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Travel Approval Email Templates

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Authorizing official approval is secured via the event request process , so you are all set as long as your travel is booked in Concur and is in SUBMIT TO APPROVER status. However, an email of approval is still required if you will be extending your trip at your own expense , flying to or from points that are not either your duty station or location of the event , or combining your event travel with travel for some other reason.

Email Template for Individual Travel:

Subject: Approval for travel between [dates] for , external, TTS-only, Budget name or Tock project name and ID #

I request approval to travel from [ home_location ] to [ work_location ]. I will depart the [ departure_date ], to arrive in time for [ work_to_be_done ] in service of [ TTS budget name ] (options available , external, TTS-only, here ) or [ Tock project + ID number ] scheduled for [ first_day_of_travel_work_date ]. I will return to [ home_location ] on [ return_date ]. The total should not exceed $[x,xxx.yy].

Please reply with your approval, or with any subsequent questions or clarifications you may have.

Many thanks,

[ requestor_name ]

Email Template for Group Travel:

Below is the travel cost break out for [ work to be performed ] for [ Budget name or Tock project name and ID# ]. The estimated total cost is [ total cost ], with the cost for each team member broken out below. Please reply with your approval, or with any subsequent questions or clarifications you may have.

[ Include the , external, TTS-only, completed travel expenses estimator pasted here, or another format of your choice, as long as origins, destinations, dates of travel, and estimated cost are clearly identified for each person traveling ]

• , external, TTS-only, #travel
• , external, [email protected]
• , external, Book office hours

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Creating the perfect travel request approval process.

Sajit Chacko

Unfortunately, a persistent problem facing many with such aspirations is that they often find themselves in situations where the trips become a tiresome burden with exponentially higher costs than expected. 

Why is this, you wonder? Simply put, the chaotic, frustrating, and challenging task of working with outdated spreadsheet-based systems makes business travel nightmarish every step of the way. 

This problem is especially true for the archaic travel approval process, which makes trips unmanageable and unfeasible. We are here to tell the readers they don’t need to be.

This article will explore the travel request approval process, the challenges organizations face using older processes, and how creating a clear, automated workflow can help overcome these challenges. By the end of this article, you will understand why creating an ideal travel request approval workflow is essential to succeed in today’s competitive business environment.

What is a travel request approval process?

A travel request approval process is a series of actions that an employee or traveler follows to acquire management consent to implement a trip. 

This process typically begins with the employee filling out a travel request form outlining the trip’s details, including the destination, purpose, dates, and estimated expenses. 

The employee then forwards the request to the assigned administrative authorities and stakeholders through outdated methods of communication, such as email, for review. The review process involves managers and admins checking compliance with travel policies, estimating trip feasibility, verifying budget availability, and obtaining approvals from the other relevant organizational stakeholders. 

Based on such considerations, the request is either sanctioned or denied. Once approved, the employee can purchase flight tickets, reserve accommodations, and perform other necessary tasks to carry out the trip.

Why do you need a travel request approval workflow?

A travel request approval workflow is an excellent way to simplify the outdated, inefficient, and problematic process that most businesses continue to follow even today. A streamlined workflow ensures compliance with the corporate travel policy, improves planning efficiency, regulates costs, enhances communication, and increases security. 

Moreover, implementing one further ensures that travel expenses are quickly approved, transparent, and well-planned. 

Here are some of the real-world problems several businesses face which necessitate a systematic travel request approval workflow.

Limited control over expenses

Proper internal controls make it easier for businesses to track trip expenses, maintain compliance, and impose spending constraints. The main problem behind the manual travel request process is that it fails to establish such controls for employee expenses, causing widespread policy non-compliance and overspending. 

The situation worsens when too many stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process. When this happens, it becomes a challenge to manage or keep track of the approved expenses, often resulting in travelers exceeding their allotted budgets. 

On the other hand, a travel request approval workflow provides travelers with a framework that helps them stay compliant and within their budgetary limitations throughout the travel process. 

The ideal workflow should enhance the business’s expense controls while leaving no room for misinformation or miscommunication. Even when the business trip involves multiple travelers, an excellent workflow allows consistent policy compliance and expense transparency between the travelers and their respective departmental heads, managers, and admins.

Key information doesn’t reach the right people

When using manual systems, employees regularly encounter numerous roadblocks between them and acquiring the necessary travel permissions. This situation is especially true when requests are sent to an unnecessarily large number of stakeholders regardless of their role or relevance in the travel request process. 

There are bound to be information gaps, miscommunication, errors, and delays when this occurs. And critical information sometimes does not reach crucial decision-makers on time, considerably slowing down the process. 

Moreover, manual systems make it nearly impossible for travelers to make quick, time-sensitive decisions that could drive down trip costs. 

Instead, an automated travel request workflow system can guarantee that critical travel proposals and information is sent only to those with the utmost relevance to the nature of the proposal. 

This way, essential stakeholders are routinely kept informed and updated on the decision-making process. Such a level of transparency dramatically improves communication and reduces the risk of misunderstandings. 

By assigning priority levels to requests, you also ensure that administrators get instantly notified and attend to critical requests without delays. 

Manual processes are inefficient

Implementing and managing business trips through manual processes is a tedious task with several redundancies that causes delays and human error. 

Here, the time it takes for the itinerary, travel costs, trip expenses, and relevant justifications to be approved generally takes several days or weeks to get accepted. By this time, trip costs may dramatically escalate. 

On the other hand, an automated travel request approval workflow can significantly reduce the time to process such requests from days to mere minutes. Additionally, since the requests only reach the relevant stakeholders, there will be no misinformation and confusion, ensuring enhanced compliance. 

An added advantage to an automated travel request system is mobile functionality that allows requests to be sent directly to the mobile device of the relevant authority, along with automated expense reports. 

How to create the ideal travel request approval workflow

Let us walk through the steps you must take to create the perfect travel request approval workflow.

1. Understand what you want to achieve 

A good practice before you design a travel request approval workflow is first to analyze your current processes and the challenges you face with them. This analysis helps you identify problematic errors, redundancies, inefficiencies, and other significant issues in your workflow. 

Once you identify these issues, you will better understand what components need to be cut, reworked, excluded, and improved. This way, you can eliminate any problems disrupting your travel implementation process and feasibility. 

When you have ample information on what’s wrong, you can envision how your new travel request approval workflow should be and what it must help you achieve. 

A noteworthy recommendation is to automate, rework, and improve your existing systems rather than a complete system rehaul. Enhancing and automating existing systems facilitates familiarity, resulting in lesser adoption resistance from your employees. 

The ultimate goal should be to plan a workflow that dramatically improves time management, efficiency, transparency, and visibility when filling, submitting, and handling travel requests.

2. Consult all relevant business travel stakeholders

Manual processes generally require the proposal to be approved by administrators, managers, C-suites, finance teams, and the HR department before its implementation. Each of these departments has team members, further expanding the proposal’s organizational exposure. 

The first step to creating a workflow perfect for your unique business requirements is identifying the stakeholders relevant to the travel-decision making process. A good practice is to restrict the number of administrators charged with viewing and scrutinizing the requests and their contents to the lowest number possible. 

Modern automated systems provide stakeholders with excellent internal controls on expenses and approvals while increasing their overall visibility. In such a system, there is no need to involve more than a few stakeholders. 

The number of administrators entirely depends on the organization’s size. Smaller organizations may need lesser administrators and decision-makers involved in the travel request approval process. On the other hand, larger organizations generally have more travelers than SMEs and a higher volume of requests and expenses that require administrative attention. 

Factor in these considerations and decide the optimal number of stakeholders to review trip requests. Remember, the number should be manageable for the administrator or manager.

3. Map out the travel request approval workflow

The next stage is automating and mapping the proposals’ flow for your new travel request approval workflow. Ideally, this should involve requests to flow through stakeholders relevant to trip planning and with expertise in improving the trip’s productivity. 

This map should specify each member’s role in the newly automated process.

4. Setup a single management tool for easy access

The first thing you should do for your new workflow is to restructure your processes to eliminate redundancies from the previous systems, including redundant communication channels or any other aspect that may confuse stakeholders. 

Once you have centralized and organized your business travel approval process, you must increase the corporate travel policy’s visibility to reach all stakeholders. Doing so ensures that all employees are completely aware of the policies, procedures, rules, and limitations. 

The goal of this stage is to ensure that there are no more delays or back-and-forth communications between travel and non-travel stakeholders. A centralized travel management tool such as Tripeur can help businesses effectively achieve this quickly. 

5. Choose which line items to include

Carefully planning and detailing the workflow’s line items allows you to specify to your employees what travel details require mentioning and what is irrelevant. Such a practice guarantees uniformity between all travelers filling out and submitting requests. Everyone involved in trip planning provides managers and administrators with all the relevant details. 

Typical line items to consider in your travel request approval workflow include the trip’s purpose, assignment details, location, duration, and list of participating team members. It is also good practice to detail a breakdown of the estimated costs, including airfare, accommodations, ground transport, meals, and the overall total. 

How detailed you want these forms depend entirely on the level of granular supervision you wish to maintain. 

Specifying that your employees upload receipts online after a transaction is also essential to automate expense reconciliation. This practice eliminates needing to maintain, carry, store, and submit physical receipts. 

An automated system enables businesses to achieve this with ease. Such systems also allow companies to finetune the workflow by adding and removing fields to suit a business’s unique requirements.

6. Communicate the travel request approval process with your employees

For your new travel request approval process to work, it must first be communicated transparently to your stakeholders. Maintain a single uniform communication channel and make it the primary mode of inter-office communications. 

By doing so, you guarantee that your new travel request approval process promptly reaches all relevant parties detailing what is expected of them at every stage of the refined process.

7. Implement a travel request approval workflow and continuously tweak it

Your first attempt at creating a travel request approval workflow may not yield the best results. This is normal, as it is an iterative process with plenty of room for improvement. Perfecting your new approval process requires periodic performance reviews to spot redundancies, missing items, and other erroneous processes to improve your workflow routinely. 

Once you do this, place internal controls for stakeholders and clearly define their access levels. The goal here is to allow access to only the relevant stakeholders for every travel step of the travel process. Also, restrict access to information from stakeholders irrelevant to the approval process.

Once the controls are in place, test the approval process to identify and mitigate any lingering issues. Carefully test and monitor the new approval process for a predefined trial period till you iron out all the kinks. A good recommendation is to automate the system, which is an excellent way to increase your new system’s efficiency and speed tremendously. 

In conclusion, you should be ready to create your travel request approval workflow to improve compliance, control costs, increase efficiency & accuracy, streamline communication, and enhance security. If you need clarification on how to do this, don’t worry. 

You can consult a professional service provider that can do it for you at a fraction of what you would have to spend to implement one in-house. 

Simplify and implement the travel request approval workflow with Tripeur

Think of Tripeur’s platform as the swiss army knife of corporate travel, where every tool you need for corporate travel management is available to you within one platform. Sometimes, no amount of workforce or capital can improve an outdated and broken travel approval system. 

Instead, Tripeur and its expense module helps keeps the finance department in the loop by sending stakeholders automated expenditure alerts and reports through all stages of the travel booking experience. Our travel request approval process will ensure it keeps all relevant stakeholders informed and involved in the decision-making process, improving communication and reducing the risk of misunderstandings.

Better yet, our system supports e-receipts and automated reconciliation to help you create a seamless experience for travelers and other stakeholders. We provide you with all the tools necessary to develop a standardized process for examining if travel expenses align with its policies and regulatory requirements. 

With such a granular level of control, you will only authorize travel requests that comply with your organizational policies.

Our user-friendly software can tremendously simplify and improve your travel proposals system, where every approval will be instantaneously sent to the mobile devices of the right stakeholders. We can help you perpetually fix your corporate travel inefficiencies and simplify and implement travel request approval workflow while significantly lowering costs. 

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Your guide to streamline your travel request approval workflow

In this Article

According to The Global Business Travel Association, U.S. employees take an average of 405 million business trips annually. 

That's a lot of travel request forms and financing to coordinate and track. An efficient travel request approval workflow can help streamline this process and simplify your life. The traditional methods of handling this leave room for mistakes, delays and loss of revenue.

Here, you'll learn everything there is to know about creating travel request approval workflows, including the benefits, best practices, and the steps needed to implement one. Let's dive in!

What is a travel request approval workflow?

All employees travelling for work need to fill out a travel request form. This form is then approved and signed-off by supervisors and other members of the finance team.

By completing a travel request form, all of the employee's expenses are covered by the company. After all, the entire purpose of the trip is to conduct company business.

But when discussing company finances, it's essential to have detailed and thorough reporting. Using the workforce to document these details would result in a waste of time and resources. Therefore, modern businesses are proactively shifting towards expense management software to help address this challenge. 

The downside of not having a travel request approval workflow in place

With so many people involved in the travel request approval process, mistakes happen, and information often gets overlooked. Here are a few of the other downsides to using a traditional system.

Key information doesn't reach the right team members

Too many cooks spoil the broth. Likewise, having too many people involved in the travel request approval process can muddy the waters. This leads to lost information and a significant slow down in the approval process.

Also, Excel sheets and emails are difficult to scale. This can delay the approval process, costing you precious time and money. This is especially true if your employee's travel plans are time-sensitive.

With an automated workflow system, all the relevant parties are alerted to the request in real-time. Some systems can even prioritize requests so that urgent travel plans are approved first. 

SUGGESTED READ: When should your business move out of Excel?

Limited control over expenses

To protect your company's finances, you need to have strict control over business and travel expenses. Traditional travel request forms make it difficult to adhere to budgets and effectively implement spending limits.

When several employees are involved in the approval process, and the approved travel costs for a specific trip are unknown, it can create confusion and overspending. A travel request approval workflow simplifies the process by creating a universal standard and guidelines for team members to follow.

Manual processes take longer

The significant difference between a manual travel request approval and an automated workflow system is time. And, in business, time is money. 

Not only does it take countless hours to weed through business expenses and gain approval, but it also allows for human error. It's difficult to track every single expenditure manually, which could cause unauthorised expenses and lost revenue.

SUGGESTED READ: How to detect and prevent expense report fraud

Best practices for creating a travel request approval workflow 

Understanding the challenges of not having a travel request approval workflow is only half the battle. Now, you need to create your own system. Here are some things to consider before creating a travel request approval workflow.

Understand what you want to achieve through your travel request approval workflow?

• Like with any new work policy , before its creation, you need to identify what you want it to achieve through it. 
• What elements of your current travel request approval process needs improvement? 
• What's working, and what needs an overhaul? 

Most goals that businesses strive for include improved efficiency, time management, and creating a more transparent process. It might help to give your new workflow policy a name and a detailed purpose. This benefits all employees to stay on the same page and fully understand the process and its required steps.  

Map out the process of your travel request approval workflow

• To make sure you cover all your bases, map out the travel request approval workflow before putting it into practice. 
• What steps does a traditional travel request approval go through? 
• How can you automate this process?
• Next, include all relevant parties in the planning process. 
• Identify each individual's specific role and what part they play in executing the new plan.

Choose which line items to include in your travel request approval workflow

One of the essential components of any travel request approval workflow is the specific line items you include. These small details often get overlooked during the manual approval process. Hence, all employees filling out a travel request form are required to detail expected expenditures. 

Common line items to consider in your travel request approval workflow:

• The purpose of the business trip
• The location of travel
• The duration of the business trip
• The overall cost of the trip (including airfare, rental car, accommodations, meals, and all other expenses)
• Any additional team members joining them and the corresponding cost

Some travel request forms are more detailed than others. You can ask employees to provide flight and hotel pricing beforehand, as well as a travel itinerary, project details, and receipts . 

Also, an automated workflow system allows you to add and delete different fields. For example, if the employee is travelling a short distance, you can remove the "airfare" line item for that request. The same goes for hotel accommodations .

Implement a travel request approval workflow and continuously tweak it 

The truth is, you may not get things right the first time – and that's okay! Once you feel it's time to implement your new travel request approval workflow, you'll need:

• A set of permissions for specific team members. 
• Determine who n eeds access to which part of the approval process. 
• To ensure confidentiality, you can also hide particular data and information. 
• Allow employees to submit requests and test out the new approval process. 
• After a few runs, ask team members what's working and what needs improving on.
• After some weeks, you'll have a more detailed picture of how the system is running. 
• An automated system will show the average time it takes to approve a request and how long it takes each team member to perform their task. 
• Further, use this data to tweak and optimise the process.

SUGGESTED READ: How businesses are leveraging Fyle’s expense analytics

Implement an effective travel request approval workflow 

If business trips are a big part of your company's success, you need a travel request approval workflow to simplify your life. Not only does an automated expense management software save time and money, but it also reduces the risk of human error and helps employees stay compliant.

Are you ready to welcome the benefits of an automated expense approval workflow? Fyle can help. Schedule a demo today and witness how Fyle can put an end to all your pre-accounting and accounting woes!

Akhono Seleyi

Akhono turns beautiful data into digestable stories. When she’s not at her desk writing, you can be sure she’s busy pinning designs for her dream house in Pinterest.

A Guide to Streamline Your Travel Request Approval Workflow

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Ensure travel policy compliance, control costs, and help your clients boost their bottom lines.

Enforcing travel policies has never been this easy

When travel policies aren’t met, travel and entertainment is a cost that can spin out of control. Trip Approval makes it easy for travel management companies (TMC) to help their clients enforce policies while simultaneously controlling costs and meeting travelers’ needs.

• Automatically route out-of-policy trips for approval before they’re ticketed
• Customize out-of-policy triggers to match your clients’ specific needs
• Stay informed with built-in reporting
• Approve or decline itineraries from anywhere via the web or mobile

What you don’t know can hurt your organization's bottom line

Employees often book out of policy because they don’t know rules. Trip Approval helps businesses enforce travel policies, stop overspending on airfare and hotels, see when there's travel to high-risk destinations, and save managers from having to request new itineraries.

See what Trip Approval can do

Flexible configuration

Customize the pre-trip approval tool to meet the specific needs of every client.

Multi-tier approval

Provide unlimited levels of approval based on client rules or travel policies.

Multi-channel approval

Review and approve itineraries from anywhere via web or mobile.

In-tool messaging

Offer trip details to travelers, administrators, and approvers.

Built-in reporting

Run reports filtered by approver, traveler, dates, and costs.

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Business Trip Approval Template

Streamline your business trip approval flow with Jotform’s free online Business Trip Approval Template! When an employee fills out your employee travel authorization form, their submission will be sent to the employee’s manager to approve or deny the request. The request will then move on to the finance department, who will make the final decision — which will automatically send the employee an email informing them of whether their request was successful or not.

Feel free to add new people and levels to your Business Trip Approval Template, customize autoresponder emails, and set up conditional logic using our drag-and-drop builder. In Jotform Tables or your inbox, you can quickly review the progress of requests and approve or deny them if needed. No matter what industry you work in, use this Business Trip Approval Template to speed up your business trip expense review process — and enjoy more time to spend where it counts!

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About Finance

Make your finance department as efficient as possible with Jotform’s automated Approval Templates for Finance. When you receive a submission through your online form, the submission will be forwarded to the first person in your workflow, who will choose to approve, deny, or forward the request. When the approval flow reaches its final decision, the person who filled out your form will receive an autoresponder email letting them know the outcome. To get started, choose a template below and customize it to meet your needs by adding more approvers, personalizing emails, setting up notifications, merging branches, and more in a few easy clicks! Approve budgets, invoices, reimbursements, and more with free online Approval Templates for Finance.

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Managing the business travel approval process: five things to keep in mind

1. consult all relevant business travel stakeholders.

• Administrators: an office travel manager or executive assistant in charge of booking business travel
• Line managers: the manager of the person going on the business trip
• Executives: additional managers at the director or C-suite level
• Finance: a representative from the finance department who handles business travel (from the perspective of travel costs)
• HR: a representative from the HR department who handles business travel (from the engagement or compliance perspective)

Learn how to write a comprehensive business travel policy with our ebook.

2. create an organized business travel approval process.

• Who’s in charge of booking business travel? Employees, managers, an administrative assistant?
• Do travelers need to fill out a request form?
• What "approvers" need to be consulted for corporate travel approval?
• How does spending work when on a business trip? Who sets and controls the budget?
• How much advance notice is needed to approve a business trip?
• What happens if there’s a last-minute business travel request?
• Are only certain types of hotels, flights, etc. approved for travel booking? For example, can a traveler book a three-star or four-star hotel?
• Is there a certain cabin class allowed for flights (first, business, economy?)

Here's how travel policies are seamlessly integrated in TravelPerk

3. manage things all in one place during the approval process, 4. communicate the business travel approval process to people in your company, 5. automate your business travel approval process where possible, bonus: using travelperk for your business travel approval process, did you find this article useful.

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Trip approvals in business travel: what they are and why they’re important

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By Jessica Freedman

February 9, 2024

Trip approvals are an important but complex part of business travel. Having a comprehensive travel policy that allows your company to live up to its duty of care is fundamental to keep the control in your hands. Making the trip approval process as smooth as possible starts with creating a clear travel policy in which stakeholders know what to expect, and are clear on what is allowed and what isn’t allowed when it comes to business travel. Then by centralizing all this data in one place, you can be sure to not miss a beat.

We will look at the importance of trip approvals in business travel and how having the right travel management platform will help you manage and optimize business travel. We will also give you some tools to ensure that the whole process is streamlined. Before we get started it’s important to have in mind the following concepts: trip approval, duty of care and travel tracking, all of which are interrelated and help to improve the business travel experience.

What is trip approval?

Trip approval or pre-trip approval refers to approving elements of a business trip such as hotel reservations, flights, car rentals or trains prior to an employee being able to book their business trip. It’s a way businesses can keep their corporate travel policy under control, ensuring that a manager or supervisor has reviewed the travel policy and that each element of the trip is allowed as stipulated by the company’s guidelines. Trip approval is key for businesses to be able to enforce their policies, avoid overspending and keep travelers from going to high-risk destinations. 

What is duty of care?

Duty of care is about ensuring the safety or well-being of others. Employers have a duty of care to their employees to be sure they are happy, safe, and healthy when traveling and when at work in general. Trip approvals help managers and CEOs live up to their duty of care. Read more about duty of care.  

What is travel tracking?

Travel tracking or itinerary tracking is a way of monitoring travelers to make sure they arrived safely, which in turn helps companies live up to their duty of care. A corporate travel tracker is often built into a travel management platform allowing you to access a live traveler map so you can know where your employees are in the world and that they have made it safely to their destination. It’s a great way to keep in control and ensure that you fulfill your duty of care as an employer.

Managing the business travel approval process

The key to managing the business travel approval process is to find ways to stay in control and keep your travel spend on target. A great way to do this is by setting up a seamless travel approval process, which will keep travelers safe, keep them from traveling to risky destinations and ensure that you are able to keep an eye on how much your team is spending on flights, hotels, car rental and trains. 

Of course with the approval process comes some risks. For example, an employee may submit a trip for approval and then the price may go up, or the trip might expire before a manager can approve the request. With a travel management platform, the approval process can be easy.

When you automate your travel policy , you can also set up the process to suit you best with things like pre-trip green light, allowing travelers to ask for approval before they actually book. Travelers just need to enter information such as destination, dates, trip purpose, travelers and additional notes before submitting for approval. This way they can create trips from already approved requests.

How to stay in control of business travel

So now that you know the three most important elements of staying in control of your business travel program, let’s take a look at the 4 keys to staying in control.

1. Adapt the approval process to your company’s size

The business travel approval process can vary depending on the size and structure of your enterprise . Whether you’re an HR professional, an office manager , or from the finance department you will play a different role in the approval process, and also depending on how your company is set up. 

In a small company the process will generally be quite informal. In fact, it may just be the founder and a few employees who each represent a department but with no managers. In this case either the founder or the person in charge of finances might be in charge of approving trips. In a medium-sized company the office manager or HR department may set up the approval process, putting line managers in charge of approving their direct reportees trips.

The key is to adapt the approval process to your company’s size, involving as few people as possible to avoid any roadblocks. Once you’ve designated approvers, be sure that they all know and understand the travel policy. Definitely consider having pre-approval to avoid prices going up before someone has a chance to ok your trip.

2. Set up your approval process

Of course when setting up your approval process, it’s important to have a goal in mind, and to make sure to streamline the process. Think about how much you would like to spend on travel overall and designate a budget, and don’t forget to set up things like green light approval, which is like a pre-approval that makes it so travelers are pre-approved before they book.. Be sure to have a clear travel policy that makes it clear what is allowed and what isn’t. Don’t have a travel policy yet? Download now . 

Once you have your budget and travel policy designated, it’s time to make some decisions:  

• Who’s in charge of booking business travel?
• What does the process of getting a trip approved look like?
• Who will be the approvers?
• Who is responsible for creating the travel budget (this will often depend on the size of your company)?
• What’s the time frame for approving trips (ideally you would set up green-light approval so that people are pre-approved for their trips and they don’t have to risk missing the approval time limit)?
• Who is allowed to travel business class and who isn’t?
• What hotel star ratings are allowed?
• Will you allow or prevent refundable or non-refundable reservations?
• Will you allow employees to pay extra to select seats?
• What will your price cap be?

Finished answering all these questions? Then it’s time to move onto the next step.

3. Educate about the protocol

Whether you have a 3 person company or a 300 person company, protocols are clear to ensure that everything is clearly laid out and that there is nothing that slips through the cracks. It’s important that each person knows their role in the approval process, and that if an employee needs to ask for approval, how it works. If you have a travel management platform like GetGoing then you can automate the whole process, which brings us to the next step. 

4. Set up approval process in your travel management platform

Small and medium enterprises, or any sized company for that matter, will benefit from having a clear business travel process and this is where a travel management platform comes into play. Being organized when it comes to business travel is about having a clear procedure and managing everything in one place. 

Once you’ve decided who the stakeholders are, have created a travel policy, educated your staff about the protocol, it’s time to set up your approval process in the travel management platform. In GetGoing this can be configured easily by anyone with admin access to the platform. It’s a question of minutes before you’ll be able to get going with your business travel plans.

How GetGoing can help with the trip approval process

With GetGoing the approval process is a piece of cake. Simply set the business rules by automating your travel policy so that all bookings follow your travel policy. You can set up approvers in the backend and configure the green light approval, which allows travelers to ask for trip approval prior to booking so you don’t have to risk change of fares while waiting for approval. This is especially helpful in small companies where multitasking is a must. After all, you don’t want to be caught with your employee’s ticket price going up or by having passed the 12 hour limit for approval, as in both cases the trip will be canceled. 

Plus, with GetGoing you can automate trip approval flows, making the whole process easier. Navigate to the policy page within the app and you can set up this feature so that travel admins have the last say in keeping travelers safe and at the same time ensuring that the travel policy is upheld. 

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Published In: Forms

Travel Request Forms and Templates

Travel request forms are forms filled by an employee who is bound to travel for business purposes. The purpose of a travel request letter is for a company to carter for the expenses during the entire travel period. This depends on the agreement of the employee and his or her employer. This article discusses the uses, purpose, and contents of a travel request form. Templates are also provided.

What is Travel Request Form?

This document incorporates all the details needed by a traveler to forward for approval from the management before commencing travel. The contents of a travel request form include destinations, travel dates, mode of transport, meals, accommodation, among others. The travel request form also shows a traveling place as well as the expenses incurred. This document can fulfill several purposes: securing permissions for travel or seeking approval from companies on behalf of the traveling employees.

Importance of Using Travel Request Forms

Just like any other business document, a travel request form carries significant importance.

These documents ensure that travels within the company are:

• Feasible: Sometimes, the resources and funds within a company can be limited. This makes it essential to ensure that every available resource is put into good use. By doing so, the company’s finances will be stabilized.
• Authorized: It is very important for travel requests to go through proper departments and channels before it gets authorized in a business.
• Organized: These forms can also be kept and stored for future reference. Given that there is a form for every purpose, you need to ensure that these forms are organized to prevent confusion and clutter. It also allows easier access to documents when one needs them for reference.

Steps to Write a Travel Request Form

In order to write a travel request form efficiently, you simply need to follow two steps in a detailed manner.

These two steps are as follows:

Provide the details of the traveler

In the travel request form, including details of the traveler. This information includes the full names, contact information, designation employee id, email id, and fax number. Besides, don’t forget to mention why you are going on the trip. This should be indicated in the transfer request form.

Provide information regarding the trip

You must provide information relating to the trip. This includes the date and time of departure as well as the arrival time. Other things to write include the travel schedule, mode of transport, accommodation, travel itinerary, and meals.

Information to be Included in a Travel Request Form

For your travel request form to be composed in the most efficient manner, you must include the following information in it:

Personal information

This is the information belonging to the traveling employee. The Information needed to be filled in this document includes the individual’s name, contact information, job position, and respective department.

Travel request information

This is the information regarding the actual trip. It includes the date of travel, the purpose of travel, the duration of travel, destination, and estimated cost of travel. It is important to ensure that all these details are indicated in the letter. 

Indicate travel expenses and information regarding sponsorship

A travel request form should indicate the trip’s estimated expenses, including costs of meals and accommodation, transportation expenses, travel expenses, and car rentals, among others. If the trip is being sponsored, remember to include the contact information and details of the sponsors.

Mention the names of all the authorized persons

You cannot forward a travel request form unless a higher authority approves it. This is why you should mention all the names of authorized individuals, leaving a space for their signatures.

Ensure you incorporate all terms and conditions

To ensure that everything is working properly and meets all the transparency standards, incorporate all the terms and conditions. They should be clearly described in your form to avoid any inconveniences.

Put Accurate Information in a Travel Request Form

You must provide accurate information in your travel request form.

Here are some of the reasons why it is essential to do so:

Accurate information is crucial in a travel request form. In a company, you might not be the only individual asking for a travel request. To avoid mix up, you should indicate the details in your form. Make sure that the name is written, your destination, and other crucial details.

Furthermore, accurate information increases trustworthiness. When it comes to finances, don’t indicate inaccurate figures. Some people get tempted to indicate higher figures so that they can pocket the extra cash. For example, don’t allocate an inaccurate accommodation fee so that you can pocket the extra money. You should always provide honest and accurate information in your travel request form.

Download Templates

You can download our free travel request form templates. These templates can also be customized to fit your preferences.

Companies require receipts for employee expenses for two reasons: to confirm that employees are spending money how and when they claim and to back up deductions listed on the business’s tax return.

The comment section of a travel request form should include remarks on the importance of the trip. If you are applying, back your application up by giving reasons why the trip is important.

It depends on the policies of the company. In some companies, once the funds have been availed, it is impossible to cancel the request. In most companies, however, you can cancel the request even after it has been approved.

Travel request forms play an important role in organizations. For the best outcome, you can use our prepared available templates. They are easy to use and can be customized.

Related Documents

• Concur Request: Creating and Submitting Travel Pre-Approval Requests

Apr 15, 2024 • Knowledge

Note : All domestic and international travel must be approved prior to booking a trip. All international travel is  required  to be approved using the Concur Request process and the user will need to enter the approved Request ID to finalize an international reservation. It is recommended that domestic travel be approved using Concur Request, however, the department can elect to use an internal travel pre-approval process. Please defer to the department to determine what domestic pre-approval process is appropriate. 

Requesting Travel as others

Create a New Request  

Request Header

Attachments  

Use the radio buttons to select whether your trip is  Round Trip, One Way,  or  Multi Segment . If there is a layover or plane change at any part of your flight, select  Multi Segment .

List the air segments of your trip so they match your preliminary trip itinerary.

If traveling by a mode of transportation other than flight, still enter the details under the  Air Travel  section and provide the transportation mode in the comments.

Click  Save  once all required information is entered:

Navigating between Expected Expenses and Segments

Approval Flow Review

You’ll receive an email notification that includes important information for international trips, such as medical and evacuation insurance. It is at this time that your trip can be booked through Concur or CBT.

If you’re booking an international trip in Concur, you’ll need to enter the approved Request ID as part of the required information. 

If you’re booking an international trip through CBT, your agent will be able to work with you when they receive the automated email.

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Feb 17, 2023

Ask for approval by email – with 7 samples and a template

We've made it easier to get a 'yes' with our tips and 7 email approval samples suitable for professional use.

Lawrie Jones

Table of contents

Approval emails have a clear purpose: to get a rubber stamp from your boss or sign-off from a key stakeholder.

An approval email provides evidence and an audit trail that your boss (or other person involved) has agreed upon all your decisions.

Writing an email to your boss requesting approval is a basic business skill, but we can show you how to do it better!

We've made it easier to get a yes with our approval request article packed full of expert advice. We explain the main parts of a persuasive message and provide 7 email approval samples suitable for professional use.

How to write an approval request email

Before we get into how to write approval requests, let's define what they are.

An approval request email is a formal message to gain their agreement on a course of action, activity, or decision you have made.

You may have to ask for approval before acting– such as spending company money or agreeing on a contract. In other cases, your approval request may be required, such as submitting an expenses claim, for example.

Approval emails are formal requests for confirmation, so they should be simple and clear to read, understand, and reply to.

They can (and should!) be saved somewhere. Why? Because you may need to refer to them in the future. Keeping your approval emails can avoid embarrassing questions about an expense claim, leave request, contract, or decision.

The best approval emails have a single purpose and should be simple to understand and action.

Approval request email format

The approval email format is standard . If you understand the basics of effective email writing, you'll already know the three core parts:

• Superb subject line
• Compelling body copy
• Straightforward sign-off

Let's look through each of these in more detail to define best business practices.

1. Approval email subject line

Your subject line has to be attention-grabbing, but it must also be concise. (And it must be relevant to the request!) The simplest approach is to be straight up with what you're asking:

• Approval request: Expenses claim (date)
• Can you approve my (details)
• I need your approval for (details)
• Please approve (details)
• Leave request – approval needed
• Contracts are ready – can you approve?

There's no need to get creative here; just stick to the basics. If your request is urgent, it's worth adding an approval date:

• Urgent approval needed for (details)
• Approval needed by (date)
• Please approve by (date)

These may seem less friendly than other emails, but don't worry too much if you're being pushed for a decision.

2. Asking for approval email body

Every email – including approval requests – begins with a basic introduction. Then, you can provide a brief refresh of information if needed. Finally, hit the person up with a clear request.

• I'm contacting you to request approval for my leave request. I wanted to take off (insert dates). Is this OK?
• I have attached a copy of my recent expense claim. Can you review it and approve it, please?
• We've made huge progress on the contract with (customer), and we're ready to sign. Before I send it to them, I wanted to share it with you for your approval.

This is a great start, and in some cases, it may be enough. In other cases, you may need additional details and supporting information, such as deadlines. You can use bullet points to break up emails and make requests easier to understand.

• I wanted to explain some of the expenses in the claim.
• To help you understand some of the changes in this contract, I've listed them below in bullet points:
• (Drop in the details here)

You can also provide supporting information to help people

• I have checked the office calendar and see there's adequate coverage during my proposed leave dates.

3. How to end an email asking for approval

You'll want to focus on using polite language in your professional emails, but don't shy away from a call-to-action (CTA).

• Can you confirm that you have received my email and approved my request?

Next, express gratitude and set out the next steps.

• I appreciate your consideration of this request. Once I've received your approval, I'll share it with (person's name).
• I know you're busy, but it would be great if you could sign off my leave request by (insert date).

Don't forget to add your preferred contact details, a sign-off (kind regards, many thanks, etc.), and your signature.

7 approval request email examples

It's essential you understand how to create approval emails, but using real-life scenarios is an effective way to demonstrate these principles in practice. Here, we share 7 examples of common approval requests.

You'll see how each is tailored to specific situations and captures the professional tone of voice we've talked about previously.

1. Formal request for approval email sample

Formal email requests embody everything we've been talking about. It's written in formal language and a professional tone appropriate for business situations. OK, so it's not the most exciting email – but it's laser-focused on getting a response!

• State it simply with bullet points

2. Follow-up email for approval sample

If your initial message is ignored, then send an approval follow-up email . These act as a polite reminder of the previous message and include a clear request for a response.

Inaction is an action, so detail the following steps if you receive no response.

3. Seeking approval from boss email sample

When writing to your boss in business, you'll need to nail the professional tone. That means pushing for the answer you need but not upsetting or offending someone.

The key is to provide a clear request for your boss. They're going to be busy, so while it's essential to justify the request, the most effective approval emails are as short as possible.

4. Approval needed reminder email sample

Sometimes you may need to provide a prompt for a reply. A gentle reminder can still contain a clear request for a response. You're emailing for a reason, so explain the urgency of the matter.

5. Request for approval of expenses email sample

Expense claims will need a manager's approval, so be sure to save this sample. This clear and concise request contains details of expenses alongside supporting documentation. This expense approval request email has everything you need to get paid!

• It's important to highlight and explain significant expenses or missing receipts or documents

6. Sample email for overtime approval

If you're working outside the 9-5 – or, more accurately, your contracted hours – you should be due overtime! You must provide details of the overtime request, including hours and dates worked, alongside a total. Always include an explicit request for approval.

If your overtime hasn't been pre-approved, add a justification for the request (such as an urgent project or customer request).

7. Leave approval request email sample

Holiday request (or leave request) emails or messages must be sent to your manager before booking a trip, holiday, or other activity. Always include details of the days (or weeks) you need off. If your absence could impact the team, mention potential backup if needed.

Approaching your boss with a plan is going to get the best results! We hope you're going somewhere nice...

Approval request email template

If none of the previous request email samples is suitable, this customizable template is for you. It's super-formal, with simple and professional language, which makes it appropriate for various scenarios.

Work through the template from top to bottom, filling in the gaps and deleting unsuitable or irrelevant sections. By the time you reach the end, you'll have a professional approval request that’s right for every purpose.

• Insert details if required

Asking for approval using Flowrite

Requests for approval can largely be automated with Flowrite . Here's what we mean:

Flowrite is your personal email writing assistant, that uses AI to speed up your messages.

Final words of approval

Approval request emails aren't fun to write. But they have a critical professional function.

Getting approval gives you peace of mind and protection that the decisions you've made (or requests you've made) have been agreed upon. So you can sit back, book your leave, or wait for your expense claims to hit your bank account!

Don't try to be overly friendly or informal. It is crucial to get straight to the point, say it confidently, and be clear. It’s the best way to get the quickest response.

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Manage Business Trip Approval Process Like A Pro!

Home » Corporate Travel » Manage Business Trip Approval Process Like A Pro!

Since the businesses have started to expand exponentially, corporate trips have become a common sight. Every year millions of employees travel worldwide to achieve growth and expansion. They travel to foreign lands and participate in client meetings, trade events, seminars, training programs, and acquisition deals, etc. With such a humongous number of trips, it becomes essential to keep track of each trip and manage costs. Efficiently managing the business trip approval process is fundamental to effective corporate travel management. Business trip approval provides the necessary gatekeeping that helps in determining the necessity of a trip. The process helps in rifting a barrier if the trip is not as per the travel policy and flagging the itinerary for reconsideration.

What is business trip approval?

Business trip approval is a set of formal steps that are required to authorize an employee to carry out business travel. It involves outlining the purpose of the trip, duration of the trip, estimated booking and trip expenses, KPIs to decide the outcome, and any other information necessary for the trip approval. The process can vary as per the requirement of the organization and the same should be communicated to multiple stakeholders. The purpose of the process is to safeguard over budgeting and reduction This process can vary from one organization to another, often involving multiple stakeholders and distinct steps. Its purpose is to act as the final approval, ensuring that travel is well-planned and justifiable.

Suggested Read: Corporate Travel Guide To Manage Trips Like A Pro!

Why is business trip approval important?

The importance of business trips can’t be stressed more. However, it is also crucial to maintain a robust business trip approval process to filter any out-of-policy or approved requests. It empowers organizations to prioritize trips based on necessity, strategic importance, or client demands. It facilitates effective tracking along with budget management while business trips are frequent within an organization. Therefore, business trip approval is essential for cost control, risk mitigation, and aligning travel with the company’s strategic objectives.

1. Defining the Process

While planning for the business trip approval is the first step, defining the process entails clear guidelines and protocols. It is necessary to define transparent procedures to remove any kind of discrepancies and ambiguities. The process should clearly state the flow of the process. The flow should outline the steps for request submission and how permission will be granted to the employees from the travel managers and higher authorities. A well-structured approval process reduces ambiguity, accelerates decision-making, and ensures that travel aligns with the company’s objectives.

2. Checking with the Travel Policy

An essential facet of the approval process is ensuring that the proposed trip is in line with the organization’s travel policy. Travel policy is necessary to set the perimeter of the trip along with maintaining several parameters such as budget, safety, and strategic direction of the company. Travel managers and authorities should ensure that the trip is in total compliance with the travel policy as per the different bands of the employees. A thorough review of the travel policy provides a framework for making informed decisions about travel approvals.

3. Communicate the Process

It is essential that effective communication is maintained and the process is being communicated to the stakeholders with total transparency. Travel admins should be able to solve any and every query of the employee and the authorities granting the trip. Crucial instructions should be provided to the employees with comprehensive training that will further smoothen the overall process. When employees understand the process and its requirements, it increases efficiency and reduces potential errors, resulting in a more streamlined approval process.

4. Providing Business Trip Approval Email Sample

Furnishing the employees with a correct template for requesting approval is vital for the execution and reporting of the trip. The template will set the outline for the necessary information such as the purpose of the trip, dates of the travel, estimated expenses, and ways to expedite the trip. It simplifies the process for both employees and approvers, enhancing the overall efficiency of business trip approvals. These emails will help track the compliance of the trip and determining the ROI post-trip. Additionally, by analyzing such reports and documents, team managers can determine the effectiveness of the travel and ways to improve the outcome.

5. Automating Business Travel Approval

Automating the trip for approvals and objective analysis can reduce the error percentage. It will give a significant boost to the team by removing several manual processes. Implementing specialized software empowers organizations to monitor requests, direct them to the appropriate stakeholders, and provide real-time updates. Automation accelerates decision-making capabilities and frees the employees to focus on the trip more than the expenses and documentation. Furthermore, it establishes a digital audit trail that enhances accountability and oversight, providing transparency and traceability throughout the approval workflow.

Suggested Read: Automation In Travel Management For Human Resources Team

How to create the ideal travel request approval workflow?

• Identify the needs of your orgnaziation and accordingly build the travel policy
• While creating travel policy clearly define the rules and regulation along with the exceptions
• Create a standard travel request form
• Use an online travel request system to automate and track requests
• Automate the cost review system of the request
• Include a sound approval flow from supervisor to higher level management
• Train your employees to use the system effectively

Simplify the travel request approval workflow with Paxes

Paxes is an online travel management platform for corporates all around the world. Beside booking and managing expense, Paxes provides advanced tools for streamlining travel approval process. Paxes is capable of handling multiple travel request with numerous approval hierarchy. The request can only be generated if the booking is made as per the travel policy. Managers can easily approve or decline the request with just one click. They can also add a valid reason to decline any request.

Managing business trip approval is important for cost control, compliance, and alignment with company objectives. By clearly defining the process, ensuring adherence to the travel policy, effectively communicating the requirements to employees, providing approval request templates, and automating the workflow, organizations can optimize their business travel approval process. This optimization results in superior resource management, enhanced cost control, and more efficient business travel operations, ultimately contributing to the organization’s overall performance.

Business Trip Approval FAQs

What is a business trip approval process.

The business trip approval process is a set of formal steps required to authorize an employee to undertake a business trip.

Business trip approval is important to prioritize trips based on necessity, strategic importance, and client demands.

How should the business trip approval process be communicated to stakeholders?

Travel administrators should be able to address employee and authority queries with transparency. They should communicate the process through emails and putting the approval process in company’

Are there specific criteria for business trip approval?

Yes, the travel admins can define the criteria as per the requirement of the organization such as budget, country restrictions, etc. and include them in the travel policy.

How far in advance should I submit a business trip request?

Employees are suggested to submit the request well in advance generally a few weeks or months before the travel date.

Who approves business trip requests?

Business trips requests should go through a multiple approval points such as managers, travel admins, and CEO (if required). Additionally, finance and accounts department can also be cued in for better expense management.

Can I make changes to my approved business trip itinerary?

Yes, changes to an approved itinerary are possible but usually require notification and re-approval.

How will I be notified if my business trip request is approved or denied?

Most of the approval softwares send email and in-platform notifications. You can also be notified on official phone number via text message.

What expenses are covered during a business trip?

Expenses covered during a business trip vary but commonly include transportation (flights, rental cars), accommodation (hotel stays), meals (some or all), and miscellaneous business-related expenses.

Pratyush is a traveling enthusiast who always looks for innovations in business travel management. He has 5 years of experience writing content on corporate travel management and working closely with expert business travel facilitators.

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AI, Your Side Hustle Hero to Make Money from Home

Think AI is just for super-smart scientists? Nope! There are tons of ways you can use AI to make some serious cash from home.

Ready to turn your tech-love into a side hustle? Here are some amazing ideas:

1. The Content Creation Powerhouse

Ai, your writing buddy.

Imagine having a writing assistant that never gets tired, bored, or has writer’s block! AI tools like Jasper and Rytr help you crank out blog posts, website copy, product descriptions, and even creative stuff like poems or short stories.

You can write paid articles for websites or companies, or use AI to make your own online business shine with tons of fresh content. AI can even help you find ideas and make sure your writing is on point!

Read : 5 ChatGPT Prompts to Drive Business Growth and Innovation

Pics in a Flash

Ever wish you could draw anything you imagine? AI image generators like DALL-E and Midjourney let you do just that!

Just type in what you want to see – like “a cat flying a spaceship” or “a watercolor landscape of a hidden waterfall” – and the AI will create it.

You can sell your images on stock photo sites, use them to make your blog posts stand out, or turn them into cool digital art pieces you can sell online.

Movie Magician

AI can help you become the next editing superstar! Services can cut and paste video clips, add background music, and even turn your dialogue into subtitles for different languages.

Imagine helping YouTubers make their videos snappier, or editing short videos for businesses– it’s a skill you could even be paid for!

2. AI Expert Services

The global chat champ.

If you know another language (or more!), AI translation tools become your BFFs. Instead of taking forever on translations, AI does the basic work, and you fine-tune it for accuracy and style.

Get gigs translating websites so they reach worldwide markets, translating important documents, or even adding subtitles so movies and videos can be enjoyed by everyone!

Meet Your Robot Assistant

Businesses want to offer help 24/7, but that’s impossible for humans! That’s where chatbots come in.

Platforms like Dialogflow let you “train” little AI assistants to answer common questions, take orders, or gather information from potential customers even when everyone’s asleep.

It’s like coding and customer service rolled into one cool job.

Data Detective

AI is amazing at spotting patterns way too huge for humans to see alone. You can offer services by using AI to analyze mountains of social media chatter to see what people really think about products or brands.

Investors might pay you to use AI to spot stock market trends. Businesses might want you to use AI to track their rivals and see what sneaky plans they might be hatching!

3. Affiliate Marketing with a Techy Twist

Ai reviewer: the ultimate comparison tool.

Imagine being able to gather tons of information on different products in a flash! That’s what AI lets you do. Let’s say you want to review the best robot vacuums.

AI tools can help you scrape customer reviews, compare features across different brands, and even summarize the pros and cons. You write awesome reviews, include your special affiliate links, and whenever someone clicks your link and buys, you earn cash.

It’s like being a super-helpful shopping guide and getting paid for it!

Super-Niche Websites: Your Secret Weapon

Sometimes the biggest money isn’t in the broadest topics, but the super-focused ones. Imagine a website not about pets, but all about the cutest outfits for teacup poodles! AI tools help you find these “micro-niches” – topics huge groups of people are obsessed with but might have fewer websites dedicated to them.

Once you’ve picked your niche, AI can help with everything else. It can find keywords that help people find your site, suggest tons of article ideas, and even help you write some of the content.

AI can also help you find products related to your niche to promote with affiliate links, making your awesome website into a money-making machine.

4. Build Your AI Empire

Tool time: coding for cash.

If you have some coding skills, you can build super-useful, bite-sized AI tools that people will happily pay for. Think of common problems people have: resizing a ton of images is a pain, long articles can be a drag to read, and catching every single grammar error is tough.

You could build simple tools that offer AI-powered solutions – a quick image resizer, an article summarizer, or an extra-smart grammar checker. Sell these tools on online marketplaces, and suddenly you’re not just using AI, you’re selling it!

Plugin Power: Supercharge Popular Programs

Do you know your way around popular software like Photoshop, Excel, or even game design programs? You can become a plugin superstar! Create little add-ons that use AI to do cool new things.

Maybe your plugin adds AI filters to Photoshop, or teaches Excel to predict future patterns based on the data. Find platforms that allow developers to sell plugins for their software, and your creations could make you money while helping others work smarter.

AI Business Sensei: The Ultimate Consultant

If you get really good with AI, and understand how businesses work, you could make serious money as a consultant. Companies often have no idea how to start using AI to their advantage.

You could be the expert that helps them! Teach them how AI can find them new customers, help them analyze huge amounts of data to make better decisions, or even automate some parts of their business to save them time and money.

As AI gets more important, companies will be desperate for consultants like you!

Things to Remember:

Humans still needed: the ai hype is real, but….

AI is a powerful tool, but it’s still just that – a tool. It can mess up, make stuff that’s just plain weird, or even be used for harmful things if we’re not careful. That’s where you come in!

Your job is to double-check AI’s work, make sure it sounds natural and makes sense, add your own creative spark, and be the one to make sure the AI is doing good, not harm.

Find Your Thing: Be the Specialist

Trying to be an expert in everything AI-related is a recipe for a headache. Instead, become known as THE person for something specific.

Are you the best AI product reviewer for tech gadgets? The go-to person for building customer service chatbots? The genius who finds hidden stock market patterns using AI?

Specializing makes it easier for clients to find you and know exactly what you can do for them.

Never Stop Learning: The AI Train Keeps Rolling

AI technology changes at lightning speed! New tools, techniques, and updates are happening all the time. To stay ahead of the game, you’ve got to be curious and willing to learn.

Subscribe to tech newsletters, mess around with new AI programs as they come out, and take online courses. The more you know about cutting-edge AI, the more valuable your skills become!

Simplify Travel Request Approval For Your Employees

Travel request approval is imperative for every business as facilitating your employees to travel easily will enable them to carry out their work in an efficient manner.

When the company’s process requires lots of traveling, it is essential that you simplify the workflow and allow your employees to easily submit reimbursement requests. For team leaders and their subordinates traveling for business purposes, they may have to submit a request to the manager every time.

A streamlined workflow approval will allow them to spend less time on gaining approvals and the program should also be capable of automatically notifying managers of requests that need their immediate attention.

Elements Required in a Travel Request

With Cflow , it is easier than ever to set a travel request approval in motion and it requires some of the basic information to be processed.

The person creating the travel request should provide,

• Purpose of the travel
• The place they are going to and the duration of the stay
• The cost involved in the trip
• Any team members joining them which should be specified as it increases cost and further detail can be provided in the comments

The Workflow Process

Once a travel request is made with all the information specified, it will be directed to the Finance and HR team for further verification. The final step is to get it approved by the manager and all conditions have to be met for it to pass the final stage.

Easy Steps to Create Your Travel Workflow Using Cflow

Implementing a travel request workflow helps set a standard procedure for handling employee travel requests. Once the travel expense is incurred, the employee creates a form that details out business expenses during the entire trip. In most companies, domestic and international travel needs to be approved prior to booking a trip. You can either choose a workflow software or internal travel pre-approval process to handle travel request approval. Using a workflow automation software for approving travel requests speeds up the process considerably, and ensures timely review and approval of requests. 

Approvals for travel requests can be sought through emails or via an automated travel request workflow. Travel requests sent via email provide complete details on purpose of travel, category of expense, duration of travel, along with supporting documents as attachments. Approval process carried out on email is prone to delays and overlooks. 

Implementing an approval process workflow for temporary or permanent processes within your business, and help establish standards and procedures that are easy to follow. Such a workflow can be useful for both managers and employees. Managers can use automated workflows to organize a team’s request in one central location for easy tracking and timely approval. For employees, it becomes easy to track the status of their request when they are logged into an automated approval system. 

An automated approval system comprises multiple workflows that work in tandem. While some workflows may use a shortcut to submit a request for approval, others may utilize the reaction-added trigger to ask follow up questions, approve/deny the request, or route it to a private channel for further discussion. An automated travel request workflow in Cflow enables you to – 

• Browse all pending requests from employees
• View all details of the travel request, including cost categories and attachments
• Review and approve travel requests
• Reject or re-route travel requests to employees for revision
• View the history of employee travel requests

Cflow simplifies travel request management with the visual form builder that is used to create travel request workflows by simply moving visual workflow elements. 

Creating Workflows Using Templates

• You can create and publish a form in Cflow within a few minutes by choosing from the templates available in the library. 
• The template can be downloaded and form fields can be modified according to the travel request being submitted. 
• The form fields in the template are usually used to gather all relevant information on the travel. Common fields to be included are “Travel Request ID” , Date of Submission, Travel request details like date and destination of travel, and relevant description. 
• The user must upload relevant documents like ticket, cab bookings, stay details, etc. So, the template must have provision for the same.
• Including a comments section prompts the user to furnish any additional information that is not included in the form fields. 
• The reviewer has to be assigned in every workflow. 

Creating a workflow using flowcharts

Cflow also allows users to create travel request workflows from scratch with the help of flowchart-based forms. The visual form builder lets you choose the required form fields, set rules for routing the request, and also set a reviewer for each request. Steps for creating a workflow in Cflow include – 

• Create a new workflow titled “Travel Request” and ensure that it is made public, so that all employees can use it.
• Create relevant columns like travel destination, travel dates, request ID, requestor name and employee ID, itinerary, estimated costs, ticket details, and accommodation specifications. 
• Once the form fields are fixed, next comes the reviewer/approver details. Who should be reviewing the travel request must be clearly mentioned in the workflow. 
• Workflows that have multiple review/approval levels must be created with the name of the approver at each level, and the route of the request until final approval must be clearly defined. 
• Travel requests usually involve inter-department approvals. The department in which the employee works, Finance, and HR are usually in the loop for approval of travel requests. 
• What happens to the request when rejected, or the path for re-routing to employee for additional information, etc must be clearly defined while creating the travel request workflow.

End-to-end workflow automation

Build fully-customizable, no code process workflows in a jiffy., advantages of using cflow for travel request approval.

• Employees don’t have to spend time visiting multiple departments in a company
• Can avoid using paper-based requests which are prone to errors and could go missing
• HR and Finance team will get all details at once to plan to cost, on work leave ahead
• Managers can approve the final request in one easy step
• Timely notifications keep everyone notified of the upcoming trip
• It helps avoid last-minute plans which lead to increased travel costs and also complies with the company’s travel policies

Save Time, Make Travel Request Approval Quick & Easy

Cflow   workflow software  can help simplify travel request approval in quick and easy steps. The visual builder allows a person without coding knowledge to create workflows and share them with your employees.

Designed to make tasks easy, introducing Cflow in your organization can help employees plan their trips ahead, save cost on travel expenses, comply with company policies, and create an amicable environment for your employees to get approvals from their team leaders or managers.

Try Cflow now and bring about a change in your travel request approval process.

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  Quick Demo

Travel Approval

Our travel approval request template is designed to streamline and simplify the way your employees book and manage business trips.

100% customizable

Works on all devices

Table of contents

Business travel is expensive. However, some costs are avoidable. Implementing a robust travel approval process improves oversight of your bookings while reducing internal admin costs.

Internal admin and communications bring hidden costs. These include the time your team spends on calls and meetings, as well as rising costs associated with delayed bookings. Our template is built to improve efficiency when managing travel.

What is a travel approval tool?

Travel approval tools are used to digitize your request and booking processes. This means giving your employees a simple platform to request travel approval. Responsible teams can then review, manage, and approve these requests, within the same platform.

The goal here is to create a repeatable process for all travel requests. This ensures that the right information is gathered, while also streamlining internal workflows.

Additionally, travel approval apps allow you to centralize and rationalize data models relating to company travel. Analyze trends in travel spending, to improve resource allocation, or identify travelers who are overspending.

Why do businesses digitize travel approval requests?

Travel approval workflows can be complex. Often, different stakeholders manage trip approval requests, with very little coordination. This can lead to very different outcomes, across different departments, as well as poor oversight over traveler’s bookings.

Beyond this, setting up a call or meeting every time an employee needs to travel is costly and time-consuming.

Creating a travel approval system is the most effective way to overcome these challenges.

What should travel approval tools contain?

Basic travel approval software includes two key components.

• A travel request form interface for making approval requests.
• A back-end database for managing and approving requests.

The most effective tools feature a simple and intuitive interface for viewing, managing, and responding to new requests. Travel request platforms should also integrate with your existing software stack, for maximum efficiency.

For example, you might want to integrate with expense approval workflow tools or automation software.

Our travel approval request template

Our template is built for fast deployment and maximum efficiency. In minutes, you can build totally custom approval workflow software.

Use our template for:

• Support for external databases.
• Complete customization.
• Automated processes.
• Intuitive UI.
• Tiered permissions.
• Third-party integrations.
• Responsive design.
• Optional self-hosting.
• Design customization.
• Streamlined workflows.

Budibase makes it easy to build deployable business tools. Our template is the smart way to digitize travel approval request workflows.

Simplify travel requests & approval workflows

We’ve built our template around a simple travel request and approval process. Employees can use an intuitive form interface to make new requests. This ensures that your team has the exact right data to assess each trip request.

New requests are automatically given the submitted status. Responsible teams can approve or decline requests, based on the information submitted, as well as leaving comments.

Individual employees can view and edit any of their own requests from a simple listings page. Users with higher access levels can search and view all travel requests.

Manage communications

Digital approval workflows greatly improve internal communications. On the one hand, our template eliminates the need for many calls and meetings. Employees can request business trips and gain approval, without ever needing to communicate manually.

This greatly reduces your operational costs.

For times when more information is needed, Budibase supports a range of communications processes. Add your SMTP credentials to send automated emails or use the mailto command to contact employees and query their requests.

Automate approval processes

Budibase is built for process automation. Use any action in our template to trigger a wide variety of built-in automations. We’ve even provided a built-in JavaScript editor, to add advanced custom functionality.

Use our range of third-party app integrations to trigger automations in external tools.

With Budibase’s automation tools, it’s easy and cost-effective to build powerful approval workflow software.

Check out our free vacation request form template .

Intuitive request and approval UIs

We’ve designed our template for maximum usability. With separate screens for request submission, listings, and management, our template is entirely intuitive.

Our request form uses clear and simple language to ensure that users provide the right data. We’ve also configured key data fields to autocomplete, based on the current user’s information, speeding up the request process.

Different categories of users can access different features and data. Individual users are limited to screens relating to their respective requests, decluttering the app’s overall interface.

Customize access control

It’s crucial that users can access the exact data they need. Our template uses two permission tiers, for basic and power users. This ensures that individual employees can request and manage their own trips.

Power users can then access, view, and manage all travel approval requests.

With Budibase, you have complete control to customize your permission tiers. Add, edit, or remove access levels, to create an approval tool that perfectly suits your organizational structure.

Responsive design

The effectiveness of your approval request tool depends on its adoption. Our template is fully accessible and mobile-responsive. All design elements automatically resize and scale to fit perfectly on different devices.

Empower your teams to quickly request and approve business trips, on the go.

Mobile responsiveness is crucial for app adoption. Deploy internally or as a web app, and make sure that your employees can use your app whenever and wherever they need to.

Searchability and filtering

Our travel approval request template features powerful search and filtering tools. Each of our request listing screens features our dynamic filtering component. Users can filter their requests by key data fields, including destination, cost, or category.

Search with simple equals and contains expressions, or use more complex numerical and boolean filtering.

With our smart filters, it’s quick and easy to find the exact information you need at any given moment.

Why build a travel approval request tool with Budibase?

At Budibase, we’re revolutionizing the way businesses build approval workflow software. With our low-code app builder, you can create highly functional, deployable apps in minutes.

Budibase boasts:

• Open-source design.
• Scalability.
• Fast deployment.
• Self-hosting.
• Mobile-friendly design.
• Automation.
• Integrations.
• Low-code app development.
• External data support.
• Infinite customization.
• JavaScript editor.
• Auto-Generated app screens.

Our open-source, low-code platform

Budibase is the smart way to build open-source approval workflow tools. Our intuitive low-code platform makes it easy to build deployable business tools, with minimal development time.

Customize our template to your heart’s content, and at the end, you’ll even own the finished product. We also offer free SSO across all of your Budibase tools.

Complete customization

With Budibase, you have complete scope to customize your tools. Alter any element of our template’s design, functionality, branding, or UI in a matter of minutes. Add, edit, or remove processes to fully match your travel approval policies.

You can also totally customize your approval software’s data fields and forms. Alter your request form interface to gather the exact data that you need to make informed approval decisions.

Third-party integrations

Budibase offers broad support for external app integrations . Our apps integrate seamlessly with your existing software stack. Connect our template to a variety of third-party apps, using Zapier, Webhooks, and more.

Trigger automations in travel management, communications, invoicing, and other internal platforms for maximum functionality.

Optional self-hosting

Deploy your travel approval request platform however you choose. With Budibase, it’s easy to create web apps and internal tools alike. Choose from self-hosting or our proprietary cloud-based platform.

Self-host your Budibase tools using Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Compose, Digital Ocean, and more.

External database support

Our template connects seamlessly to a range of existing datasets. With Budibase, you can query, manipulate, and update existing databases from within our tools. Use our template as a modern interface for external databases.

Connect to external data sources, using Kubernetes, Airtable, MongoDB, CouchDB, MySQL, MSSQL, Postgresql, and more.

Conditionality

The Budibase offers powerful conditionality features. Hide, display, or update different components, using behavior, user data, and more. Display different CTAs based on a requests’ status, or create bespoke workflows for different request categories.

Conditionality also allows you to create truly optimized mobile experiences. Use truncated or multi-step forms for mobile users, simplifying workflows.

Total security

Budibase offers unparalleled security. With our open-source, low-code platform, you’re in complete control over how you secure your apps. Choose self-hosting, or use custom access control to manage who can access your data.

We also offer additional security tools, including free SSO, OpenID, and OAuth.

Future-proof approval tools

Our approval management templates are designed to grow and evolve with your business. With Budibase, you can easily add new users, functions, and app screens, with minimal downtime.

Simply use our low-code platform to tweak and alter your tools, as the need arises.

Start using our travel request approval template

Budibase is the fast and cost-effective way to digitize approval workflows. Our innovative low-code platform cuts development times to minutes.

To start using our travel approval template, simply click below. We also offer premium support options and SLAs for enterprise users. Check out our pricing page for more information.

Deployment options

Join 100,000 teams building apps and making work flow..

Manage travel requests

You can track travel requests and expenses for your business easily with our templates.

Use these Travel request and Travel expense templates to gather the information you need to process travel requests or expenses.

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Official Travel Authorization

• Title: Official Travel Authorization
• Form #: GSA87
• Current Revision Date: 01/2020
• Authority or Regulation:

PDF versions of forms use Adobe Reader ™ . Download Adobe Reader ™

PER DIEM LOOK-UP

1 choose a location.

Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later.

No results could be found for the location you've entered.

Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories and Possessions are set by the Department of Defense .

Rates for foreign countries are set by the State Department .

2 Choose a date

Rates are available between 10/1/2021 and 09/30/2024.

The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

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