Want to know more about business travel? So that you can manage your company’s travel expenses and make effective travel plans, it’s useful to know a little about what business travel actually is. And crucially, how it’s different from personal travel.
In this guide, we’ll give you a handy definition and some examples of business travel. Plus, some essential info on managing business travel expenses, both within the UK and internationally.
So, let’s get started.
Business travel is any travel that is carried out on behalf of a company or organisation. This definition doesn’t usually include daily commutes. It definitely doesn’t include holidays, leisure trips and other personal travel.
Here’s a quick look at the key differences between business and personal travel:
| Business travel | Personal travel |
|---|---|
| Travel is essential for business purposes - such as meetings or conferences | Travel is for holiday or leisure purposes, such as meeting friends or sightseeing |
| Travel expenses can be reimbursed (or paid for on a company account) | The traveller pays their own travel expenses |
| Requires certain amenities, such as Wi-Fi, charging points, or meeting facilities | Amenities are ‘nice to have’ rather than essential |
| May involve corporate rates, travel reward or loyalty programs | Personal travellers can join loyalty programs, but don’t get corporate rates |
| Usually involves major cities or well-connected areas | Travel can be to any destination in the world. |
If you need to go abroad for business purposes, your travel arrangements can become much more complicated. You’ll need to arrange things like flights, hotels, transfers, baggage, insurance, visas and much more.
For example, if you’re based in London but have a critical client meeting in Paris, you’ll need to find the quickest and most convenient way to get there. With a rail or plane ticket bought, you’ll need to book accommodation close to the meeting venue and arrange transfers between all points.
As a business owner or manager, it’s important to keep on top of corporate travel arrangements. This is particularly key if you have a number of team members making lots of business trips each year.
It’s a good idea to develop a system for planning trips, including go-to suppliers for transport and accommodation. There’s also visa and insurance to consider.
Many companies find it easier to use a business travel management tool, like TravelPerk or TravelBank.
Tracking and managing business travel expenses can also be a challenge. From the employee’s side, they need to make sure they save receipts and submit accurate claims for reimbursement. And for businesses, it’s important to keep a close eye on how much is being spent on business travel - as it’s easy for costs to spiral.
| 💡 Read more: 5 best credit cards for business travel in the UK - plus one debit card alternative |
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Accounting tools are a good way to manage travel expenses. You can also find dedicated expense tracking tools, such as Webexpenses, Zoho Expense, TravelPerk and SAP Concur.
Looking for an easier way to track business travel expenses? Use Wise Business Cards and you’ll even enjoy 0,5% cashback on all eligible spending.
Wise Business cards can be used all over the world. They automatically convert currency at the mid-market exchange rate, for only a small conversion fee. But there are no subscription fees or foreign transaction fees to worry about.
Open a Wise Business multi-currency account and you can get employee expense cards for everyone who needs one - for a one-time cost of just £3. You can pre-set spending limits and track spending all from one handy online dashboard.
| Check out the articles bellow if you want to learn more about business travel and the best tools to have in hand when travelling to work: |
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After reading this guide, you should have a better idea of what business travel is - and what it isn’t. We’ve covered definitions of business travel and some examples too, along with tips for managing corporate travel expenses. So, you should be all set to plan your next business trip.
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This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
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