A Comprehensive Guide on Travel Policy for Corproate Employees

Creating the right travel policy for employees has the potential to directly impact the travel budget of a company and its future decision-making. In this guide, we explore the details of creating comprehensive travel policies and more:

 

Corporate travel is accompanied by many roadblocks. In the absence of proper planning, employees can be doomed to waste more time making bookings, getting approvals, and claiming reimbursements.

 

A company travel policy for employees is like a manual that clearly outlines the dos and don’ts of business travel. Such a policy can help to consolidate your travel program, making tracking and reporting of booking expenses easier.

 

Since there is a lot to consider when it comes to the employees’ travel, it only makes sense to have a robust policy. We have therefore consolidated all the information to achieve complete compliance with effective travel guidelines. Let us understand more about simplifying the employees’ trip and reducing travel costs by comprehending what is travel policy first:

A travel policy can be defined as a manual. It sheds light on everything that the employees need to know about their company's T & E management. This includes the company's culture around invoice submissions, claims and reimbursements. A good policy is one that covers each of these aspects without leaving any room for confusion.

 

Hence, to sum it up, a company's travel policy is a set of guidelines that explain how the business-

 

• •  Monitors
• •  Records, and
• •  Reimburses

..the expenses incurred.

Having detailed guidelines that explain which expenses will be reimbursed by the company and which will not be is important for the employees travelling for work. This manual has broadly defined guidelines about-

• Expense eligibility
• Travel advances
• Expenditure claims
• Reimbursement processes

All of this is meant to offer better clarity to the employees travelling far and wide to achieve their business goals.

• Employers communicate the travel guidelines for every employee in the organization.
• Employees know the rules to be adhered to without stressing over expense claims getting rejected.

Clear guidelines, therefore, ensure that there is clarity for all. They are designed to positively impact both the employees and their employers. Let us understand how:

Advantages of Travel Policy for Employees- 

• Offers more autonomy and flexibility to make compliant business travel bookings.
• Removing all confusion regarding travel bookings, making it hassle-free.

Advantages of Travel Policy for Employers- 

• Smoother procedures remove any friction between the several steps involved in T&E processes.
• Get more control over travel spend and reduce the sudden rise in travel costs. 
• Get rid of any frustration over expense management within the organisation. 
• Restrict the costs incurred on business travel bookings, optimising your company’s travel budget.
• Clear guideline for all encourages fairness and positivity within the organisation.

Drafting a travel policy for employees can be highly painstaking. As a result, if you do not want your guidelines to be ignored or collect dust due to non-compliance, here are some of the key issues one needs to be aware of before creating the travel policy document:

• Travel policies can be difficult to comprehend.
• Manual travel policy can meet with resistance in compliance. And manually circulated guidelines can be overlooked and lost.
• Complicated approval processes increase turnaround time.
• Most employees find the several steps in a travel policy overly bureaucratic.
• A travel guideline must cover every scenario for employees across locations and hierarchies.
• These documents can be quite extensive. Hence, no one remembers the details.
• A comprehensive but ill-communicated policy leads to non-compliance.

Every travel policy must comprise of a particular set of generalised and specific rules relevant to business travel. These rules should be concisely defined for easy comprehension. Here is how you can broadly define the company travel policy for employees in India:

 

Pre-trip Business Travel Policy-

This part of the travel policy must define everything an employee needs to know during the planning and booking stage of their business travel. This includes instructions regarding-

• Hotel bookings
• Flight reservations
• Ground transfers, and more.

A well-defined policy can simplify the workflows regardless of how a company books their trips. However, automated solutions are ideal for employees to plan and book travel more efficiently.

The right tech-enabled, self-booking travel management platforms provide not only numerous booking options but also enable easy customizations. These platforms also integrate your company’s travel policy and procedure, ensuring fully compliant bookings.

On-trip Business Travel Policy-

Business travellers need clarity on expenses they can incur and get reimbursed for while on a work trip. These include-

• Meal expenses
• Intracity transportation fares
• Communication expenses- internet connectivity, telephone bills, etc.
• Expenses incurred to entertain the client, among others.

Post-trip Business Travel Policy-

A sample company travel policy for employees must also cover every aspect of the business trip once the employee returns. These details can be regarding-

• The specific requirements in the invoices gathered. 
• The mode of receipt submission for claiming reimbursements- physical or scanned receipts.
• GST-compliant invoices in India can help reduce tax liability. Hence, the travel policy must convey the importance of seeking GST invoices from the vendors.

An international travel policy for employees in India must be designed to ensure a well-managed travel experience while also paying close attention to the budgetary constraints and compliance needs of the company. Here are things to consider when your company has employees travelling beyond India:

• Draft a policy that lists the practices and procedures to be followed outside the country.
• Use an advanced travel management solution to facilitate comprehensive bookings. Be sure to use a platform that prioritizes cost savings to make international travel more budget-friendly.
• Utilise an advanced travel management platform that takes care of the employees’ visa and forex needs with efficiency.
• Have a list of pre-approved international flights, hotels, and transportation options. Make use of the right business travel management tool that prioritizes traveller convenience taking a record of travel history to give tailored recommendations.
• An ideal tool also generates real-time alerts and advisories to safeguard employees’ well-being during international travel.

The international travel policy for employees in India should, therefore, be optimised for both comfort and savings.

In order to plan the employees’ business travel within the country, there is a need for every company to set up a comprehensive travel policy. This can help employees plan, book, and manage their business trips in India with greater efficiency. Here are the primary things to keep in mind when optimising your travel program for domestic travel:

• Look for a travel management platform that offers endless booking options for hotels, flights, and ground transfer.
• Assign budget limits in the policy that also align with the employees’ preferences to find a balance between fiscal prudence and employee comfort.
• Analyse travel history to set up the most preferred options with respect to convenience and distance.
• Make sure to opt for a business travel management platform that automates approval flows in the domestic travel policy for employees in India to expedite booking validation.
• Use an automated T&E solution that facilitates the submission of expenses and fastens the reimbursement process.

Looking for a travel policy format for employees? Let us help you with the guidelines to create a comprehensive business policy for employees going out on a work trip.

However, before we begin, it is crucial to understand-

• How do your employees travel?
• Who in the organisation travels?
• What is the purpose behind their trips?

Once these questions are answered, the company can create a robust policy that includes:

• The approved booking tools and processes.
• Whether employees are to self-book or raise a travel request to the travel manager.
• What purchases can be expensed, and what is excluded.

Hence, clearly defining the business expense inclusions like registration costs, meals, and entertainment expenses, among others, is extremely important to consolidate the travel spend. 

Let us explore each aspect of an employee’s business travel in the purview of the travel policy and procedure even further-

Accommodation Guidelines:

The hotel stays and lodging expenses must be clearly stated in the travel expense policy for small business as well as larger organisations. Here are the primary inclusions to be considered for this category:

Policy Inclusions:

1. Set a nightly room rate and hotel star rating for employees to make compliant bookings.

2. Define price range basis the seasonal fluctuations and the destination of the trip.

3. Define the incidentals that can be reimbursed. These include hotel amenities like room service, valet parking, gym, etc.

4. Define the preferred suppliers.

Flight Guidelines:

With expensive flight bookings burning a hole in the company’s travel budget, creating an easy-to-understand travel guideline is important. This will help not only keep the employees safe on their trip but also save more on cost. Here are the primary inclusions in the documentation:

Policy Inclusions:

1. Detailed information on the requirements for the expense forms.

2. Approved list of in-flight expenses.

3. Define the list of the company’s preferred air suppliers.

 

For even more clarity on corporate flight bookings, we have tried to shed more light on the booking guidelines below:

Business-class Booking Guidelines:

Specifying whether employees are allowed to make business-class bookings or not is extremely important to safeguard against any sudden spike in travel expenses. However, booking a business-class ticket can be more cost-effective under some special circumstances. Hence, offering clarity in advance can ensure that employees have both comfort and flexibility.

Policy Inclusions:

1. Special circumstances permitting business-class flight bookings.

2. Allowing business-class bookings if the travel segment exceeds a fixed number of hours.

3. Allowing such bookings for last-minute travel or in instances when they are cheaper than economy bookings.

4. In-flight expenses in addition to the ticket costs.

 

Policy Exclusions:

1. If employees can’t book business-class tickets, define it clearly to avoid confusion later.

Travel and Entertainment Guidelines:

There are several ancillary costs that an employee incurs. These are often known as entertainment expenses and must include the following:

Policy Inclusions:

1. The approving authority for these expenses.

2. Define the preferred mode of payment.

3. The spending limit for meals per day.

4. Define maximum permitted expenses for entertaining corporate guests (meals, beverages, alcohol, etc.)

5. Outline the invoices and other documents required for such claims.

 

Policy Exclusions:

1. Unpermitted personal expenses like laundry, personal calls, mini-bar, room service, etc.

 

Having pre-defined rules in the company travel policy certainly has a positive impact on the employees moving across cities to achieve common business objectives. Hence, keeping the employees at the centre of your travel policy creation process is always the best!

Lack of clarity often leads to non-compliance by business travellers. Misinformation or incomplete details can cause employee confusion, leading to stressful business trips.

A good travel policy for employees sample must focus on detailing the responsibilities of the travellers in collecting proper proof of their travel. The company should properly communicate and educate the employees on the following-

 

• •  Employees must make their travel arrangements reasonably without misusing the company’s resources.
• •  The exclusions that are not reimbursed during an employee’s travel must be stated.
• •  Travellers must gather the invoices for the expenses incurred. They must be saved properly for claims submission per the company’s policies.
• •  The timeline for filing, approving, and receiving the reimbursement amount must be defined.
• •  The consequences of violating the travel policy during the employee’s trip must be communicated.

In order to overcome the challenges associated with travel and expense management, it is essential to design the right travel policy for employees in India. However, finding the right travel management partner is equally important to ensure easy policy integration and 100% compliance.

myBiz provides the right support that ensures effective policy compliance, directly impacting your employees’ experience and offering your company complete visibility over the travel spend through-

 

• •  A self-booking platform that offers flexibility and control.
• •  An easy-to-set-up platform that assists with sample company travel policy for employees.
• •  A policy-integrated solution that ensures complete compliance.
• •  A fully automated travel and expense management experience.
• •  Full expense tracking for deep financial insights and fraud avoidance, among many more.

 

Q1. Why is corporate travel policy important?

Ans. A travel policy for employees defines the rules to regulate and optimize their business travel effectively.

Q2. What are the objectives of a company travel policy?

Ans. The purpose of setting up the travel policy and procedure is to ensure more convenience for the employees and control the company's travel expenses.

Q3. How do I write a travel policy?

Ans. Creating an ideal travel policy starts by reviewing the existing policy and setting the goals and objectives for the business travel goals of the company.

Q4. What is travel risk policy?

Ans. The right travel risk management policy assesses and manages the risks employees face while travelling to achieve their business goals.

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