Business Travel Request Process

Purpose & Submission

Goal: Control and document all business travel while maintaining tight approvals, clear money flows, and complete audit trails.

                             Employee Action:
                            Submit travel request via portal with project selection, dates, destination/area, type (local/international), and optional advance with currency mode.
                        

Direct Manager From org structure

Project Manager From selected project

Start Event Portal Submission

Parallel Approvals SIMULTANEOUS

Two approval lanes open at once for efficiency and comprehensive oversight.

Direct Manager

People oversight

Project Manager

Budget oversight

Both must approve to proceed

If either rejects: Process ends immediately with mandatory rejection reason captured in audit trail. Employee may submit new/edited request.

Time-Saving Design Dual Oversight

Sequential Approval Chain ORDERED

After both DM and PM approve, request enters configured sequential chain with strict ordering.

 Approval Hierarchy:
                                        1
                                    
Senior HR

                                        2
                                    
HR Manager

                                        3
                                    
Chief Accountant

                                        4
                                    
Finance Director

Any rejection = Request Rejected | All approvals = Final Approval

Outcome: Upon final approval, request becomes locked with no edits permitted on original record.

No Skip Logic Audit Trail Chatter Log

HR Travel Arrangements

After final approval, HR executes travel logistics on the same request record.

                             Arrangement Lines Include:
                             Ticket (vendor, dates, amounts, flight numbers)
 Hotel (vendor, dates, amounts, hotel nights)
 Airport Transfer (vendor, dates, amounts)
 Other expenses

                        

Company Paid Bill to vendor

Employee/Manager Bill to person as vendor

Create Bill Function: Each arrangement line can generate a bill with analytic account from project for cost tracking. Bill status (Draft/Posted/Paid) mirrors back to arrangement line.

Logistics Hub Bill Generation Vendor Management

Per Diem Engine AUTOMATIC

System automatically computes per diem based on employee travel level, trip duration, and currency mode.

                             Calculation Parameters:
                            Travel Level: Mapped in HR records
Duration: Full days including weekends
Currency Mode: AED or USD

                        

Long Trip Reduction 30-60 days: ×0.75

Extended Trip >60 days: ×0.65

Audit Trail: System stores per-diem lines with each day's base amount, applied rate, currency, and final amount for review and settlement.

USD mode requires manual USD rate field for proper currency conversion into company currency.

Rules Matrix Cost Control Currency Flexible

Travel Advance & Settlement

Optional advance issuance with automated settlement process for complete financial tracking.

                             Advance Options:
                            Employee bill/credit method
Account payment to "Employee Advance" account (Finance preference)

                        

Settlement Formula: (Arrangements Total + Per-Diem Total) - Travel Advance = Net Amount

When bills are paid and calculations complete, request can be marked as Settled. Settlement uses simple wizard (not broader Expenses app).

Optional Feature Auto-Netting Finance Ready

Post-Approval Modifications

When plans change after final approval, a structured modification process preserves audit integrity.

Plans changed after final approval?

                             Modification Process:
                            Original Locked: Preserves audit integrity
Create Linked Request: Employee or HR creates modification
Full Approval Cycle: Runs through DM/PM parallel + sequential chain again
Update on Approval: Final approval updates original with new details while maintaining links and history

                        

Audit Protection Change Control History Preserved

Notifications & Visibility

Comprehensive notification system and role-based visibility ensure all stakeholders stay informed.

Notification Channels In-app + Email

Key Trigger Points Submission, approvals, bills, settlement, modifications

                             Visibility Rules:
                            Employees: View only their own travel requests via portal
Project Managers: See requests tied to their projects
Managers/HR/Finance: View all requests (respecting multi-company rules)

                        

Multi-Channel Role-Based

Process Completion

HR marks request as Done when all requirements are satisfied and the travel cycle is complete.

                             Completion Checklist:
                             All approvals complete
 Arrangements recorded with bills created
 Bills eventually paid
 Per-diem computed and accounted
 Any advance settled against totals
 Record clean for reporting and audits

                        

Ready for reporting and audits

Final State Audit Ready Complete Trail

Security & Audit Features

Mandatory Reject Reasons

All rejections require documented reasons for complete transparency and accountability

Date Validations

Built-in validation ensures from ≤ to dates with gentle warnings for Time Off overlaps

Full Chatter Log

Complete communication history and linked documents provide comprehensive audit trail

Analytic Accounting

All spend automatically linked to project and cost center for accurate tracking