Objectives of a business trip

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

It is useful to formulate the reason why the employee is moving so that travel expenses and per diem can be reflected in the accounting in order to reduce the cost of travel.

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

Accountants in business cite a variety of them and highlight the following:

• An employee's business trip must clearly be seeking the company's best interest. The purpose of the business trip is formulated in such a way as to make it clear: the “trip” is beneficial to the company, it contributes directly or indirectly to its profitability, increases the volume of business and 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”. For this purpose, annual permits or for health reasons are provided.

• The purpose of the trip should 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 length of the “trip” and your 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 indicate the exact reason why an employee of the organization is sent to work outside the permanent place of work. Otherwise, auditors may have doubts about the legality of 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 the documents confirming the completion of the task. By the way, there may be a situation where the objective of the trip is not achieved. In this case, the employer requires the worker to submit an “explanatory note” stating the reasons why the task could not be performed. If you have this document, travel expenses may be accepted for tax purposes.

• If the purpose of the trip is broad 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 the tasks and things to do on your trip, we offer you a free resource. A business trip agenda digital, which will be of great support to your organization.

Examples of business trip objectives

The purpose of the trip must be indicated. 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, you must indicate the purpose of the business trip, and this formality must be respected. Objectives may vary, here's a partial list of sample objectives:

• Negotiation
• Purchase of goods, raw materials, etc.
• Advertising and presentation of a product or service
• Market Research and Marketing Objectives
• Participation 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's essential that you explain the tasks in detail to the employee. For example, negotiations can aim both at attracting customers and at attracting new partners or investors. The above are some of the most common examples of objectives, there are also very specialized tasks:

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

The purpose of the trip is written in a concise and dry form. There is no need to explain the details and characteristics of the trip in the order. However, travel recommendations and specific employee objectives must also be formulated in writing. It can even be a simple email or a service document containing specific tasks and objectives. In this document, the tasks must be fully reflected, since it is by them that the objectives set will be fulfilled. An oral presentation can also be made, but legal obligations must be taken into account.

‍