How To Stay On Top of Business Travel Expenses

Contents

• The growing costs of business travel
• 4 common unexpected expenses of a business trip
• Business travel expense checklist
• Why tracking extra costs matters
• Roundtrip makes it simple to track every expense
• Try out a stress-free Roundtrip today

The growing costs of business travel

Business travel surpassed $1.5 trillion in 2024 and continues to gain momentum in 2025. While most organizations do account for travel budgets, the focus often remains on primary, upfront expenses. Before a trip begins, these are the standard costs that are typically determined, pre-approved, and documented:

• Airfare: Roundtrip flights booked through a company portal or approved travel platform.
• Hotel accommodations: Usually chosen based on negotiated rates or corporate preference.
• Transportation: Rental cars or rideshare credits, especially if there’s a need to get between meetings or airports. However, only planned rides are typically accounted for.
• Conference registration: Tickets for industry events, summits, or client-hosted sessions.
• Per diem or daily meal budget: A flat daily allowance or capped reimbursement for meals.

These are what show up on the initial travel request and what most finance teams expect to see when the trip wraps up. However, even the most comprehensive pre-trip budget may overlook the full range of costs required to ensure a productive travel experience. To avoid errors, tracking all expenses that arise during the trip is essential. 

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4 common unexpected expenses of a business trip

Flights and hotels are typically pre-approved and pre-booked, but many business trips include a range of smaller, incidental expenses that begin accumulating once travel is underway. These minor costs can add up quickly.

Below, we outline five common travel expenses that frequently go unaccounted for, along with practical examples to illustrate how they arise.

Team dinners or extended client meals

Some of the most productive business conversations don’t happen in the office—they happen over dinner. Whether it’s your team bonding after a long day or entertaining a potential client, these meals often turn into meaningful, deal-moving moments. 

When the bill arrives, that cost should be logged like any other travel-related expense. Without a consistent process for capturing receipts or logging expenses in real time, these meals can easily be underreported or overlooked.

Conference fees, day passes, and tech extras

Business travel often includes attending conferences or events, and that means unexpected expenses. Think last-minute registration fees, upgraded Wi-Fi plans, or coworking space day passes when the hotel internet doesn’t cut it. Even charging cables and presentation clickers can become urgent purchases. 

Regardless of how small they might seem, tracking any and all purchases and expenses ensures you’re getting a complete view of the trip’s investment. 

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Ground transport, parking, and incidentals

Transportation expenses extend beyond the initial cost of a planned ride. They may also include airport parking at the point of departure, unplanned ride shares at the destination, tolls, valet charges, and mileage reimbursement when employees use personal vehicles. These incremental costs can add up quickly, and without a structured process, they are often overlooked or incorrectly categorized as personal expenses.

Tips and gratuities

You got all the best corporate travel discounts, but you didn’t budget for the additional gratuities. From hotel housekeeping to valets, airport shuttle drivers, and room service, tipping is a part of professional travel etiquette. These small but frequent gestures of appreciation are easy to overlook when tallying up expenses, but they add up fast over a multi-day trip.

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Business travel expense checklist

To help finance teams, travel managers, and travelers stay on top of every cost, here’s a handy checklist to keep travel expenses organized from start to finish:

Before the trip

• Pre-approved airfare
• Hotel reservations
• Conference or event registration fees
• Any planned ride/transportation (trains, taxi rides to conferences, etc)
• Airport parking or transit to the airport
• Visa or travel document costs

During the trip

• Rideshare or taxi fares
• Hotel Wi-Fi or tech upgrades
• Meals (team dinners, client meetings)
• Coworking space day passes
• Presentation supplies 
• Applicable bleisure activities
• Gratuities and tips
• Per diem tracking (if applicable)

After the trip

• Mileage reimbursement
• Uploading missing receipts
• Final expense reconciliation
• Notes on client meetings or outcomes (for ROI tracking)

Why tracking extra costs matters

The issue goes beyond cost. It’s about maintaining transparency, reliability, and operational efficiency. Here is what can happen when travel expenses are not tracked effectively:

• Delayed reimbursements impact employee experience. When employees cover trip expenses out of pocket, timely reimbursement is expected. Prolonged delays reduce their willingness to cover necessary costs in the future.
• Budgeting accuracy declines. If reports only capture major bookings like flights and hotels, important data is missing. This makes forecasting and budget planning less precise.
• Increased workload for finance teams. Without centralized tools, finance and operations teams often rely on manual processes to reconcile expenses. This increases the risk of inefficiencies and errors.
• Policy adherence weakens. Without a clear travel policy and tracking system, employees may use their own methods. This can lead to inconsistent reporting, overspending, or missed reimbursements.

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Roundtrip makes it simple to track every expense

At Roundtrip, we believe tracking business travel expenses shouldn’t be harder than the trip itself. With our platform, you can capture everything. Not just the flights and hotels, but all the extras that make the trip work.

Try out a stress-free Roundtrip today

Business travel can have significant costs, and these costs are not expected to decrease. Organizations need to get ahead of the rising price and take a proactive approach to cut travel expenses. With a platform like Roundtrip in place, companies can simplify the travel experience for employees while maintaining greater control over their travel budgets.

Ready to simplify business travel for your team without losing oversight? Explore Roundtrip’s travel management solutions and make every trip a success.

Book on Roundtrip

Cover image Photo by Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock