Here's the Travel Expense Policy Template You Need

Setting clear guidelines is important in every aspect of business—especially for employees. Managing travel and expense (T&E) is no exception.

With an average of 10% of a company's business budget devoted to employee expense and travel, this isn’t a cost area you can afford to overlook.

A formal expense policy clarifies what employees can and cannot submit for reimbursement, while giving management critical real-time visibility into budgets. Having this protocol in writing can also reduce expense report fraud, which is often unintentional but can have serious consequences.

Oversight found that 37% of business travellers had at least one exception on their expense reports, and the typical company loses at least 5% of its annual revenue to fraud.

What are the key components of a travel and expense policy?

A strong travel and expense policy is comprehensive, easy to follow, and customised to your organisation. It should clearly define rules employees can apply in real situations—before booking, during travel, and when submitting expenses.

Core components to include

• Purpose and scope: Define the goal of your policy, who it applies to (employees, contractors, etc.), and under what circumstances.
• Booking guidelines: Outline approved booking procedures, preferred vendors, and acceptable travel classes for flights and accommodations.
• Reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenses: Clearly list what expenses are covered (e.g., airfare, hotel, per diem, transportation) and what are not (e.g., personal purchases, entertainment).
• Spending limits and per diems: Set daily allowances for meals, lodging, and incidentals to promote consistency and reduce overspending.
• Documentation requirements: Specify what documentation is needed for reimbursement (e.g., itemised receipts, credit card statements).
• Approval workflow: Detail who must approve travel and expenses at each stage, and define escalation procedures for exceptions.
• Use of company cards or P-cards: Outline rules for usage and reconciliation.
• Tax and compliance: Include information relevant to tax reporting and any legal requirements based on your location or industry.
• Use of technology: Recommend tools that support travel and expense reporting, such as mobile apps or automated systems.

What are the benefits of a travel and expense policy?

A clear T&E policy helps reduce non-compliant spend, strengthen oversight, and improve the employee experience. It also supports better budgeting and faster reimbursement cycles.

Did you know that nearly 20% of T&E expenses fall outside of travel policies? Implementing clear policies can help eliminate non-compliant spend.

Key advantages for your organisation

• Cost control: Standardised spending limits reduce excess costs and improve budgeting accuracy.
• Improved compliance: Clear rules and automated enforcement reduce the risk of fraud or accidental non-compliance.
• Faster reimbursements: Better documentation and streamlined processes speed up reimbursement and improve employee satisfaction.
• Real-time visibility: Tools like SAP Concur provide insights into travel and expense data for better financial planning.
• Sustainability: Digital receipts and e-receipts reduce paper waste and support sustainability goals.
• Increased productivity: Automation simplifies submission and approval, saving time for employees and finance teams.

How do you create a travel and expense policy?

You can build an expense reimbursement policy from scratch, but a template can simplify the process. SAP Concur provides an expense policy template to help you create your own policy.

Consider the following when you start working on (or revising) your policy.

1. Ditch the jargon

Write the policy to cover the basics, and revise later as needed. Keep the language clear and practical—avoid jargon that makes rules harder to interpret.

The easier the policy is to understand, the easier it is for employees to follow.

2. Keep it fair and reasonable

Use the policy to guide behaviour, while staying flexible enough for local and international differences. For example, hotel costs may be higher in more expensive cities.

Make sure employees know when they must ask for approval before booking.

3. Invite participation

Before implementing your travel and expense policy, ask team members to participate. When employees help shape the policy, they’re more likely to understand why it exists and follow it.

That buy-in can also encourage others to adhere to the rules.

4. Make it easy to find and easy to use

A policy won’t be followed if people can’t find it. Make it visible and accessible—for example, publish it on your company intranet and inside your expense management app.

Visibility directly supports compliance.

5. Emphasise the positive and lead by example

Run training that explains the policy’s purpose and benefits. Ensure managers who approve expenses understand the rules, the importance of compliance, and why the policy exists.

That familiarity helps managers enforce the policy consistently and confidently.

6. Consider helpful software tools and leverage existing tech

Automated tools that populate charges from suppliers, card providers, and receipts can reduce admin and help teams focus on core work.

Choose a solution that works on mobile devices and supports submission and approval of photographed receipts, wherever employees are.

Where can you get a travel and expense policy template?

You don’t need to start from scratch. You can download SAP Concur’s guide, Expense Policy Template, to simplify policy creation.

Our guide has been updated for 2025 and is based on insights gained from working with more than 56,000 businesses worldwide. It includes a comprehensive travel expense policy template you can start using today.

How does SAP Concur improve T&E management?

SAP Concur streamlines every step of the travel and expense process with integrated tools that improve compliance, visibility, and employee experience.

SAP Concur solutions for travel and expense

• Concur Expense: Automatically creates expense reports by pulling data from bookings, cards, and e-receipts.
• ExpenseIt: Uses AI to capture, categorise, and itemise receipts.
• Drive: Tracks business mileage via GPS for accurate reimbursement.
• Concur Travel : Lets employees book travel and remain compliant
• Concur Request: Automates and simplifies spend requests and approvals

All these solutions are integrated into one platform, delivering real-time data, compliance monitoring, and a better experience for employees and finance teams.

Take the first step in simplifying your T&E process. Download our updated Expense Policy Template today and set your business up for smarter spending.

Frequently Asked Questions About Travel and Expense Policies

1. What is a travel and expense policy?
A travel and expense policy is a formal set of guidelines that helps employees understand what they can and cannot submit for reimbursement. It also gives management real-time visibility into budgets and helps reduce expense report fraud.

2. Why is having a travel and expense policy important?
Managing travel and expenses accounts for about 10% of a company’s business budget, so a clear policy helps control costs, improve compliance, and create consistency across your organisation.

3. What should be included in a travel and expense policy?
An effective policy includes: purpose and scope, booking guidelines, reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenses, spending limits, documentation requirements, approval workflows, company card usage, tax and compliance details, and recommended tools/technology.

4. What are the benefits of having a travel and expense policy?
A clear policy helps control costs, improve compliance, speed reimbursements, increase visibility, support sustainability goals, and boost productivity through automation.

5. How can you make your travel and expense policy more effective?
Keep it simple and fair, involve employees in creating it, make it easy to find, and lead by example. Using automated expense tools like SAP Concur also makes it easier for employees and finance teams to stay compliant.