Managing expenses and work travel (without getting a reputation)

Expense reports are one of those “adult job” things nobody teaches. In your first 90 days they’re weirdly high-stakes — not because the dollars matter (usually) but because trust does.

Handle expenses cleanly and you look responsible. Handle them sloppily and people quietly start wondering what else you’re sloppy about.

Why this matters more than it looks

A lot of people treat expenses like admin work. It is. It’s also a fast reputation signal, because it’s one of the first places you’re handling company money, company policy, and a process that can get audited.

Your real goal isn’t to maximize reimbursement. It’s to be:

• compliant
• boring
• easy to audit

Boring is good here.

Step 1 — Find the policy (or admit there isn’t one)

If there is a policy, read it once, then ask for norms:

• allowed hotel and flight ranges
• per diem rules
• receipt requirements
• booking tools (Concur, Navan, Egencia, etc.)
• what needs pre-approval

“I read the expense policy. For travel, what’s the normal hotel range and any ‘always ask first’ items?”

If there is no policy, treat rules as implicit. Ask your manager for boundaries. Rule of thumb:

Spend company money like it’s your money and your name is attached.

Because it is.

Step 2 — Pre-approve anything gray

If you want to avoid drama, pre-approve early. Candidates: a hotel rate that feels high, flight changes, client meals above the normal range, rideshare vs. rental car decisions, any “I’ll expense it and explain later” idea.

“Before I book: is $___/night in range for this city? If not, what range should I target?”

The two minutes of “should I ask” you skip turns into ninety minutes of “why did you spend $X” later. Always ask.

Step 3 — Document like you’ll be audited

Because you might be. The best defense is boring process:

• keep receipts immediately (don’t wait)
• write clear descriptions
• submit on a predictable cadence

A clean description: “Client dinner — Project X — 3 attendees — discussed pricing tier.” A muddy one: “Meal.” Vague descriptions create questions. Specific descriptions answer them in advance.

Step 4 — Don’t mix personal and business

This is the number-one way people accidentally get a reputation. Three rules:

• Never put personal items on the corporate card.
• Don’t “fix it later” unless you want to live in finance emails.
• If you make a mistake, flag it immediately and ask how to correct it.

“I accidentally put ___ on the corporate card. What’s the right way to reimburse and document it?”

Hiding mistakes is what creates distrust.

The common gray areas

Business meals. Clarify what counts as business vs. social, alcohol rules, who can be included. When unsure, ask.

Upgrades (flights, rooms, seats). Usually allowed only when it’s a long flight, pre-approved, or cheaper due to odd fare rules. If you have status and the upgrade is free, most places are fine — the key is that you didn’t charge the company for it.

Personal items while traveling. Toothpaste is different from souvenirs. If it’s for the trip and within reason, it’s often okay. If it’s “because I was in an airport,” usually not.

Combining personal and work travel. Common, often allowed with rules. Book the work portion through the normal tool, pay incremental personal costs yourself, document cleanly. Don’t make finance reverse-engineer your vacation.

A travel checklist

Before the trip

• Confirm policy and norms
• Book through the approved tool
• Get pre-approval for anything borderline

During the trip

• Save receipts immediately (photo + folder)
• Write who/what/why for meals
• Avoid weird edge cases

After the trip (within 2-3 days)

• Submit the report
• Attach receipts
• Add clear descriptions
• Note anything unusual

Submit fast and you get fewer “what was this?” questions.

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The mistake I see first-years make most often isn’t fraud. It’s letting the expense report sit for three weeks because they didn’t feel like dealing with it. Then they’re rebuilding receipts from memory, which always reads as suspicious even when it isn’t. Submit Tuesday. Move on. The boring version of this skill is also the senior version.

For a simple weekly habit that prevents “I didn’t know” moments in general, use the Week 1 Checklist.