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Travel Expense Policy

It is the policy of [Company Name] to reimburse staff for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred during approved work-related travel.

Employees seeking reimbursement should incur the lowest reasonable travel expenses and exercise care to avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety. Reimbursement is allowed only when reimbursement has not been, and will not be, received from other sources. If a circumstance arises that is not specifically covered in this travel policy, then the most conservative course of action should be taken.

Business travel policies are aligned with company reimbursement rules. All business-related travel paid with [Company Name] funds must comply with company expenditure policies.

Authorization and responsibility

Staff travel must be authorized. Travelers should verify that planned travel is eligible for reimbursement before making travel arrangements. Within 30 days of completion of a trip, the traveler must submit a travel reimbursement form and supporting documentation to obtain reimbursement of expenses.

An individual may not approve his or her own travel or reimbursement. The travel reimbursement form must be signed by the executive director or the director of finance (for travel over $[amount]) or by the business manager (for travel under $[amount]).

Travel and reimbursement for members of the management team must be approved by the executive director or the director of finance and will be reviewed annually by the internal auditor.

Designated approval authorities are required to review expenditures and withhold reimbursement if there is reason to believe that the expenditures are inappropriate or extravagant.

Personal funds

Travelers should review reimbursement guidelines before spending personal funds for business travel to determine if such expenses are reimbursable. See Section II: Travel Expenses/Procedures for details. [Company Name] reserves the right to deny reimbursement of travel-related expenses for failure to comply with policies and procedures.

Travelers who use personal funds to facilitate travel arrangements will not be reimbursed until after the trip occurs and proper documentation is submitted.

Vacation in conjunction with business travel

In cases in which vacation time is added to a business trip, any cost variance in airfare, car rental or lodging must be clearly identified on the travel request form. [Company Name] will not prepay any personal expenses with the intention of being "repaid" at a later time, nor will any personal expenses be reimbursed.

Occasionally it may be necessary for travelers to request exceptions to this travel policy. Requests for exceptions to the policy must be made in writing and approved by the executive director or by the director of finance. Exceptions related to the director's or the director of finance's expenses must be submitted to the opposite person or to the treasurer of the board of trustees for approval. In most instances, the expected turnaround time for review and approval is five business days.

Travel Expenses/Procedures

General information Authorized business travel for staff that includes prepayments must be pre-approved.

Reimbursement of parking, mileage, gasoline in lieu of mileage and ferry or bus passes do not require requests if they are under $[amount]. Requests for reimbursement of expenses over $[amount] are to be submitted on a travel reimbursement form.

Permissible prepaid travel expenses Before the travel, [Company Name] may issue prepayments for airfare, rail transportation, rental vehicles, conference registration fees and cash advances. Applicable policies and methods of payments for these prepayments follow.

Airfare. Travelers are expected to obtain the lowest available airfare that reasonably meets business travel needs. Airfare may be prepaid by the business office.

Travelers are encouraged to book flights at least [amount of time] in advance to avoid premium airfare pricing.

Coach class or economy tickets must be purchased for domestic or international flights with flight time totaling less than five consecutive hours excluding layovers.

A less-than-first-class ticket (i.e., business class) may be purchased at [Company Name]'s discretion for domestic or international flights with flight time exceeding five consecutive hours excluding layovers.

Airfare may be purchased with a credit card or check through the business office with a request for payment form.

Rail transportation. [Company Name] will prepay rail transportation provided that the cost does not exceed the cost of the least expensive airfare.

Rental vehicles. [Company Name] will pay for approved use of a rental vehicle. See the section on reimbursements below in this section.

Conference registration fees. Conference registration fees can be prepaid with a credit card or check through the business office with a request for payment form. Business-related banquets or meals that are considered part of the conference can be paid with the registration fees; however, such meals must be deducted from the traveler's per diem allowance.

Travel advances. Cash advances are authorized for specific situations that might cause undue financial hardship for business travelers. These situations are limited to staff traveling on behalf of [Company Name]. A maximum of 80 percent of the total estimated cost can be advanced.

Expenses associated with the travel must be reconciled and substantiated within two weeks of the return date. The traveler must repay [Company Name] for any advances in excess of the approved reimbursable expenses. The department initiating the travel is responsible for notifying the business office to deposit any excess funds into the appropriate departmental account.

Travel advances are processed by submitting a completed request for payment form and travel request form to the business office. Reimbursement for any remaining expenses is processed on a travel reimbursement form approved by the designated approval authority.

Reimbursements Requests for reimbursements of travel-related expenses are submitted on a travel reimbursement form. This form must be accompanied by supporting documentation. If the requested reimbursement exceeds 20 percent of the total pre-trip estimate, the travel reimbursement form must be signed by the executive director or the director of finance.

These forms must be submitted to the business office within two weeks after the trip is completed. Travel reimbursement forms not submitted within this time frame require exception approval from the executive director or from the director of finance.

Reimbursement of travel expenses is based on documentation of reasonable and actual expenses supported by the original, itemized receipts where required. Reimbursements that may be paid by [Company Name] are shown below.

Airfare. If the airfare was not prepaid by the business office, an original itemized airline receipt, an e-ticket receipt/statement or an Internet receipt/statement is required. The receipt must show the method of payment and indicate that payment was made.

Rail transportation. If rail transportation was not prepaid by the business office, an original itemized receipt, original e-ticket receipt/statement or Internet receipt/statement is required. The receipt must show the method of payment and indicate that payment was made.

Automobile (personally owned—domestic travel). A valid driver's license issued within the United States and personal automobile insurance are required for expenses to be reimbursed. Drivers should be aware of the extent of coverage (if any) provided by his or her automobile insurance company for travel that is business or not personal in nature.

Reimbursement for use of a personal automobile is based on the [Company Name] mileage rate.

A staff travel reimbursement form is required for reimbursement of all vehicle-related expenses, including gasoline, wear and tear, and personal auto insurance. As of [date], the rate is [$] per mile. Travelers may opt to request reimbursement for actual gasoline expenses in lieu of the [Company Name] mileage rate. In these instances original, itemized receipts are required.

Automobile (rental—domestic travel). Reimbursement for a commercial rental vehicle as a primary mode of transportation is authorized only if the rental vehicle is more economical than any other type of public transportation, or if the destination is not otherwise accessible. Vehicle rental at a destination city is reimbursable. Original receipts are required.

[Company Name] authorizes reimbursement for the most economic vehicle available. In certain circumstances larger vehicles may be rented, with supervisory approval. The rental agreement must clearly show the date and the points of departure/arrival, as well as the total cost. Drivers must adhere to the rental requirements, and restrictions must be followed. Original receipts are required.

When vehicle rentals are necessary, [Company Name] encourages travelers to purchase collision damage waiver (CDW) and loss damage waiver (LDW) coverage. [Company Name] will reimburse the cost of CDW and LDW coverage; all other insurance reimbursements will be denied.

Drivers should be aware of the extent of coverage (if any) provided by his or her automobile insurance company for travel that is business or not personal in nature.

Parking fees, tolls and other incidental costs associated with the vehicle use are not covered by the rental agreement.

Travelers are strongly encouraged to fill the gas tank before returning the vehicle to the rental agency to avoid service fees and more expensive fuel rates.

Conference registration fees. If the conference fee was not prepaid, [Company Name] will reimburse these fees, including business-related banquets or meals that are part of the conference registration. Original receipts to support the payment are required. If the conference does not provide a receipt, then a cancelled check, credit card slip/statement or documentation that the amount was paid is required for reimbursement.

A prorated amount for the meals provided must be deducted from the traveler's per diem. See Meals (per diem) for more detail. Entertainment activities such as golf outings and sightseeing tours will not be reimbursed.

Registration fees paid directly by an individual will not be reimbursed until the conference is completed.

Lodging (commercial). The cost of overnight lodging (room rate and tax only) will be reimbursed to the traveler if the authorized travel is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

Exceptions to this restriction may be approved in writing by the executive director or by the director of finance.

[Company Name] will reimburse lodging expenses at reasonable, single occupancy or standard business room rates. When the hotel or motel is the conference or convention site, reimbursement will be limited to the conference rate.

Only single room rates are authorized for payment or reimbursement unless the second party is representing the agency in an authorized capacity. If the lodging receipt shows more than a single occupancy, the single room rate must be noted. If reimbursement for more than the single room rate is requested, the name of the second person must be included.

Meals (per diem). Per diem allowances are reimbursable for in-state overnight travel that is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

Per diem allowances are applicable for all out-of-state travel that is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

[Company Name] per diem rates are based on the U.S. General Services Administration Guidelines, which vary by city location. In addition to meals these rates include incidental expenses such as laundry, dry cleaning and service tips (e.g., housekeeping or porter tips). Incidental expenses, unless specifically cited in this policy, will not be reimbursed.

Per diem reimbursements are based on departure and return times over the entire 24-hour day and are prorated accordingly.

If a free meal is served on the plane, included in a conference registration fee, built in to the standard, single hotel room rate or replaced by a legitimate business meal, the per diem allowance for that meal may not be claimed.

Receipts are not required for per diem allowances. Per diem allowances are reimbursed after the trip is completed.

Business meals. Travelers are required to follow [Company Name] expenditure policies when requesting reimbursement for business meals. Original itemized receipts are required.

Business expenses. Business expenses, including faxes, photocopies, Internet charges, data ports and business telephone calls incurred while on travel status, can be reimbursed. Original itemized receipts are required.

Parking. Original receipts are required for parking fees (including airport parking) totaling $[amount] or more. The lodging bill can be used as a receipt when charges are included as part of the overnight stay.

Telephone calls. The costs of personal telephone calls are the responsibility of the individual.

Tolls. Original receipts are required for tolls totaling $[amount] or more.

Miscellaneous transportation. Original receipts are required for taxi, bus, subway, metro, ferry and other modes of transportation if costs are $[amount] or more for each occurrence.

Visa, passport fees and immunizations. If these items are required for international travel, their reimbursement is left to the discretion of your supervisor. If approved by the designated authority, original itemized receipts are required.

Nonreimbursable Travel Expenses The following items that may be associated with business travel will not be reimbursed by [Company Name]:

  • Airline club memberships.
  • Airline upgrades.
  • Business class for domestic flights or first class for all flights.
  • Child care, babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting/kennel charges.
  • Commuting between home and the primary work location.
  • Costs incurred by traveler's failure to cancel travel or hotel reservations in a timely fashion.
  • Evening or formal wear expenses.
  • Haircuts and personal grooming.
  • Laundry and dry cleaning.
  • Passports, vaccinations and visas when not required as a specific and necessary condition of the travel assignment.
  • Personal entertainment expenses, including in-flight movies, headsets, health club facilities, hotel pay-per-view movies, in-theater movies, social activities and related incidental costs.
  • Travel accident insurance premiums or purchase of additional travel insurance.
  • Other expenses not directly related to the business travel.

Travel for Non-Employees Additional costs for travel, lodging, meal or other travel expenses for spouses or other family members will not be reimbursed unless the individual has a bona fide company purpose for engaging in the travel or attending the event. Such travel is generally limited to senior management and should occur infrequently.

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travel expense policy

Building a better travel and expense (T&E) policy: step by step 

A travel and expense policy (T&E) is a dynamic set of rules regulating how employees book travel. From setting budgets on flights and accommodations to standardizing the process for expense reports, your T&E should answer any (and all) questions about company travel, so you don’t have to. 

But whatever the scope of your policy, its main purpose is to control spending. Defining specific guidelines makes it much easier to predict how much individual travelers will spend – and determine if you need to get that number down.  

Plus, with a corporate travel expense policy in place, there’s no room for ambiguity. An expense is either authorized, or it’s not. Say bye-bye fraud. 

What happens without a T&E policy? 

Let’s just say, what can go wrong, will probably go wrong.  

At the end of the day, a travel and expenses policy aims to streamline business processes, save costs, and eliminate fraud. If these factors go unaddressed, you leave yourself vulnerable to:  

  • Overspending due to hidden costs if expenses are not under constant supervision. 
  • Expense reports arriving late or without essential information if employees are unaware or unsure of specific guidelines. 
  • A rise in fraudulent expense claims in the form of duplicate, exaggerated, and misreported business expense claims. 
  • Without guidelines, fraudulent behavior cannot be controlled or addressed, and, therefore, encouraged further. 
  • Without a fixed way of recording and storing expense data, you’re left with no insights into spending trends and patterns.    

T&E is not one-size-fits-all 

No two companies are the same, so naturally, not every company’s travel and expense policy is going to look the same. For example, some companies will need to reimburse incidentals, but that won’t really apply for others. Some provide per diem allowances while others only reimburse actual expenses. You get the picture. 

The key to creating an effective and dynamic travel expense policy is to first figure out your organization’s specific needs from a control and spend perspective. And to figure out what you need, you’ll need to analyze your current expenses. Here’s some key factors to consider:  

  • How much does an average business trip cost? 
  • What percentage of your employee’s travel? 
  • How often do they travel? To where? 
  • What is your return-on-investment (ROI)? This can be easy or difficult to measure depending on the nature of the trips.  

(Pssst! All that data sound like a daunting task? Don’t worry – travel management software   can make this process so much easier. 

Defining the scope of your T&E policy 

Now that you know what you need, it’s time to set your guidelines.  

Keep in mind: T&E policies are meant to manage and regulate the process for submitting an expense report. As you create it, here are a few expense categories to keep in mind:   

1) Transportation 

Transportation expenses can include airfare, train or bus tickets, car rentals, and taxi or ride-sharing services. A comprehensive travel and expense policy should clearly state which modes of transportation are allowed and what limits are in place for each. 

For example, team members may be allowed to rent a car for up to a certain cost per-day or only use a ride-sharing service for trips under a certain distance. Are your employees flying first or business class? The policy should clearly state which class of flight bookings will be applicable for reimbursements.  

2) Lodging 

Accommodations are another important aspect of business travel. The policy should state the hotels or hotel chains your employees are allowed to stay and what the maximum per-night rate is – and be sure to consider the discounted rates your travel management company  can offer you. 

If hotels aren’t being booked through your travel booking software or dedicated travel consultant, make sure you drive travelers to your preferred booking solution. This way you can define capping amounts for hotel bookings and are not overpaying for hotels or other accommodations. 

3) Meals and Per Diems 

When defining a corporate travel expense policy, remember not to overlook meals and incidentals. The per diem – also known as a subsistence allowance – should cover these expenses, including meals, snacks, incidentals (such as laundry or tips), and even entertainment expenses. It should also provide guidance on what types of meals are covered and what limits are in place. 

For example, employees may be allowed to expense a certain amount for lunch and dinner, but not breakfast or alcoholic beverages. Most importantly, set clear boundaries not to mingle personal and business expenses. So even though your policy does cover a few drinks with clients during a sales pitch, team members shouldn’t use it as an excuse to turn up at happy hour on the company dime. 

4) Corporate credit card expenses 

These cards are typically issued to employees who frequently travel for business, allowing them to charge expenses directly to your company. Not every organization implements corporate credit cards for travel, but if you’re one of the companies that do, you’ll need to lay some ground rules.  

The expense policy should outline what types of expenses are allowed to be charged to the card (like airfare, hotel rooms, and meals), who can use one, and what limits are in place. Just as with per diems, discourage employees from using this card for non-business purposes by emphasizing the consequences for violating policy.   

Creating an effective T&E policy 

Every organization requires rules and regulations to perform its day-to-day operations smoothly. As such, you’ll need to think beyond the basics and deeply consider the current state of your travel expenses. 

A well-written and well-communicated travel and expense policy streamlines travel expense management for the company and simplifies the employee process. 

And trust us: you don’t want to get stuck scrambling for receipts when employees return from a training event or leave them in the dark while waiting for expense reimbursements (talk about a hit to employee morale). 

But the work doesn’t end after successfully writing your first draft. Like any operation, an efficient T&E policy is enforced and consistently refined.  

Communicate your policy to your employees. And if they try to claim excess reimbursement? Stand by your policy. Afterall, it’s there for a reason. 

If your policy says it won’t pay for extra luggage fees, don’t pay them. If it sets a maximum mileage rate, don’t pay above that. The easier you make it to comply, the more your employees will guide themselves. 

Phew – that was a lot. If the thought of building a business travel expense policy for your organization from scratch has you running for the nearest exit, don’t fret. Check out our travel policy  template  to guide the first draft of your policy.  

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10 travel & expense policy samples, templates & resources

travel expense policy for employees

Published on January 14, 2023

travel expense policy for employees

So it's time to write your company's expense policy. And either you have no idea where to start, or you've done this before and you just want to make sure that you hit all the important points.

Either way, we've got you covered. We've pulled together a handful of useful templates that you can copy directly. And perhaps more useful are the seven real-world expense policies from companies and institutions you've heard of.

See how each approaches its travel and expense requirements differently, and what they each expect from employees. Then use these insights to write a successful policy that team members actually use .

Let’s begin with a collection of ready-to-copy templates to help you create your company expense policy.

Disclaimer : The real expense policy examples below were easily found online and not provided by the businesses themselves. They are to be used for the purposes of comparison and inspiration, and Spendesk will happily remove them from this post if requested.

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Real travel & expense policy samples.

We’ll share hands-on, ready-to-use policy templates shortly. But perhaps more valuable is to see the real travel and expense policies successful companies use .

We’ve pulled out the most noteworthy aspects of each below, and you can click the links to see them in full. Read through a few and decide which company’s approach best matches your own philosophy . It’s always nice to know that there are thriving, famous institutions that think the same way you do.

netflix-expense-policy

You don’t need a link to see the full Netflix expense policy - it only contains five words:

“ Act in Netflix’s best interests. ”

For obvious reasons, this has become famous. And it matches Netflix’s overall culture code, which includes a full section on Freedom and responsibility . It’s a fascinating document, including a few highlights:

Our vacation policy is “take vacation .” We don’t have any rules or forms around how many weeks per year. Our leaders make sure they set good examples by taking vacations, often coming back with fresh ideas, and encourage the rest of the team to do the same.

Our parental leave policy is: “ take care of your baby and yourself .” New parents generally take 4-8 months.

Each employee chooses each year how much of their compensation they want in salary versus stock options . You can choose all cash, all options, or whatever combination suits you.

If that sounds like the kind of company you’re building - and you’re willing to back it up - then perhaps the Netflix approach is right for you.

Basecamp’s expense policy is not quite as simple as Netflix’s, but displays a similar ethic. We don’t have the full policy itself, but rather a set of key benefits given to Basecamp employees. These were shared by CEO Jason Fried in a 2016 blog post.

The most important aspect shared is the company’s “no-red-tape business account.” Every employee gets their own American Express card. There’s no need to ask for approval for transactions - just be reasonable.

Which is clearly a highly trusting approach to managing spending. But if you plan to replicate this, you’ll still need to ensure you have a clear process for documenting transactions - otherwise your finance team will be forever in the dark.

Because this post is full of fascinating nuggets, we’d better share a few more:

Employees receive a $100/month massage allowance.

They also receive $100/month towards their gym, yoga studio, or fitness pursuit of choice.

Employees can work from anywhere in the world. “Move cities, keep your job.”

There’s plenty more to read in there. It may not be the exact expense policy that employees use when spending, but it’s fascinating just the same.

bbc-expense-policy

In a word: classic. The document is comprehensive and contains all the main expense categories and key pieces of information you’d expect to find. It’s a good example of a more prescriptive (but still easy to follow) policy .

Here are a few highlights:

The BBC has a written sustainable travel policy , and explicitly requires staff to use public transport where possible.

There are specific rules governing “ late night/early morning transport ” (LNEMT), which makes sense given the operating hours of its radio and television channels.

Employees may claim interest incurred on personal credit cards if reimbursement from the BBC was late and this was the reason for the interest.

There are a huge range of incredibly specific rules in this document. Which makes for a very interesting read.

Allowances for things like food, accommodation, and mileage follow HMRC’s recommendations, as you’d expect. Read our detailed explanation of HMRC’s travel expense rules .

Note : This is an older document - last updated in 2015. So it’s possible that it’s no longer 100% up to date. But nonetheless, it’s worth looking through it to see what inspiration you can draw.

As an enormous international company, it’s probably not surprising that FedEd’s policy reads like a legal document more than a set of guidelines . The company likely feels that can’t afford to be unclear about its rules, and has been quite exhaustive in stating what’s permitted.

It’s up to you whether this matches your own philosophy. At Spendesk, we prefer overarching guidelines to prescriptive rulebooks. This suits us better.

Here are some noteworthy sections of FedEx’s travel and expense policy:

The first page of the policy explicitly states that “termination” is a possibility if employees don’t follow the policy . Which makes sense, but isn't always spelled out in a simple policy document.

Expense reports should be submitted on a weekly or per-trip basis . The latter is quite standard, but submitting reports weekly can easily put a huge burden on both travelling employees and finance teams.

Team members are expected to keep all of their receipts for 12 months . This has likely been updated with more companies using e-receipts these days. If not, that’s quite a tall order.

Vice Presidents and above are permitted to travel first class , while other employees are expected to fly coach (economy). For flights longer than six hours, business class may be allowed.

Because this travel policy is so detailed, there’s plenty more of interest to explore.

Bank of England

Similar to FedEx’s, Bank of England’s policy and long and detailed. Similar to the BBC, Bank of England is a public entity and therefore takes fiscal responsibility seriously.

The policy begins by setting out two clear operating principles :

The value-for-money principle : because the bank is accountable to Parliament and the public, it needs to take good care of spending.

The integrity principle : “we should not be influenced by the prospect of personal advantage or gain. We must use the Bank’s resources responsibly for the public good, not to profit personally.”

While quite exhaustive, this policy does read as though written by those with the best interests of both employees and the institution at heart. The language is clear and easy to understand , and many of the ideas are based on what’s good for the individual.

For example, “wellbeing is also important. Travelling long distances and being away from family and friends has a cost. The Bank wants staff to be able to perform at their best when travelling for work.”

This shows that, even if long and quite technical, a good expense policy can also show the care with which a company treats its team .

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth’s travel and expense policy is one of the more legal and technical policies we’ll see. It’s written more like a piece of legislation than a “clear and simple” playbook . Whether that suits your business is your own call, but it probably makes it more difficult to follow for employees.

On the other hand, it’s very comprehensive . And we might imagine that Dartmouth employees are naturally more used to technical and academic writing than the average company employee.

Similar to others we’ve seen above, the document sets out a list of non-allowable expenses, which is important if you want your policy to be exhaustive. It also states clearly the likely penalties if the policy isn’t followed properly.

It’s also worth examining the procurement section near the beginning of the policy . If your business handles lots of high-value purchases, you may be interested in the rules set out by Dartmouth.

Victoria University of Wellington

We can compare Dartmouth’s policy with another academic institute: Victoria University. Similarly, this policy is formulated like a legal document, setting out very clearly what’s permitted and what isn’t.

Despite this, it’s fairly easy to understand and is only 9 real pages of text . Which compared with some others isn’t too daunting.

A few things worth noting:

All University travel should be economy class , with a few narrow exceptions. These exceptions are not related to job description.

For meals, mileage, parking fees, and other on-the-road travel expenses, the University doesn’t state a fixed amount covered . Instead, it will cover “all ordinary, necessary and reasonable expenses required for the individual to undertake approved University travel.”

The second page sets out the ethical framework upon which the whole document was written .

Expense policy templates

Putting an expense policy together is often a long, drawn out process. You need buy-in from different teams, managers, and executive leadership, to ensure you’ve covered all your bases.

And even then, there’s no guarantee that everyone will read and appreciate your hard work. Expense policies are regularly overlooked or ignored , and many employees prefer to do things their own way.

Which is frustrating, of course.

Given this, it doesn’t make sense to devote hours and hours to writing it from scratch. Instead, take one of these templates and tailor it to your own company’s needs .

This is a very clear and easy to understand expense policy , written in plain English (which is always important). It can be downloaded in DOC format, with spaces for you to fill in managers’ names, points-of-contact, and any other important information.

You know, a template.

And a very good one at that. If you simply want a plug-and-play expense policy that you can get live in a hurry, this is the perfect place to start.

Corporate Traveller

This PDF from Corporate Traveller isn’t exactly a copy/paste template like the two above. But it includes the firm’s recommended top 10 elements to include in your own policy.

Some of these don’t feature in our other listed templates, but may be good ideas. For example, “traveller profile forms” which ask frequent travellers for information to the company which might help in an emergency. This isn’t rocket science, but it’s the sort of thing that you might easily forget.

This template is specifically for employee expense reimbursements . We always advise you avoid expense claims , but since most companies still rely on them on some form, it’s a good idea to make sure the rules are clearly stipulated.

Further resources

If all the above isn’t enough information and inspiration to draft a winning expense policy, here are two more excellent resources that give you principles and foundations to build upon.

Expense policy 101: understanding the basics

Company expense policy: a guide for modern businesses

Spend management guide for growing businesses

Create the perfect T&E policy with help from others

As we've seen, there's plenty of inspiration available for finance leaders and managers to craft a winning travel and expense policy. It doesn't have to be a chore.

And on top of the excellent examples we've shared, get help from the people around you. A good expense policy isn't simply a top-down affair. If other team members have input - not just your finance team - you can be confident that your policy will reflect what's best for the whole company.

In the end, it's about writing something that people will actually follow . More often than not, that means a simple, clear, and concise travel and expense policy.

And even better, it might mean a policy that's built into the tools your teams use every day. That's how it works here at Spendesk, and we'd love to help you achieve the same outcome:

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COMMENTS

  1. Employee Travel Expense Policy Template - Lattice

    An employee travel expense policy outlines the rules, procedures, and expectations for incurring, documenting, and reimbursing business expenses during work trips. This policy is integral to maintaining financial transparency, ensuring compliance with regulations, and promoting responsible spending within the organization. Published.

  2. Travel Expense Policy - SHRM

    Overview. It is the policy of [Company Name] to reimburse staff for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred during approved work-related travel. Employees seeking reimbursement should...

  3. How to Create a Business Travel & Expense Policy (+ Free ...

    Saving Time & Reducing Hassles. With a straightforward travel expense policy in place, the process of reporting and reimbursing expenses becomes much smoother. Employees won’t waste time figuring out what’s allowed, and your finance team can process reimbursements faster.

  4. Building a travel and expense (T&E) policy: Step by step

    A travel and expense policy (T&E) is a dynamic set of rules regulating how employees book travel. From setting budgets on flights and accommodations to standardizing the process for expense reports, your T&E should answer any (and all) questions about company travel, so you don’t have to.

  5. 10 travel & expense policy samples, templates & resources

    New parents generally take 4-8 months. Each employee chooses each year how much of their compensation they want in salary versus stock options. You can choose all cash, all options, or whatever combination suits you.

  6. Company travel policy - Workable

    Our company travel policy outlines our provisions for company-related travel. We’ll explain which expenses we’ll reimburse and how. We’ll also give instructions to our employees to track their expenses correctly when traveling.