Establishing Company Travel Policies

More and more small businesses today are requiring their employees to travel. This is partly because smaller operations are trying to stay competitive with their larger counterparts, but also because many small businesses are allowing employees to work from remote locations in an effort to cut overhead expenses. These employees may occasionally need to travel to the company's main office for meetings or conferences. As the need for business travel increases, many of these businesses are finding themselves without proper travel policies in place which may lead to overspending, confusion and conflict within the company.

The following is a guide to help point small businesses in the right direction of formulating a thorough, effective travel policy that is easy to follow and will result in an efficient business travel planning process.

Cut Costs

For a small business, cutting costs and saving money are key components for growth and success. When it comes to creating your travel policy, there are several ways you can do this. First, if using a travel agency, select one that specializes in business travel. They may be able to help you find great deals and special discounts for businesses that you may not be able to find on your own. In addition, many airlines, car rental companies and hotels have small business programs along with ways to earn discounts, miles and other perks. Pre-select your travel vendors and require all employees to use the preferred vendors in order to maximize the benefits that each offers.

Organize

When writing your policy, make sure you break it down into digestible "chunks" that are easy to follow. This will eliminate any questions or confusion when making travel plans. Use headings, sub-headings and bullet point lists to help people clearly understand.

Statement of Purpose

Begin your policy with a Statement of Purpose. Explain why the policy is in place and why employees must adhere to it.

Overview

Next, give a brief overview of the policy touching on some of the major points of the document and state the process which employees must follow when making their travel plans.

Specifics

Now you are ready to get to the specifics of the policy, which you can list in outline form giving each topic a separate heading (Airfare, Automobile Rental, Lodging, etc.) Under each heading, specify the preferred vendor and what is allowable regarding spending limits, class and other important information.

Decide ahead of time what class employees are permitted to fly. First Class and Business Class are usually substantially more expensive than economy fare but may be allowable depending on length of flight and other determining factors like who is travelling on behalf of the company (i.e. CEO or upper level management).

It's also important to decide what types of ground transportation you expect employees to use. Will you allow them to rent a car during their stay or do they need to use public transportation such as taxis, busses or subways.

Reimbursement

Set a daily limit on meals and entertainment. Be sure to specify what is considered reimbursable entertainment. For example, an employee entertaining a client or going to a networking mixer would most likely be a reimbursable expense. However, if the employee decided to go to a bar or ballgame after a day of meetings, that would be the employee's responsibility and not that of the company.

Also, be sure to outline requirements for reimbursement. Make sure you state that an employee is expected to keep track of all receipts while traveling and submit the receipts with an expense report within 30 days of the trip. This will not only help keep the employee accountable but will allow you to track spending and maintain control of company finances.

Approval

Be sure to specify in the policy that employees must have travel approved in writing by a supervisor at least 30 days in advance. This will help to properly plan for the employee's absence and make sure there are no glitches in the travel plans themselves.

Distribution

Once you have outlined your policy in detail, it's important to make sure everyone knows about it. If your company has an intranet, post the policy there and distribute hard copies to everyone in the company as well.

Review

It's a good idea to review and revise the policy on an annual basis since the company's needs may change during the course of a year requiring items to be added, altered or deleted from the policy altogether.

Following these steps will help you to create a policy that benefits everyone while improving your bottom line. A well thought out policy also promotes a more structured, professional and unified team which is something every business wants, no matter what the size.