I’m out of town on business for my full-time job this week and things have been pretty hectic. In addition to the regular 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. training for my employer, the group I’m with has been socializing a lot in the evenings, which means my blogging and freelancing work has been difficult to complete.
It’s a good thing the training has been interesting thus far, otherwise I think I’d be in a world of hurt due to a lack of sleep and an abundance of caffeine. 🙂
Whenever I go out of town for business, I find myself wondering where exactly to draw the line with my spending. Questions like: “Do I pay for that or does my employer?” “How much should I spend on meals?” are often on my mind. Compounding these questions is the fact that my employer’s policy is unclear and the president of the organization has scolded people for things and then turned around and done the exact same thing when it comes to spending on our work account.
In the past, I’ve traveled with more experienced co-workers who pretty well knew what was appropriate and not appropriate to charge to our employer. But on this trip, I’m the experienced employee as the other two I’m travelling with have only been with the company for a year or less.
I don’t know that it’s 100% right, but here’s where I’ve drawn the line and why.
Hotel, Gas, and Transportation
Our employers obviously pay for things like our conference fees, hotel rooms, gasoline, and any other transportation costs, like flights for far-away events. This is a given with our organization.
We even have the opportunity to use the company car to travel to evening entertainment events “within reason” according to our company policy and per a conversation I had with my supervisor when I started with the company 3 years ago.
Meals, Drinks, and Snacks
This is the area where things get a little gray for me. Obviously breakfast, lunch, and dinner are paid for by my employer as these costs would not be incurred if I weren’t travelling for work purposes. But what is appropriate to spend on meals, and should you try to cut dining out costs where possible?
Typically I try to eat at middle-of-the-road restaurants rather than 5 star places. At the same time, I don’t want to eat only fast food either. Most of my meals are around $45-50 or less (obviously dinner is the most expensive).
When it comes to alcoholic beverages being paid for by my employer, I don’t agree with the precedent that’s been set on past trips I’ve taken. My superiors and even our president seem fine with charging not only drinks with dinner to our company, but also social drinks all evening long. Personally, I don’t find this ethical and therefore I usually pay for my own beverages if I’m going to participate.
Occasionally I find myself needing a snack between meals or in the evening after an early dinner. Once again, I believe these are items that I should pay for myself rather than charging them to the company.
I know that every employer, budget, and situation is different. So I’m curious, where do you draw the line when your employer is paying?
My rule of thumb is how will my employer feel when he or she sees my bill. Would it be appropriate for the boss to see I was spending money in a bar lounge and charging drinks? Trust is a very big issue and when I have travelled even though I work for Uncle Sam and I am pretty sure he can afford it….I stick to the basics, lodging, transportation, and meals. I believe anything other than that is inappropriate. More trust…more offered business trips.
I totally agree. Just difficult to know where to draw the line when management and superiors are not careful with their spending at all. Thanks for weighing in 🙂
I have never had the opportunity to go on an expense-paid business trip, but I imagine that my lines would be drawn similarly to yours. I wouldn’t feel comfortable allowing the company to pay for any alcohol.
Glad you agree Kristi!
I work for the federal government so when it comes to food and drinks, they pay the same per diem for food regardless of what you spend. I was in DC last week and it’s $71 a day and 75% of that for the first and last day.
I felt weird charging for Uber, but it was cheaper than a cab. On nice days, I walked the mile to the metro. On one day, it was raining hard enough to soak you even if you were holding an umbrella, so I spent on a ride from the metro to the hotel. Another time, I took Uber to the office. It was actually the same price because there was a fare hike during the rain storm. I also am asking them to pay for my internet on the plane ride there since I was working.
Normally I’d probably just eat those costs but these days, I have to pay for dog boarding. It was. $220, so I had to eat on the cheap and ask them to pay for these other items. It’s not fun to have to pay to go on a work trip! :/
I totally get what you are saying. Sometimes I’m torn because I know I’m incurring additional costs personally because of things like dog boarding, which you mentioned. I also know I wouldn’t be spending that amount of money on food if I were at home because I wouldn’t be eating out for all 3 meals everyday.
Exactly! I’m “upside down” $95 from this trip, even with frugal spending. Argh.
That stinks!!
The expected expenses that the employer would pay are meals, gas, and transportation. I think if you feel that what you bought is kinda personal and you should pay for it, then those are the things you should pay. Whenever I draw the line between the two, feeling is really important. Good luck!
Sometimes without clear policies in place by your employer, there can be a gray area between what the employer pays and what you pay.