How to arrange a business trip for an employee in 2021: instructions for an accountant

General concepts for business trips

A business trip is a trip by an employee, by order of a manager, for a certain period of time to another location to carry out an official assignment outside the place of his permanent work. Business trips of employees whose permanent work takes place on the road or is of a traveling nature are not recognized .

Duration of business trip – the duration of the employee’s stay on a business trip. The duration of the business trip is determined by the employer, taking into account the volume, complexity and other features of the official assignment.

The day of departure on a business trip is the day the vehicle departs from the place of permanent work of the business traveler, and the day of arrival is the day the vehicle arrives at the place of permanent work. When leaving a vehicle before 24 hours inclusive, the day of departure for a business trip is considered the current day, and from 00.00 hours and later - the next day.

Expert opinion on the question of how long a business trip can be set

To date, there is not a single legislative act that has not lost force, defining the minimum and maximum duration of business trips - foreign or domestic.

The duration of the business trip must be specified in the management order on sending the employee on a business trip. The duration of the trip must be justified - it is determined on the basis of the volume and complexity of production goals (job assignments) and the time that is advisable to allocate for the implementation of these works.

In the event that internal regulations establish the need to issue an official assignment, then the duration of the business trip must be specified in it. If in the future there is a need to shorten the period of stay on the trip or, conversely, extend the business trip, a separate order from the authorities must be issued.

Experts from the Federal Tax Service

remind you that it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of a business trip, the detachable nature of work and the transfer of an employee to another location - these are three different concepts. Accordingly, expenses that are not related to the payment of travel expenses cannot be included in expenses when calculating income tax.

Organization of business trips

Let’s look step by step at how to organize sending an employee on a business trip.

So, at the first stage , the initiator prepares a memo or justification for the trip indicating:

• FULL NAME. and positions of employees sent on business trips;
• purpose of the trip;
• start and end dates of the business trip;
• location and name of the legal entity (division) of the receiving party;
• a proposed register of costs indicating the method of payment.

The justification must include a list of the employee's expected expenses - costs of renting living quarters, travel expenses to and from the business trip, additional transportation costs for fuels and lubricants, etc.

At the second stage , taking into account the justification, the head of the company makes a decision on the secondment of the employee, guided by the following principles:

• the purposes of the business trip must be of a production nature;
• secondment of the head and employees of one department, as well as secondment of 2 or more employees of one department should be expedient and economically justified from the point of view of production necessity.

Examples of the purpose of a business trip in case of traveling abroad may be as follows:

• for participation in international conferences, seminars, symposiums, exhibitions;
• to participate in working groups on joint activities with the company’s foreign partners;
• to represent the employer’s interests at significant international events (forums, etc.);
• to familiarize yourself with new types of equipment, organize the supply of goods (equipment) necessary for the operation of the facility ordered by the company from a foreign manufacturer.

Preparation of documents for a business trip

After the approval part comes the documentation of the business trip.

So, at the third step, an order is issued to send the employee on a business trip. It is usually prepared by the personnel department based on a positive decision from the director of the company.

After signing the order and familiarizing the posted worker with it, at the fourth stage they book tickets and a hotel.

Why is it important to issue travel documents only after the order is issued? Because at any moment the plans of the management may change and the business trip will not take place. In this case, your expenses for travel and rental housing will be considered unreasonable .

The employee can independently arrange travel and hotel passes. However, to organize expenses, it is advisable to entrust the booking of tickets and accommodation to a separate employee who will process these expenses in accordance with established standards. In this case, you need to make a preliminary calculation for calculating travel allowances.

You can download an example of a calculation form for the amount of travel allowances for free from our website here:

PRELIMINARY CALCULATION FORM FOR A BUSINESS TRAVEL: SAMPLE

Registration of the director's business trip and necessary documents

The general director, who is not at the same time the founder of the company, is exactly the same employee as the rest. The only difference is that he is the legal representative of the employer in relations with other employees. Therefore, the procedure for processing his business trip will have only slight differences from the registration of a business trip for an ordinary employee.

So, the order of registration is as follows:

1. A memo is written by the manager about being sent on a business trip. This paper is considered the basis for issuing a travel certificate and order.
2. An order is drawn up to send the employee on a business trip in the T-9 form. It states the purpose of the trip, duration, place and other important information.
3. The order is registered in the order register, the employee gets acquainted with the document and puts his signature in the register as a sign of consent.
4. A travel certificate is issued in form T-10. Organizations do it on their own initiative, since it is not required by law. It is prescribed only for internal control.
5. The general director, like any other employee, is given an advance to pay for travel-related expenses.
6. Not necessarily, but you can record the fact that an employee goes on a trip in the logbook for employees going on business trips. The company has the right to provide for the presence and maintenance of such a journal at its own discretion.
7. After an employee, and in this case the general director, has gone on a business trip, the days spent on the trip are noted in the time sheet.
8. Upon return, the employee provides a report on the funds spent in connection with the business trip. Checks and receipts confirming expenses are attached to the expense report.

Documents must be drawn up correctly; the fate of the company’s taxable base will depend on this (subclause 12, clause 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). For example, if the order is issued later, it turns out that the number of days on a business trip will be taken into account by accountants in a smaller amount, and then the amount of expenses in the tax base will also be less than the actual amount (which the general director received in his hands when he had already gone on the trip). Therefore, it is so important to comply with the deadlines for drawing up primary documentation. All nuances are indicated in Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation No. 1 of January 5, 2004.

Business trip payment

And the last step before sending an employee on a business trip is issuing travel allowances for reporting.

Money can be issued in cash from the cash register or transferred to the employee’s bank card, since now many companies have abandoned cash management and pay all expenses by bank transfer.

The approved preliminary calculation for the business trip will be attached to the cash receipt order or to the payment order for the transfer and will be a supporting document.

When agreeing on the preliminary calculation, the accounting department makes a note if the employee has a debt on previously received advances. As a rule, if there is a debt from a past business trip, new advance amounts are not issued . In exceptional cases, the advance is issued minus the debt.

Amounts of unconfirmed (excessively transferred) travel expenses are withheld from the employee’s salary based on the application.

APPLICATION FORM FOR A BUSINESS TRAVEL

If the employee did not have time to receive funds before the business trip on account - in the case of an urgent departure due to production needs - reimbursement of expenses is made after his return from the business trip (subject to the availability of supporting documents).

The transfer of money issued on account for a business trip by one employee to another is prohibited .

Who will go on a business trip

Only a full-time employee with whom an employment contract has been concluded can be sent on a business trip. However, this condition alone is not enough.

According to the Labor Code, you cannot send on business trips:

• pregnant women;
• employees under 18 years of age (with the exception of creative workers in the media, cinematography organizations, theaters, theatrical and concert organizations, circuses, as well as professional athletes);
• employees working under an apprenticeship contract (if the business trip is not related to their professional training).

If a woman has two children under the age of three, then she can be sent on a business trip only with written consent and provided that this is not prohibited by medical recommendations. At the same time, such employees must be notified in writing of their right to refuse a business trip (Article 259 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Similar rights are granted to employees who have disabled minor children or people who have been disabled since childhood, as well as employees who care for sick family members in accordance with a medical report.

Preparation of reports on the results of business trips outside the Russian Federation

Foreign business trips always attract the attention of inspection authorities. Therefore, it is better to prepare for them in advance and fill out a business trip report addressed to the manager.

You can view the form of such a report here:

TRIP REPORT FORM

For example:

• when traveling abroad for the purpose of participating in international conferences, seminars, symposiums, exhibitions - the employee personally draws up a report in which he sets out information about the goals and results of the business trip, the knowledge acquired, indicates proposals for the use of foreign experience and information obtained during the trip in the company ;
• when traveling abroad to participate in working groups on joint activities , its participants draw up minutes of the meeting of the working group;
• when traveling abroad to represent the company at significant international events , they make a written report on business meetings in formal and informal settings, indicating the persons participating in them and the topics discussed during the working meetings.

Documents confirming the employee’s expenses for a business trip outside the Russian Federation are accepted with a line-by-line translation into Russian.

Advance report

Upon returning from a business trip, the employee is obliged to submit an advance report to the accounting department with the following supporting documents attached:

• a copy of the order for sending on a business trip;
• a copy of the order to extend (change/cancel) the business trip;
• travel documents: electronic ticket or air ticket with boarding passes attached, railway ticket and others;
• an invoice (act and invoice) of a hotel or a lease agreement when renting a residential premises and a document confirming payment (cash receipt, PKO receipt, card extract and others);
• a document confirming the refueling of the car (in the case of renting a car or sending an employee on a business trip in a company car) - gas station receipt;
• receipts for ticket refunds, fines for cancellation of ticket reservations, rental of accommodation (if there is an order to cancel/change/reduce/extend a business trip);
• a copy of the consignment note, consignment note or movement act - when transporting inventory items;
• other documents confirming expenses during a business trip;
• a copy of a foreign passport with a mark on crossing the border - when traveling outside the Russian Federation (except for cases when, in accordance with the current procedure, crossing the state border of the Russian Federation occurs using an internal passport without putting a mark in the foreign passport).

How to arrange a business trip for an employee in 2018

Step 1. Create a travel order

To issue an order to send an employee on a business trip, you can use standard forms T-9, T-9a, or draw up an order in free form on the company’s letterhead.

Previously, the basis for issuing an order was a job assignment. This document had to be entered as a basis. Now in this column you need to indicate the details of the director’s order, memo, or leave this field blank.

The employee who is mentioned in the document must read it and put a confirming signature.

Important: if an employee uses his own vehicle to complete the trip, then this circumstance must be indicated in the order, or a separate order must be issued.

Step 2. Issue accountable money

If an employee goes on a business trip, he needs to receive funds to cover expenses - purchasing fuel, renting housing, paying for tickets, etc. He is also entitled to a daily allowance for each day of the business trip.

The cost limit for each of these areas should be set out in a local act for the enterprise.

The basis for the employee to be given the necessary funds is a business trip order. In addition, the employee can draw up a memo and set out the expected amount of expenses. However, in order for the cashier to issue it, the employee must have an executive visa.

If the trip is carried out within the country, then accountable funds can be issued from the cash desk in cash or transferred to the card.

Attention: if an employee goes abroad, then the daily allowance for the days when he travels through the territory of Russia is issued in rubles, and for the days he is in a foreign country - in foreign currency.

Step 3. Issue a travel certificate (if necessary)

Local regulations may indicate that when an employee is sent on a business trip, he must be issued a travel certificate.

The company can use different forms for these purposes, including those combined with a progress report, expense report, business trip assignment, etc.

The document also contains a place where receiving companies must affix their seals. But under the new law they are not considered mandatory.

Attention: it is also no longer necessary to keep a log of posted workers. But companies can use it at their own discretion, after securing the form.

The following data is usually recorded in the log:

• Information about the employee;
• The name of the company where he is going;
• City name;
• Days of departure and arrival;
• Mark on submission of the trip report to the accounting department.

Step 4. Complete an advance report

Within 3 days from the moment the employee returns, he needs to draw up and submit to the accountant a report on expenses incurred in Form AO-1.

If this step is enshrined in internal documents, then a report on the work performed can also be submitted along with the advance report.

For such a document, a free form can be used, or column 12 in the official assignment form of the T-10a form can be used.

The employee must attach documents confirming travel expenses to the advance report:

• Documents confirming the employee’s accommodation - a hotel bill, a receipt for accommodation indicating the number of days and the cost of one day, an apartment rental agreement.
• Travel documents to the place of assignment and back - tickets, checks, receipts, etc.
• Documents to confirm the use of taxi services - receipts, tickets, etc.
• An official note on which the employee deciphers the expenses incurred when traveling by personal transport. Receipts from gas stations, etc. can also be attached to it.
• An official note explaining that the employee cannot provide supporting documents for the trip;
• Other supporting documents (for example, receipts for cellular communications).

Step 5. Return the unused amount to the cash register (if any)

If an employee has unspent funds after returning from a trip, he must return them to the cashier within 3 days from the date of submission of the advance report. When receiving them, the cashier must issue a receipt order.

The law determines that this amount can be withheld from wages, but only within a month from the end of the voluntary return period. If the specified month has passed, then money can only be recovered from the employee through a court decision.

Attention: an employee can voluntarily record a statement to deduct this amount from his salary. Based on it, an appropriate order should be issued. However, the amount of funds withheld cannot exceed 20% of the salary accrual for the specified period.

Step 6. Compensate for overspending by the employee (if necessary)

All expenses of an employee on a business trip are planned. However, it is impossible to take into account all points. And an employee on a business trip may require more funds than was originally determined.

Upon returning from a business trip, this individual draws up an advance report in which he records, among other things, unnecessary expenses. If he can prove that the expenses incurred are justified, then the overspending should be compensated by issuing money using a consumable or transferring it to a card.

To correctly make a decision on the validity of expenses incurred on a business trip, you need to consider the following points:

• These expenses were incurred for urgent reasons.
• Do the costs incurred have documentary evidence? In this case, the documents must be drawn up correctly.
• The expense report presented to the company's management is correctly completed.

Amounts of overexpenditure on business trips must be compensated within three days from the date of submission of the advance report.

Otherwise, the employee may go to court to protect his rights, and he will have to pay not only these costs, but also interest for the use of amounts not paid on time.

Attention: if a business entity does not have the opportunity to repay the entire debt to the employee at once, a repayment schedule should be drawn up. It must be signed by both parties to the employment relationship.

Other business trip expenses

In addition to basic expenses, an employee may have other expenses during a business trip. In order for the accounting department to be able to reimburse them and take them into account, the employee must provide supporting documents:

• for the use of the bed;

• payment of insurance fees (including insurance fees for compulsory and voluntary personal insurance of passengers on transport);

• payment of registration fees;

• payment for services for issuing travel documents;

• return of tickets, fines (if there is an order to cancel/change/reduce/extend a business trip);

• hotel accounts for the provision of additional services (insurance, use of a refrigerator).

The employee may also have expenses for baggage when transporting documents, spare parts and other equipment, if this task is provided for in the business trip order. They are reimbursed to the posted worker in full on the basis of supporting documents.

KEEP IN MIND

The accounting department may refuse to accept for accounting documents that are dirty, worn, torn, have abrasions, holes, punctures, foreign inscriptions, stains, have lost fragments, are glued together from fragments - if, due to their condition, they cannot confirm the fact of expenses incurred or any mandatory document details cannot be identified.