Business travel checklist
Everything to check for one business trip, from the request to the expense claim, in four stages: before booking, before departure, at the destination and after the trip. Each line names who usually does it and links the template or tool for that step.
Trip:
Each line names who usually does it: the traveler, the travel manager or finance. Change the owners to match your company.
Before booking
- Check the trip is needed, or whether a call would do or it could be combined with another trip.
Who: Traveler.
- Send the request: who, where, when, why, and the department or project code it's charged to.
Who: Traveler. Use the travel request form.
- Make sure the traveler's profile is complete before the first booking: names as on the passport, loyalty numbers, preferences, approver and policy group.
Who: Travel manager. Use the traveler profile checklist.
- Know who approves this trip, and who covers when the approver is away.
Who: Travel manager. Use the approval matrix.
- Confirm the budget covers it, and that the department or project code is right.
Who: Finance.
- For a higher-risk destination, complete the risk assessment and decide before anyone books.
Who: Travel manager. Use the travel risk assessment.
- Check the passport's expiry date against each country's entry rules, and whether a visa is needed.
Who: Traveler.
Before departure
- Check the itinerary: names as on the passport, dates, local times, time zones and every confirmation number.
Who: Traveler. Use the business trip itinerary.
- Fill in or update the emergency contact sheet, and agree who may see it.
Who: Traveler. Use the travel emergency contact sheet.
- Fill in the incident contact sheet: your providers' numbers, and who decides after hours.
Who: Travel manager. Use the trip incident contact sheet.
- Make sure the mobile number on file works abroad, and save the travel help line in your phone.
Who: Traveler.
- For a higher-risk trip, agree a check-in routine, such as on arrival and before the return flight.
Who: Travel manager.
- Confirm how costs are paid on the trip: company card, central billing, or paid personally and claimed.
Who: Finance.
At the destination
- Keep a receipt for everything paid personally.
Who: Traveler.
- Make changes through the travel program, so the itinerary on file stays current.
Who: Traveler.
- Reply to any check-in, and say straight away if you need help.
Who: Traveler.
- If something happens, follow the incident contact sheet, from alert to closed.
Who: Travel manager. Use the trip incident contact sheet.
After the trip
- Write the trip report: what came of it, and anything the travel manager should know.
Who: Traveler. Use the trip report.
- Submit expense claims, with receipts, in your expense system.
Who: Traveler.
- Reconcile the charges against what was approved, by department and project.
Who: Finance.
- Record any unused ticket, refund or credit, with its expiry date.
Who: Finance. Use the unused ticket credit tracker.
- Review issues from the report: suppliers, out-of-policy choices, and whether the risk assessment needs updating.
Who: Travel manager.
- Update the traveler's profile with any new loyalty numbers or preferences.
Who: Traveler.
A silentVIP template, free to copy and adapt. silentvip.com/resources/templates
See a trip from request to report
In the demo we'll request a trip, route it for approval and look at what it cost afterward.
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