Per Diem travelers, tips to save money, how much you "made" off per diem,ethics, etc.
Jul 26, 2019, 9:18 am
#61
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: BWI
Programs: Marriott LTT, WN A, Hertz PC
Posts: 576
In my years of business traveling I've had to follow several different meal expense policies. They all have pros and cons but I like my current per diem setup best. Among the memorable ones:
-Reimburse actual costs - We had to tape every last receipt including the $10 lunch at Panera to a piece of printer paper, scan it, and email to someone. I raised the issue with my manager saying it takes me an hour each week to put this stuff together and most of the effort is on these small meals as most of the big stuff (hotel, flight, rental car) sends PDF receipts already. He basically told me I must be slow/stupid because it only takes him 30 min. Ok then.
-Reimburse actual costs but no receipts required if using company credit card and keep it "reasonable." That was nice, but I gained a lot of weight during that time having no qualms about ordering apps, dessert, that extra drink, etc.
-Low amount per diem. Easy, but I often went over eating at places like Chili's and Outback.
-Higher per-diem. I'm not sure what schedule my firm uses but our expense system has a checkbox for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and you just input the city and check the boxes for the meals you paid for yourself each day. If the big boss comes in and takes everyone to dinner s/he is supposed to mark the attendees on the receipt, and we aren't supposed to claim per diem just for that meal. The auditors will catch it eventually if you double up. If a hotel provides free breakfast I don't claim for breakfast each day, even though I could probably get away with it. So it comes down to ethics for me, but also when I go to a hotel where I have to pay for breakfast, it's usually something cheap like oatmeal so I get a nice little bonus.
Personally I agree with not spending too much admin cost and effort on low dollar things like meals and focusing more on flights and rental cars (why do 5 people all staying at the same hotel and going to the same office all need their own rental car, e.g.)
-Reimburse actual costs - We had to tape every last receipt including the $10 lunch at Panera to a piece of printer paper, scan it, and email to someone. I raised the issue with my manager saying it takes me an hour each week to put this stuff together and most of the effort is on these small meals as most of the big stuff (hotel, flight, rental car) sends PDF receipts already. He basically told me I must be slow/stupid because it only takes him 30 min. Ok then.
-Reimburse actual costs but no receipts required if using company credit card and keep it "reasonable." That was nice, but I gained a lot of weight during that time having no qualms about ordering apps, dessert, that extra drink, etc.
-Low amount per diem. Easy, but I often went over eating at places like Chili's and Outback.
-Higher per-diem. I'm not sure what schedule my firm uses but our expense system has a checkbox for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and you just input the city and check the boxes for the meals you paid for yourself each day. If the big boss comes in and takes everyone to dinner s/he is supposed to mark the attendees on the receipt, and we aren't supposed to claim per diem just for that meal. The auditors will catch it eventually if you double up. If a hotel provides free breakfast I don't claim for breakfast each day, even though I could probably get away with it. So it comes down to ethics for me, but also when I go to a hotel where I have to pay for breakfast, it's usually something cheap like oatmeal so I get a nice little bonus.
Personally I agree with not spending too much admin cost and effort on low dollar things like meals and focusing more on flights and rental cars (why do 5 people all staying at the same hotel and going to the same office all need their own rental car, e.g.)
