Building a systematic business travel process is the foundation for businesses. cost control, improve efficiency and transparency in expense management. A strict process helps businesses easily track and optimize spending, effectively manage resources, and minimize financial errors.
For businesses with a large number of employees who frequently travel for work, establishing a systematic business travel expense management process is an indispensable factor to optimize business costs. Let's explore the steps to build an effective business travel process in the article below!
1. What is the business travel procedure?
Business travel procedures are a series of prescribed steps to carry out business trips, including request, approval, document preparation, implementation and settlement. business expenses.
A standard process helps businesses have an overview of work activities, Expense management efficiency and avoid many unnecessary errors. In addition, standardized processes also help employees easily comply with regulations, shorten paperwork processing time, and focus on work goals.
Benefits of building a tight business travel process
- Minimize errors: Clear processes help employees avoid procedural and documentation errors.
- Increase transparency: Facilitate control of travel expenses and monitoring of expenditure approvals.
- Improve work efficiency: Employees perform work according to instructions, avoiding wasting time and budget.
Each business may have different business travel procedures depending on its size, field of operation and internal requirements. Building the right procedures for each unit is essential to achieve maximum efficiency.
2. Steps in standard business travel procedures
2.1. Sending a business trip request
Employees need to fill out a business trip request form, including the purpose, duration, and budget. The request form should be easy to use and help managers understand the content of the trip.
The request form is the first and important step in the business travel request process & typically includes information such as employee name, department, reason for travel, expected duration and cost.
2.2. Submit to director or senior manager for approval
Approval of the request is an important step in controlling expenses. The approval process includes consideration of the reason for the travel, the proposed budget, and the feasibility of the trip. Considerations for approval may include budget appropriateness, duration of the trip, and the purpose of the trip.
2.3. Prepare relevant documents
After approval, the staff prepares the necessary documents such as air tickets, hotel confirmation, and work schedule. Careful preparation of documents helps the trip go smoothly and avoids any risks.
2.4. Arrange transportation and accommodation
Depending on the distance and budget, employees choose suitable means of transport such as plane, train or company car. In addition, it is necessary to choose and book hotel rooms according to regulations, ensuring safety and comfort for employees during the working time.
2.5. Advance payment for business trip expenses
To ease the financial burden, companies can provide advance travel allowances to employees before their trips. Travel allowances can include transportation, lodging, and other reasonable incidental expenses. Managing travel allowances is an important step in controlling your budget and avoiding overspending.
2.6. Conduct business trips and collect documents
During the work process, employees need to collect documents such as invoices and receipts as a basis for settlement. Complying with assigned targets and collecting documents in accordance with regulations will help the settlement process take place more quickly and transparently.
2.7. Completing the procedure for settling business expenses
After the business trip, employees need to make a cost settlement table, along with the collected documents. Checking the documents carefully helps to limit errors and ensure transparency in the settlement process.
2.8. Work results report
Finally, the employee needs to complete a work report, including content such as results achieved, difficulties and suggestions for improvement. A professionally presented work report helps managers have an overview of the effectiveness of the trip.
3. Manage business travel processes effectively
3.1. Cost management software application
Business travel process management software is a comprehensive support tool from the request, approval to settlement and reporting of business expenses. Modern software today often integrates many automation features, helping to minimize errors and increase transparency. Some benefits of using business travel process management software include:
- Process Automation: The software supports automatic request submission, approval status updates, and expense processing, reducing manual workload.
- Real-time monitoring: Managers can track approval progress and expense spending in real-time, ensuring the process is quick and transparent.
- Ensuring transparency and security: The software stores all data on a digital platform, helping businesses easily access, check information and secure important documents.
- Expense analysis and reporting: The expense reporting feature for each employee, department or project helps businesses grasp spending trends, make appropriate financial decisions and optimize budgets.
3.2. The role of departments in process management
An effective business travel process requires close coordination between departments within the company. Each department has its own responsibilities but all contribute to creating a smooth and professional operating system.
- Human Resources Department: Manage job application process, assist employees in preparing documents and understand cost regulations.
- Accounting Department: Check and compare business expense documents, monitor budget and ensure expenses are valid before payment.
- Senior Management: Review, approve work requests, evaluate performance and adjust cost policies in line with corporate strategy.
4. The optimal business trip request process template for businesses in 2025
Business travel process templates can be customized for each business, depending on the size, industry, and budget. Businesses should establish clear process templates, including a business travel request form and an expense settlement form.
To help businesses build effective business travel procedures, here are some basic process templates that employees can use:
4.1. Business trip request form
This form helps employees request and justify business trips, including information such as travel dates, location, purpose of travel, and expected expenses.
Sample content:
- Employee name, department
- Purpose of work
- Time and place
- Estimated expenses (travel, accommodation, business expenses)
- Direct Manager Approval
4.2. Sample of business expense settlement
The settlement form helps summarize actual expenses after a business trip, compare them with expected expenses, and note specific expenses.
Sample content:
- Staff information, trips
- Expenses (airfare, hotel, travel, food, other expenses)
- Invoice, receipt attached
- Total cost and refund
- Approval from Accounting Department
4.3. Work report form
This form helps employees report work results, including information about achieved goals and work results after the trip.
Sample content:
- Summary of trip purpose
- Work results achieved
- Evaluation and lessons learned
- Supporting documents and reports (if any)
4.4. Work policy template
This template helps businesses build and adjust travel policies, spending rules, authorization standards, and approval processes.
Sample content:
- Regulations on business expenses (food, travel, accommodation)
- Job Request Approval Process
- Refund Policy
- Regulations on reporting and settlement
4.5. Work approval form
This form helps senior management or HR approve business travel requests from employees.
Sample content:
- Staff information, trips
- Work details and costs
- Reasons for approving or rejecting a trip
- Approver's signature
5. Important notes when applying business travel procedures
When implementing a business process, following a few key principles helps ensure efficiency and transparency while minimizing cost risks. The following tips will help businesses easily control and optimize their business process expenses:
- Comply with company policies: Ensure employees understand and comply with travel regulations, spending, and company standards on every business trip.
- Update procedures according to current regulations: Ensure that business travel procedures always comply with changes in the law, especially regarding travel expenses, valid documents and tax requirements.
- Regularly review and improve processes: Regularly review and optimize processes to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and respond to changes in business needs and strategies.
6. Bizzi Expense – The optimal solution for business travel processes
Bizzi Expense is a professional business travel expense management software that supports businesses in automating the business travel process from requesting, approving, and issuing business travel expenses to reporting expenses and settling payments.
6.1. Outstanding features of Bizzi Expense:
- Digitize and automate the expense workflow: Support automatic creation and submission of requests, helping employees save time.
- Track approval status in real time: Managers can approve work requests in just one minute.
- Integrated AI document checking: Automatically detect errors on invoices, receipts and ensure documents comply with tax regulations.
- Manage your travel budget in real time: Show details of advances, expenses and alerts when over budget.
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- Detailed cost reporting and analysis: Create reports by employee and department, helping businesses understand spending trends.
- High security and decentralized management: Customize application usage rights, ensure information security on cloud computing platform.
- Cross-platform application: Bizzi Expense supports access on both web and mobile applications (Android, iOS), helping employees work flexibly anytime, anywhere.
In the near future, Bizzi Expense will launch a feature that integrates flight and hotel booking directly on the application, automatically saving documents from service providers, helping businesses save time and minimize errors in expense management.
Sign up now for a 6-month free trial with Bizzi Expense and discover the optimal expense management solution for your business: https://bizzi.vn/dang-ky-dung-thu/
6.2. Why should businesses choose Bizzi Expense?
Using Bizzi Expense, businesses can save up to 50% of paperwork processing time, reduce 80% of errors in expense management and increase transparency in budget control.
Business travel process with Bizzi Expense: Fast, transparent and efficient
- Employees submit business travel requests: All business travel requests are made directly on Bizzi Expense, ensuring complete and accurate information.
- Fast approval management: Work requests are sent to management and approved within just 1 minute, saving time and increasing efficiency.
- Advance notification and travel arrangements: Employees receive advance travel notification through the system and can start planning their travel immediately.
- Documents and automatic settlement: All expense documents are uploaded to Bizzi Expense so that the system can automatically process settlement, ensuring transparency and accuracy in each transaction.
7. Conclusion
A standard business travel process will help businesses manage more effectively, reduce costs and increase productivity. Applying support tools such as Bizzi Expense will help businesses optimize the entire business travel process, save time and improve accuracy. In the context of 2025, implementing a modern business travel process is an inevitable trend for businesses to develop sustainably.