The world is witnessing an increasingly intertwined global economy. It is becoming essential for businesses on opposite sides of the world to interact with each other via the internet or through meetings. Employees operate in a space where location is fluid, and business interests can converge across the state, national, and continental lines. Hence, business travel is an important part of many companies’ lifebloods. A business trip is concluded only when a business trip report is prepared. The main objective behind preparing a travel report is to justify the trip’s purpose and the money you spent. As business trip reports provide proof of expenses, it is essential that they are accurate and provide a clear explanation of the trip.
What is a business trip report?
A business trip report, also referred to as a travel report, is used to describe the background, observations, and conclusions related to a trip taken by an employee. Employers often ask traveling employees to write travel reports related to the experience they have gained as a result of their travels. It is important to write the report in the correct format and style so that it is valuable and appropriate.
A business trip report is usually prepared by an employee soon after his return from a business trip. The main purpose of preparing this report is to document the knowledge, contact, and lessons learned and to summarize overall observations and conclusions. All this is to be summarized in a format that can be shared with others in the organization.
1. Format of a trip report
A cover, content page, and executive summary are only needed if the report is formal, otherwise can be skipped. A format can be used if the document has only a few pages. A business trip report can be organized into sections such as trip purpose, overview, benefits, cost, and summary.
2. Introduction and overview
Travel reports should begin with an overview stating facts but not providing support or detail. Brief the purpose of the trip and expected results to the reader. For example, a business traveler may write about the trade show he attended in another city to meet with important clients, prospect new ones, and check out the competition. He may write about a business workshop attended to learn new human resources practices to help you recruit better employees, reduce turnover and develop a better benefits package.
3. The body of the report
Detail about the event in terms of how or if it met the business goals. The body is the main section of the business trip report, and the bulk of the length should be here. This part should relate to employees’ observations and analysis of the situations and events they may have encountered during the trip. The subheadings of the body usually include “Trends”, “Main Issues”, and “Ethical Dilemmas”.
4. Summary and conclusion
The summary of the report is prepared to recap the highlights of the trip, including your expected benefits, whether or not you attained them or any others, the total cost for the trip, any expected financial benefit to the company, and employee recommendations for the future. The more precise an employee is about the benefits of the trip, the easier it is for your superiors to calculate a return on their investment.
The report ends with a conclusion which is not only to wrap up the report but should also explain to the reader the learnings or benefits of the business travels. The achievement of the objective stated in the introduction would be clearly stated. The conclusion should include any recommendations by an employee for the business as a result of the trip.
5. Attaching expense report
Instead of listing the details in the document, attaching the expense report is preferred. The expense report should include the total cost of the trip and details such as airfare, lodging, meals, tips, parking, and other travel costs for the expense report.
The business trip report should be precise and clear, highlighting the trip’s purpose, activities, learnings, and recommendations. The corporate travel management company such as Paxes offers easy and quick booking of flights and hotels. The data on expenditures provided by these platforms can help one prepare a comprehensive business trip report.
