Tag: travel expenses

A per diem (from the Latin for per day) is a daily stipend given to business travellers to cover food and incidental expenses while they’re on the road. It’s not, in fact, a perk to make up for the inconvenience of being away from home – or a little extra spending money to splurge on spoils and souvenirs.

Tax season inevitably means digging out all those airline boarding passes, fuel slips and receipts from your travels over the past year. As a frequent business traveller, you've likely accumulated quite the collection in hopes of a decent refund on allowable expenses. However, the taxman wants more than a shoebox stuffed with crumpled receipts.

Meetings have been a part of the business landscape and company calendar for as long as anyone can remember, and indeed have played a valuable role as a forum to communicate, collaborate and innovate. However many, perhaps even most meetings today no longer serve a strategic purpose and have, instead, become reflexive diary entries that contribute little and can, indeed, hurt more than help, a leadership expert.

The integration of finance and technology, known as fintech, has revolutionised traditional banking and payment systems, transforming how we live, work and travel. Similarly, travel technology, or traveltech, has empowered travellers with convenient booking platforms and personalised experiences.

Unmarried, no kids, and a bank balance that’s a little low? Your chances of successfully getting a visa to travel just got slimmer. Not everyone’s equal when it comes to visa applications. Factors such as your marital status, whether or not you have children, ownership of property, how long you’ve worked for the company, your bank balance, and even your social media activity can count against you.

Your boss may not necessarily be keen on understanding every line item on your travel expense report, but they certainly need to understand the overall value that your business travel brings to the table. Having to justify the ‘value’ of business travel is a challenge that resonates deeply with travel managers around the globe today.

You, as the taxpayer, are responsible for declaring the correct information to SARS and will face the consequences if you don’t. Ensure that your tax practitioner declares all income by providing all the correct information to him or her.

Is your company still relying on Excel worksheets or – dare we say it - using pen and paper to calculate travel expenses? If so, you’re not alone. According Certify, a US-based travel and expense company, 49% of companies today are still using manual systems for their expense reporting.