Travel and expense management (T&E)

Travel and expense management (T&E) is the process of organizing, tracking, and controlling business travel expenses. The main stages of the T&E flow are the following.

• The employee places a travel request.
• Supervisors (T&E, HR, and/or finance department) review and approve the request.
• The employee books travel.
• After the trip, the employee submits receipts and reports travel expenses.
• Supervisors review the report and check it against the company’s expense policies.
• The company reimburses the employee for travel expenses.

In addition, T&E includes analyzing travel and expense data to identify spending patterns, potential cost savings, and policy compliance issues. This analysis helps companies optimize travel policies and negotiate better rates with travel service providers.

Also, travel expenses are partially or fully deductible in many countries, so companies track them carefully to reduce their tax liability. 

Many organizations use expense management software to control travel costs and streamline the reporting, reimbursement, and other related processes.