Tips for Effectively Tracking and Reimbursing Business Travel Expenses

Here we will go over tips for effectively tracking and reimbursing business travel expenses.

When on a business trip, it can be easy to get lost in the trip’s activities, making you forget to keep track of your expenses. Keeping a well-organized and detailed record of receipts and budget information is essential to the financial success of your trip. 

Let’s jump right in.

Look at the Corporate Travel Policy

Most companies have a corporate travel policy that provides information outlining company-specific rules and procedures for business trips. For example, a policy may include preferred airline companies and hotels, curfews, and insurance details.

Your corporate travel policy will also likely include information on expense tracking and reimbursements. Many companies prefer that employees track their expenses in a dedicated computer program, mobile application, or spreadsheet; therefore, you should read the expense portion of your policy before you start making travel preparations. Keep in mind that not all companies will have a preferred tracking method.

Double Check Reimbursables

Another essential bit of information found in the company’s corporate travel policy is a list of expenses that are pre-approved for reimbursement.

Common reimbursable expenses include lodging, meals, and transportation. Expenses that might not be included are souvenirs, alcohol, and entertainment.

If you are unsure whether an expense is covered by your employer, contact your boss for approval before making a purchase.

Use a Business Account

Many companies provide corporate credit cards to their employees for things like, meals and incidentals. These credit cards are useful for many reasons. 

• A credit card helps keep an employee within budget.
• Reimbursements are not necessary since employees are not using their own funds. 
• Tracking expenses is easy because all purchases were placed on the same account. 

If your company does not have a corporate credit card, you should consider opening a checking account that is dedicated to business travel.

Like a corporate credit account, a personal travel checking account helps you stay within budget and track expenses. Once it is time to send in reimbursement requests, you can easily provide a copy of your transaction history to the accounting department. You should only make reimbursable purchases with this card to avoid confusion.

Go Digital

Digital record keeping is important when it comes to tracking expenses and reimbursements.

Employees used to save paper receipts and printed or handwritten documents but it didn’t take long for them to realize that this method is more of a hindrance than it is helpful. Having hundreds of papers can be difficult to sort through and keep organized.

If you are still saving paper receipts, it’s time to upgrade your record-keeping methods and go digital.

There are multiple ways you can organize your records digitally; however, the most common are with the use of mobile apps, spreadsheets, emails, and online portals or programs created by the company. Expensify and Fyle are two highly rated expense tracking apps that do things like scan receipts and track mileage.

Keep a Budget

Budgeting is another important part of the tracking and reimbursement process.

Most companies have a limit on how much can be spent on each travel category. If you make your own reservations, and ticket purchases, it is likely your job to make sure you keep each expense within their allowable, and a budget will help you with this task.

You may need to create your own budget; however, you can likely receive help from the company’s travel manager. Another option is hiring a travel agent. An agent can create your budget and help you make all of the reservations for your trip.

Make a Report

Each company has different procedures in place when it comes to reporting reimbursements.

You may be required to send your travel manager or boss a digital copy of your expense report and verifying receipts. These expenses may be requested at the end of each trip, quarterly, or even yearly so, good record-keeping is important.

Although less common, some companies may have you report travel expenses on your personal taxes.

Conclusion

Tracking and reimbursing travel expenses can be an overwhelming task. However, it doesn’t have to be.

By reading your corporate travel policy, educating yourself on reimbursable items, using a business account, recording data digitally, and using a budget, your corporate expense tracking can be streamlined.