Business trips look different from the office than from the seat. The traveler sees a flight, a hotel, a meeting and a taxi; the office sees a request to cost and approve, bookings to file, a plan and a checklist to hand over, a register entry to keep current while the traveler is away, and a close when they are home. Traveling for business goes well when the office's half is done in order and badly when it is done from memory. This page is the office's half of every business trip, and the free worksheet on this site that does the arithmetic at each step.
Before: the request, the approval, the bookings
The trip starts as a request with a figure: fare, nights at the rate, ground, days at the allowance, per traveler. The travel request form computes it and the policy's threshold says who signs. The approval releases the bookings, made on the sites the company uses with the lead time the policy sets, and each reference is filed against the trip. Perdiemo Pro keeps the request, the approver, the date and the references as one record before anyone leaves.
Before: the plan and the checklists
The business trip plan builds the itinerary from the legs, nights, meetings and transfers and shows the hours in transit, the buffer reserved and the days to adjust across time zones. The business trip checklist counts the confirmations to file and the preparation for each meeting; the packing checklist counts what goes in the bag. The traveler is handed all three, and they are filed against the trip.
During: the register and the check-ins
While the traveler is away the office keeps the register: where they are, on which booking, with whom to call. On an elevated-risk trip the risk policy sets check-ins and an escalation route. When a flight is cancelled, the reference on the trip and the Department of Transportation's rules on refunds and the airline's own commitments on its customer service dashboard say what the traveler is owed, and the office can act because it has the reference.
After: the close
A trip closes when the traveler is home, the receipts are filed to the expense process, the register is updated and the follow-ups to each meeting are sent. The checklist counts those items. The estimate on the request and the bookings as made sit side by side on the trip, and that comparison is where next year's budget and the policy review come from. Business trips that are closed are the only ones the company learns from.
Questions people ask about business trips
What does the office do for a business trip?
Cost and approve the request, book against it and file the references, hand over the plan and checklists, keep the register while the traveler is away, close the trip on return.
How far ahead should business trips be requested?
The policy's lead time, commonly fourteen days for a domestic trip; the travel policy worksheet sets it and the request form is where it is read.
Is traveling for business working time?
Federal law sets out when travel is hours worked in the Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 22; the travel policy should state the company's rule consistently with it.