Travel advance

An advance paid to an employee ahead of a trip to cover upcoming expenses. It's typically offered for destinations or trip types where the employee is expected to incur significant out-of-pocket costs before they can be reimbursed. Any unspent portion of the advance is usually reconciled against the final expense report after the trip.

Travel advances are most common where employees are expected to pay for significant costs themselves — for example, on long trips, in countries where cards are not widely accepted or for employees who do not have a corporate card. The advance may be paid in cash or transferred to the employee's bank account, and in some cases to a prepaid card. Company policy usually defines who can request an advance, how much and how the unused portion must be returned.

Although advances help employees avoid using their own money, they create administrative work: the finance team has to issue the funds, track outstanding advances and reconcile them against expense reports after the trip. Unreturned or unaccounted-for advances are a common audit issue. Many companies therefore reduce the need for advances by paying for major trip costs centrally and using per diems or corporate cards for daily expenses.

Tumodo helps reduce the need for travel advances in the first place. Flights, hotels, rail tickets, transfers and airport services booked on the platform are paid centrally by the company, so employees do not need cash to cover the main costs of a trip. Daily allowances can be calculated automatically based on the company's rules, and receipts for on-trip expenses can be scanned in the mobile app, making the final expense report quick to complete.