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Creating an effective business travel policy from scratch can often feel daunting. Without a clear guideline, ensuring workplace travel protocols might seem like navigating in the dark. However, it's a crucial HR task that demands attention. By memorializing your company’s travel rules and processes, you ensure they're easily accessible and referenced by your team.
At Axcet HR Solutions, we recognize the importance of robust workplace policies for small businesses. In this article, I'll guide you through a step-by-step process to develop your own comprehensive business travel policy, turning existing processes into solid documentation.
The first step in drafting your business travel policy is determining which goal or goals you’re setting out to accomplish. Aside from the obvious benefits of a travel policy (including its use as a reference point and compliance tool), think about what you’d like to achieve by implementing a thorough policy. Common objectives to consider are:
You may have many objectives for your policy, and they may be interwoven. Use your collective goals to write a cohesive introduction that sets the tone for the entirety of the policy.
It’s also important to know the “who” involved in the policy, or more specifically, the intended audience of the various provisions of the document. Some parts of the policy may apply to certain employees (i.e., separations may be made depending on exemption status, workers' full-time or part-time status, employees versus independent contractors, etc.).
Make sure the intended audience of each provision is clear in order to avoid confusion and compliance issues. It may be helpful to separate your policy into sections—especially if you have a clear delineation of policy application to different employee groups.
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The perfect travel policy looks different for every company. Your provisions reflect your unique industry, employee makeup, and workplace culture. There are a few common themes that repeat themselves among strong policies, however, and you might find them helpful to incorporate (with your own spin, of course). Consider the following:
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If your policy seeks to provide clarity surrounding reimbursable and non-reimbursable travel expenses, per diem amounts, and similar items, it may be worth considering combining your travel policy with an expense policy. An “Employee Travel Expense Policy” is a much more comprehensive way to think about travel and the process for employee submission of expense reports for reimbursement and review.
This may require collaboration with and sign-off from your accounting or finance stakeholders.
As you finalize your business travel policy (or travel and expense) policy, you’ll likely have countless compliance questions coming to mind. Compliance questions are good: They mean you’re thinking about and planning ahead for all the things you should be! Having a team of HR Compliance experts on your side can relieve those worries, and make sure that any compliance item that’s flying under the radar (whether federal, state or local) is addressed correctly.
Axcet HR Solutions is happy to help. We’re an experienced and certified professional employer organization that understands safety, risk management and human resources compliance for small businesses. We’d love to help you handle your HR compliance tasks and more.
With Axcet HR Solutions, you’ll find that there’s no end to the benefits a growing company can reap by working with a PEO. Wondering if outsourcing human resources is the right call for you? Reach out to our consultants today to learn more.
Written by
Sam Hihn is a Safety and Health Consultant at Axcet HR Solutions, where he helps businesses build safer, more compliant workplaces through practical, hands-on risk management strategies. He works closely with client organizations to identify hazards, strengthen safety practices, and implement programs that protect employees while supporting operational efficiency.
Sam partners directly with business leaders and frontline teams to assess workplace environments, equipment, and processes, ensuring alignment with OSHA standards and other regulatory requirements. He develops customized safety and health programs tailored to each organization's needs and provides guidance through OSHA inspections, citation responses, and corrective action planning—helping clients navigate compliance with clarity and confidence.
A key part of Sam's work is translating complex safety requirements into clear, actionable steps. He conducts safety training, supports incident investigations to determine root causes, and delivers practical recommendations to prevent future issues. His approach focuses not only on meeting regulatory standards but on building sustainable safety practices that become part of everyday operations.
With a background in manufacturing and safety roles, Sam brings real-world perspective to the challenges employers face. He is known for his approachable style, attention to detail, and commitment to helping teams take ownership of workplace safety. Through his writing, Sam shares actionable insights and guidance to help employers reduce risk, improve compliance, and create safer environments where employees can thrive.
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