worth exploring for longer assignments, particularly where employees would benefit from kitchen and laundry facilities.

Roomex provides access to over two million hotels and self-catering apartments, including accommodation suited to mobile workforces. Its dedicated projects and meetings team can also help coordinate long stays and group bookings.

2. Book early, but allow for project changes

Securing accommodation early gives you more time to compare suitable options, especially when you need 50 rooms in the same area.

However, workforce requirements can change. A project might need additional workers for a particular phase or release part of the team earlier than expected. Before confirming a large booking, check the cancellation terms, room-release arrangements and how amendments will be handled.

Ask the project manager to provide regular workforce updates so accommodation can be adjusted as requirements change.

Roomex offers booking support and cancellation charge recovery, helping businesses manage changes and investigate charges that may be recoverable.

3. Set clear rules for meals and business trip expenses

Meals, parking and incidental purchases are easy to underestimate when employees are working away for several weeks.

Establish a daily allowance and explain what the company will cover before the project starts.

For example, your policy should clarify whether employees can claim breakfast, lunch and dinner, how parking will be paid for and whether additional purchases require approval.

Make sure employees understand the process for claiming travel expenses, including which receipts they need to retain and when claims must be submitted.

Roomex supports traveller allowances and expense management, helping businesses apply consistent spending rules and reduce the need for employees to pay for approved costs personally.

4. Keep bookings and costs linked to the project

When 50 employees are travelling, accommodation bookings, rail tickets and expenses can quickly become difficult to track.

If different teams book independently, finance may receive invoices from numerous suppliers without consistent project references.

Assign a project code or cost centre to every booking and ensure managers use it consistently.

Roomex allows businesses to assign travel expenditure to cost centres and consolidate spending into one monthly invoice, making reconciliation easier for finance teams.

5. Review spending throughout the project

A six-week budget should be reviewed while the project is running.

Compare actual spending with your forecast at least once a week. Check whether accommodation rates have changed, additional workers have joined the project or unexpected expenses are affecting the remaining budget.

A simple review can identify problems early enough to act.

Roomex Analytics provides visibility into booking and spending information, while Insights Pro helps businesses identify accommodation savings achieved and opportunities that were available at the time of booking.

What happens if the project runs over?

A delayed project can have an immediate effect on travel costs.

Using our original example, one additional five-night working week for all 50 employees would add:

Additional expense	Estimated cost
Accommodation: 250 nights × £90	£22,500
Meals: 250 days × £25	£6,250
Additional weekly cost	£28,750

That excludes any extra transport, parking or booking amendment charges.

A 10% contingency on the original budget would cover some of this increase, but it would not cover the full additional week. This is why project managers and finance teams need to communicate regularly. If an extension becomes likely, reviewing accommodation requirements early may help secure better availability and avoid expensive last-minute arrangements.

Your project travel budgeting checklist

Before confirming travel for a team of 50, work through the following actions:

Confirm workforce numbers and expected working patterns for each week.
Calculate total room nights rather than multiplying headcount by calendar days.
Compare hotels and self-catering accommodation near the worksite.
Check parking, transport, meal and laundry requirements.
Request suitable group or long-stay rates.
Review cancellation terms and arrangements for changing room numbers.
Establish daily meal allowances and expense rules.
Assign all bookings and expenses to the correct project cost centre.
Include a contingency based on the project’s likelihood of delays.
Agree who can approve additional spending.
Schedule weekly budget reviews with the project manager.
Arrange a consistent booking and invoicing process.

These budget travel tips are particularly useful for businesses managing several projects at once, where accommodation requirements and employee numbers may change from week to week.

Make your next project easier to budget fo

Period	What businesses should focus on
2026	Understand the announced mandate, review HMRC updates and assess existing invoicing processes.
2027	Confirm responsibilities, review software capabilities and begin supplier and customer readiness discussions.
2028	Configure systems, improve invoice data, test integrations and train employees.
1 April 2029	Planned start of mandatory e-invoicing for transactions within scope.

The preparation activities shown for 2027 and 2028 are recommended planning stages rather than government-imposed implementation deadlines.

Businesses should also monitor further e-invoicing law updates, as technical standards, exemptions and detailed compliance requirements may be clarified before implementation.

How to prepare your business for mandatory e-invoicing

The most useful preparation begins with understanding how invoices currently move through the business.

An organisation may already use accounting software, yet still depend on emailed PDFs, manual data entry and separate approval processes. Those are the areas worth investigating before investing in new technology.

Here are seven practical steps to help finance, procurement and IT teams prepare.

1. Map your existing invoicing process

Start by following an invoice from the moment it is created or received until it is paid and recorded.

Speak to the people involved in each stage and identify which systems they use, where information is transferred manually and what causes delays.

Your review should establish:

How many invoices does the business send and receive each month?
What proportion arrives as PDFs, paper documents or structured electronic invoices?
How are invoices checked against purchase orders?
Who approves invoices, and how are exceptions handled?
How are supplier details, VAT information and payment terms verified?
How are invoices matched to departments, projects and cost centres?
Where do errors, duplicate entries or delays occur?

For companies with mobile workforces, include travel-related invoices in this exercise. Accommodation, rail and project expenses may be managed through different suppliers and booking arrangements, making them an important part of the wider review.

2. Give the transition clear ownership

The move to digital invoicing will affect several departments, so somebody needs responsibility for coordinating the work.

Finance may own the invoicing process, but IT will need to understand system requirements. Procurement may need to communicate with suppliers, while tax specialists will need to assess VAT compliance.

Larger organisations may benefit from a working group with representatives from each department. Smaller businesses can often manage the transition through a designated finance lead working closely with their software provider and accountant.

Agree who will make decisions, how progress will be reviewed and when important milestones need to be completed.

3. Review your accounting and finance software

Before buying anything new, ask your existing software provider what support it plans to offer for the UK mandate.

Many businesses already use systems capable of processing structured invoice information, although their current setup may require additional functionality or integration.

Useful questions include:

Can the software create and receive structured electronic invoices?
Will it support the UK’s planned Peppol-based framework?
Are updates included in the existing subscription?
Will additional integrations or service providers be required?
Can incoming invoices be matched against purchase orders?
How are rejected invoices and credit notes handled?
What training and implementation support will be available?

Ask providers for a written roadmap where possible. The UK’s detailed technical requirements are still developing, so their plans may change as HMRC publishes further guidance.

4. Clean up supplier and customer information

Structured electronic invoices depend on accurate information.

If a supplier’s legal name is inconsistent across systems, VAT details are incorrect or purchase order references are missing, automated processing may fail.

Before implementation, review:

Supplier and customer names
Business addresses
VAT registration numbers
Payment terms
Bank account information
Purchase order references
Tax codes
Project identifiers
Internal cost centres

This is also a useful opportunity to standardise how information is recorded across departments.

For example, if one project appears under several different names or codes, finance may struggle to match transactions automatically. Establishing consistent references now will make the transition easier.

5. Speak to your suppliers and customers

Electronic invoicing relies on information moving between organisations, which means readiness cannot be assessed entirely within your own business.

Some suppliers may already exchange structured invoices. Others may have little experience beyond sending PDFs by email.

Segment your suppliers according to transaction volume, commercial importance and technical readiness.

You can then begin conversations with the organisations that account for the greatest proportion of your invoices.

Ask what software they use, whether they support Peppol and when they expect to be ready for the UK’s requirements.

Businesses should also speak to customers about their expectations, particularly where purchase order references, invoice formats or approval procedures are already tightly controlled.

6. Test the process before changing everything

A controlled pilot can reveal problems that are difficult to predict during planning.

Choose a small group of suppliers or customers and test how invoices move between systems.

Pay particular attention to:

Missing or incorrect information
Invoice validation
Purchase order matching
VAT calculations
Duplicate detection
Credit notes
Rejected transactions
Approval workflows
Reconciliation

Test ordinary transactions and exceptions. An invoice with correct information may process smoothly, while one containing an incorrect purchase order reference could reveal a weakness in the workflow.

Allow enough time to resolve those issues before expanding the process across the organisation.

7. Train employees and update internal procedures

A technical implementation can only go so far if employees continue using outdated processes.

Accounts payable teams need to understand how electronic invoices arrive, how to investigate exceptions and what to do when a supplier sends an incorrect document.

Procurement teams may need to update supplier onboarding requirements, while employees responsible for approving expenditure should understand any changes to their workflows.

Update internal documentation so everyone knows which processes apply and where to get support.

The aim is to make electronic invoicing part of everyday financial operations well before the 2029 deadline.

Why travel invoicing deserves a place in your readiness plan

For businesses managing workforce travel, invoice administration can involve substantial volumes of transactions.

A construction company may need accommodation for teams across several active sites. An engineering business might arrange rail travel and hotels for employees visiting different facilities. A retailer could have temporary workers travelling between stores during refurbishment programmes.

Each booking creates financial information that eventually needs to be reconciled.

When employees arrange travel independently, finance teams may receive invoices from numerous suppliers, sometimes with inconsistent references or insufficient project information.

That can make it difficult to understand expenditure even before considering the upcoming e-invoicing requirements.

Centralised travel information makes reconciliation easier

Roomex helps businesses bring accommodation, rail, expenses and travel reporting into one platform.

Rather than managing workforce bookings through numerous unrelated suppliers and personal booking accounts, companies can use Roomex to organise travel through a consistent process.

Its consolidated invoicing capabilities help reduce the number of separate bills finance teams need to manage, while itemised information and internal cost codes make it easier to understand where spending belongs.

For businesses preparing for structured e-invoicing, these are useful foundations.

Consistent booking information, clear project references and established approval processes can make financial information easier to manage when invoice exchange becomes increasingly automated.

However, consolidated invoicing and structured electronic invoicing are different capabilities. Businesses should confirm directly with Roomex and their accounting software providers how their invoicing arrangements will support the final UK mandate.

Better financial visibility also helps control costs

The transition provides an opportunity to review the quality of travel expenditure information.

For example, a finance manager might want to know whether a particular project is spending above budget, which destinations generate the highest accommodation costs or where employees are repeatedly selecting more expensive hotels.

Roomex Analytics and Insights Pro provide additional visibility into travel spending and booking behaviour.

Insights Pro can identify Actual Savings and Potential Savings by comparing bookings with suitable alternatives available at the time, taking account of factors such as location, hotel rating and cancellation terms.

That information helps businesses understand the decisions behind their travel costs and identify opportunities to improve future booking behaviour.

Common mistakes to avoid when preparing for 2029

There is time to prepare, but businesses should avoid a few common assumptions.

Assuming accounting software is already compliant

Using cloud accounting software does not automatically mean every invoice can be issued and received in the structured format required by the future mandate.

Check the provider’s roadmap and the specific functionality available.

Treating the transition as an IT-only project

IT will have an important role, but invoice accuracy depends on processes, supplier information, approvals and financial controls.

Finance, procurement and tax teams need to be involved from the beginning.

Ignoring invoice exceptions

Automation works best when information is consistent.

Businesses still need procedures for incorrect VAT details, missing purchase order references, disputed charges, credit notes and other exceptions.

Leaving supplier communication too late

Your own systems may be ready while important suppliers are still relying on PDFs.

Early communication gives both sides time to address compatibility issues.

Making expensive changes before requirements are final

The policy direction is established, but technical and legislative details are still being developed.

Review existing systems and prepare your data now, while avoiding unnecessary commitments based on specifications that have not yet been finalised.

Your UK e-invoicing preparation checklist

Use this checklist to assess your organisation’s current position and identify the work that should begin before 2029.

Identify which invoicing activities are expected to fall within the mandate.
Assign an internal owner for the transition.
Map current accounts payable and accounts receivable processes.
Record the different invoice formats currently used.
Check your accounting software provider’s e-invoicing roadmap.
Review supplier and customer master data.
Standardise VAT details, purchase order references and cost codes.
Identify important suppliers and customers to contact.
Review invoice approval and exception-handling procedures.
Include travel and other high-volume supplier invoices in the assessment.
Plan a controlled electronic invoicing pilot.
Arrange training for relevant employees.
Monitor HMRC guidance and future technical specifications.

Businesses can work through these activities gradually, giving themselves time to resolve problems without placing unnecessary pressure on finance teams.

Make your next project easier to budget for

When 50 people need to work away, accurate budgeting depends on understanding the full cost of getting them to site and keeping them there.

Accommodation rates, meals, transport, booking changes and project delays all need to be reflected in the original estimate. Just as importantly, finance teams need a way to monitor spending as the work progresses.

Roomex helps businesses manage workforce accommodation, rail and related travel spending through one platform. With access to over two million accommodation options, specialist support for group bookings, custom travel policies and consolidated invoicing, it’s easier to organise travel for large teams while maintaining financial visibility.

Planning a project that requires a large team to work away? Speak to Roomex about group accommodation, long-stay rates and managing your project travel budget.

How do you calculate accommodation costs for 50 employees?

Multiply the number of employees by the number of nights each person will stay, then multiply that figure by the estimated nightly rate. For example, 50 employees staying 30 nights at £90 per night would cost £135,000 in accommodation. Adjust the calculation for staggered start dates, rotating teams and different room requirements.

What business travel expenses should be included in a project budget?

Include accommodation, rail or other transport, meals, parking, local transfers and any necessary incidental costs. Allow for cancellation charges, changes to bookings and possible project extensions. Where employees are claiming travel expenses, make sure reimbursements are included in the forecast and allocated to the correct project.

How much contingency should a travel manager allow?

There is no universal percentage. A 10% contingency can provide a useful starting assumption, but projects with uncertain timelines, remote locations or fluctuating workforce requirements may need more. Calculate the likely cost of an additional week on site and compare it with your contingency before approving the budget.

Is it cheaper to book hotels individually or as a group?

Group bookings can provide opportunities to negotiate rates and coordinate accommodation, particularly for longer stays. However, the best option depends on availability, location and cancellation terms. Compare the total cost of the group arrangement against suitable individual options before committing.

How can travel managers control spending during a long project?

Use an approved booking platform, establish daily budgets and assign expenditure to project cost centres. Review accommodation bookings and expenses weekly, alongside the project manager’s workforce forecast. Roomex helps travel managers manage bookings, apply policies and monitor expenditure through centralised reporting.

What should travel managers do when project dates change?

Confirm the revised workforce schedule, identify which bookings need amending and check cancellation deadlines immediately. Update the budget to reflect additional or reduced room nights, meals and transport. Communicate changes to the accommodation provider or travel management team as early as possible to limit avoidable charges.

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