Objectives of a business trip

Do you know how to correctly state the objectives of a business trip?

It is useful to state the reason for the employee's travel so that travel expenses and per diems can be reflected in the accounts to reduce the cost of travel.

To do this, it is important to take into account a number of points. What are they?

Practicing accountants cite a variety of them and highlight the following:

•  An employee's business trip must be clearly in the best interest of the company. The purpose of the business trip is formulated in a way that makes it clear: the "trip" is beneficial to the company, contributes directly or indirectly to the profitability of the company, increases the volume of business, improves the quality of goods and services. An employee of an organization cannot be sent on a business trip with the task of "resting", "recovering" or "healing". Annual leave or leave for health reasons is provided for this purpose.

• The purpose of the trip must not conflict with the job description. For example, an accountant cannot be sent on a business trip to negotiate with clients.

• The purpose of a business trip must be consistent with the duration of the "trip" and its itinerary. If the purpose of a business trip is, for example, to attend an exhibition, an employee of the organization is required to "travel" in the opposite direction within one day after the end of the event.

•  It is best to avoid general formulations. It is important to state the exact reason why an employee of the organization is sent to work away from the permanent place of work. Otherwise, auditors may have doubts about the legality of the tax accounting.

•  The purpose of the trip must be formulated in such a way that it is possible to draw an unambiguous conclusion as to whether or not the assigned task has been fulfilled. After the trip, the employee must submit a report on the results, attaching documents confirming the completion of the task. Incidentally, there may be a situation when the purpose of the trip is not achieved. In this case, the employer requires the employee to submit an "explanatory note" stating the reasons why the task could not be performed. If you have this document, the travel expenses may be accepted for tax purposes.

•  If the purpose of the trip is extensive and consists of several tasks, it is also important to list the individual tasks of the trip, the completion of which must also be confirmed.

To keep track of tasks and things to do on your trip we offer you a free resource. A business travel agenda digital, which will be of great support to your organization.

Examples of business trip objectives

The purpose of the trip must be stated. Which, in practice, is often formally stated in a document. And verbally or in the form of one or more written instructions, the purpose of the trip is explained in detail to the employee. However, by law, the purpose of the trip must be stated. business traveland this formality must be respected. The objectives may vary, here is a partial list of examples of objectives:

• Negotiation
• Purchase of goods, raw materials, etc.
• Advertising and presentation of a product or service
• Market research and marketing objectives
• Participation in or organization of events, conferences, etc.
• Training or exchange of experiences.

There are also universal objectives: the development of the company's activities. In this case, it is essential that you explain the tasks in detail to the employee. For example, negotiations can be aimed at both customer acquisition and the acquisition of new partners or investors. The above are some of the most common examples of objectives, but there are also very specialized tasks:

• Audit of branches
• Franchise
• Audit and other verifications
• Maintenance of branches and divisions in the regions

The purpose of the trip is written in a concise and dry manner. It is not necessary to explain the details and characteristics of the trip in the order. However, travel recommendations and the employee's specific objectives should also be formulated in writing. It can even be a simple e-mail or a service document containing specific tasks and objectives. In this document, the tasks should be fully reflected, as it is through them that the objectives set will be met. An oral presentation can also be made, but legal obligations must be taken into account.