If you’re running a business that relies on travel, then keeping track of travel expenses can represent a major challenge. Whether you’re providing long-distance truck drivers with the cash they need to fill the tank, or high-flying executives with a succession of hotel rooms and tables at restaurants, expenses matter. But when the money is being spent in distant locations, how can you keep things under control?
Creating a Clear Travel Expense PolicyWhen the people claiming the expenses don’t understand the rules governing their spending behaviour, trouble is almost inevitable. By devising a clear policy, and communicating it effectively to the relevant people, you’ll remove the opportunity for misunderstandings.Ideally, the policy should be informed by the people actually doing the spending. It might be that certain kinds of spending are actually cost-effective in ways that only a person with a close-up view would understand. For example, spending extra on a hotel room might allow a travelling salesperson to save money on unnecessary travel.By devising your policy as a team, and reviewing it regularly in the same way, you’ll tend to get better results, while bolstering morale. Your policy should include guidelines for budgets, sensible daily (or weekly, or monthly) caps on expenses, and a clear procedure for claiming reimbursements.Choosing Tools to Manage Travel Expenses EfficientlyNowadays, it’s possible to use technology to effectively track the money being spent. This might include specialised expense-tracking software that keeps all of the relevant data in a single place. This allows for expenses to be more easily logged and reviewed, and minimises the likelihood of data loss.Prepaid business cards might also provide an intuitive way for spending limits to be set. Companies can assign specific budgets for travel, and distribute cards accordingly. The limits can often be adjusted remotely through software, which allows for a degree of flexibility.Practical Tips for Minimizing Travel CostsGetting to grips with travel costs often means doing a little bit of preparation. Shop around for the cheapest possible accommodation, and make sure that you’re booking in advance. You might also be able to leverage a discount, with the help of economies of scale. If you’re going to be sending dozens of employees to the same hotel so that they can all attend a conference, for example, you might be able to negotiate a bulk discount.Ensuring Accountability and Transparency in Expense ReportingWith the help of the software packages we’ve already mentioned, you can ensure that all expenses are logged transparently in the same place. But a good culture around expenses is about more than that: you’ll need an approach that encourages employees to abide by the rules, and that punishes any attempts to circumvent those rules.
