Are employees padding T&E? You can count on it, unless you have this control in place:

a formal written T&E policy.

Sounds like a no-brainer, but in a recent report by Aberdeen Group, only 54% of companies had such a policy. And 12% said they weren’t even thinking about putting one in place.

Bottom line: Even well-intentioned employees are likely to go over spending guidelines or misinterpret the rules if there isn’t a black-and-white version of the policy they can refer to. And not putting T&E guidelines in writing only encourages those employees who are looking to pad expenses and “treat” themselves when they’re on the road.

The good news: Putting together a formal policy doesn’t have to be a major time drain. In fact, the shorter it is, the better. Your goal is to quickly and clearly lay out a few key points. Among the most important:

1. Any spending limits your company has in place for hotels, airfares, meals, etc. (This can be as specific as: “Daily meals shouldn’t exceed $50;” or it can be general guidelines: Don’t fly first class, don’t get room service, etc.)
2. Whether travel needs to be approved in advance, and if so, by whom.
3. Procedures — and deadlines — for submitting receipts and expense reports. It’s also a good idea to point out who needs to approve expense reports before they go to A/P, as well as how often you cut reimbursement checks.

Share your ideas for a clear-cut, effective T&E policy manual in the comments.

Tags: A/P, Cutting costs, Employee communication, Expense reports, T&E