Business Travel Policy
ZenHR's Business Travel Policy feature allows you to manage and set company policies for business travel, simplifying travel planning, expense management, and reporting processes. This feature also allows employees to request business trips along with accommodations, track reimbursements, and generate travel expense reports.
The Business Travel Policy feature allows:
Companies to set their policies on Business Travel and ensure they comply with them.
Employees to request business trips, accommodations, transportation, and additional expenses and track reimbursements.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Business Travel Setup
User Menu → System Preferences → Financial Setup → Business Travel Setup
In the new Business Travel setup, admins can define the following:
1. Reimburse Per diems: The type of financial transaction the employee will receive.
2. Default Payment Method: Indicates whether a payment is processed in or outside of payroll.
3. Flight Expenses: Refers to company expenses for the flight.
4. Accommodation Expense: Refers to company expenses for the accommodation.
5. Allowed Expenses: The specific expenses employees can request reimbursement for.
6. Sending a reminder: Remind employees before their trip starts.
How to Set Up Business Travel Policies
User Menu → System Preferences → Financial Setup → Business Travel Policy
On the new Business Travel Policy page, admins can create and customize different business travel rules and policies for employees. Fill out the following fields:
1. Policy name: Create a name for this policy to help categorize and organize different policies and their rules.
2. Position: Select specific job positions that you want to include in this policy for business travel. This allows you to customize the policy and rules based on employee positions or roles.
3. Per diem allowance: Adminis can define the per diem allowance each position receives. The allowance represents the daily amount allocated for meals, accommodation, and other expenses during a business trip.
By defining these rules, administrators can ensure that employees know the specific guidelines and allowances associated with their job positions. This helps standardize and automate the calculation of per diem amounts and ensure compliance with the organization's policies.
Customize and tailor Business Travel Policies based on the following:
· Position-Based Policies: Admins can define policies based on employee positions, allowing for customized rules and regulations.
· Destination Specificity: Policies can be tailored to specific destinations, ensuring that travel guidelines are aligned with local requirements.
· Domestic vs. International: Considering different regulations and practices, distinct policies can be created for domestic and international travel.
· Options Customization: Admins can customize options such as air ticket class, accommodation policy, and per diem rates according to organizational preferences.
International Business Travel
· Country Selection: Admins select departure and arrival countries for international trips, accommodating global travel requirements.
· Air Ticket Class: Offer options for air ticket classes (first, business, and/or economy class) to align with corporate travel policies.
· Accommodation Policy: Define accommodation standards (e.g., hotel star ratings) and maximum expenditure limits per day/night to manage costs effectively.
Domestic Business Travel
· City Selection: Admins specify departure and arrival cities for domestic trips, ensuring accurate policies.
· Transportation Options: The policy can include various transportation modes (flights, public transportation, car, and train) to reflect diverse travel needs.
· Per Diem Rates: Define per diem rates for different locations, considering variations in living costs.
Employees Requesting Business Trips
User Menu → Payroll → My Business Trips
A new page will be added for employees, “My Business Trips.” This page will allow employees to track all their business travel details. On this page, employees can request a Business Trip by following the steps below:
1. On the My Business Trips page, click “Request a Business Trip”.
2. Then fill out all the information about the business trip you would like to request, including if the trip is Domestic or International, the Departure and Arrival cities of the trip, and the Date of the trip.
3. Under Needed amenities, if you need transportation during this trip, enable the toggle beside Transportation. Then, select the type of transportation you would like to request. If you need accommodation (such as hotel rooms) during this trip, enable the toggle beside Accommodation.
4. If there are any extra expenses you wish to request to be covered on this trip, click “Add Expense”, then under Extra expense type, select the additional expense you would like to be covered along with the amount it costs.
5. Write any Notes you would like to add relevant to this request, as well as any Attachments you would like to include.
6. Then click “Request” to submit your request for this business trip.
Business Trip Approvals
Once an employee submits a business trip request, it will be sent for approval to the predefined approval cycle. Once a business trip is approved or rejected, the employee will be notified.
Note: The system will validate the employee's position, automatically set the per diem amounts, and adhere to the predefined policy. This ensures consistency and accuracy in calculating the reimbursement amounts for each employee according to their level.
Requesting Additional Expenses After Business Trip Approval
Additional expenses can still be requested after a business trip has already been approved and taken. It will go through the same approval cycle as the business trip.
On the page My Business Trips, click on the approved business trip you want, then click on “Add Expenses”.
A slider with the business trip details will appear. Here, you can request any additional expenses you had on the business trip.
These expenses refer to the amount of money employees paid during their trip that the company will reimburse them for.
Manage Employee Business Trips
A new page, "Manage Business Trips," will allow administrators to track and manage all employee business trips in the organization. It’s a new centralized location that allows admins to request business trips on the employees' behalf, as well as track, update, and approve business trips.
On this page, admins can do the following:
1. Tracking Business Trips: Admins will have access to a comprehensive view of all Business Travels employees’ requests. The page includes essential details such as employee name, trip dates, destination, and status.
2. Adding Trips on Behalf of Employees: Admins can request business trips on behalf of employees whenever necessary.
3. Editing & Updating Business Trips: Admins can edit and make changes to business trips that were already requested. This includes adjusting trip dates, changing destinations, or updating per diem allowances.
