T&E (Travel & Expense)

Combined trip costs and related business expenses. It's the umbrella term covering both the direct cost of travel — flights, hotels, transport — and the incidental business expenses incurred around a trip, such as meals or client entertainment. Companies often manage T&E as a single budget and reporting category because the two are so closely linked.

T&E typically includes two groups of costs. The first is pre-trip spend: flights, hotels, rail tickets and car hire, which are usually booked in advance and often paid centrally. The second is on-trip spend: taxis, meals, parking, client entertainment, daily allowances and other costs incurred during the trip, which employees often pay for themselves and claim back later. For many companies, T&E is one of the largest controllable indirect costs after salaries.

Managing T&E as one category helps companies see the true cost of doing business on the road. A trip that looks cheap because of a low airfare may become expensive once hotel, transfers and daily expenses are added. When booking and expense data are kept in separate systems, this full picture is difficult to build, and finance teams spend considerable time matching documents. That is why many companies look for solutions that cover the whole T&E cycle — from booking to reimbursement and reporting.

Tumodo brings travel and expense data together on one platform. Flights, hotels, rail, car transfers and other services are booked and paid centrally, with documents generated automatically. On-trip costs can be captured by scanning receipts in the mobile app, daily allowances are calculated according to the company's rules, and travel expense reports draw on the same data. Real-time analytics by trip, team or cost centre give finance teams a complete view of T&E spend.