Playbook · Getting set up
Build the annual travel budget
Plan a year of travel by program, fund and quarter, so grant budgets and the operating budget agree with what will actually happen.
Next fiscal year · draft (example)
- For
- Finance leads, program directors
- Lead time
- We suggest 8–10 weeks before the budget is due
- Owner
- Finance lead
- Tools
- Travel budget planner
Before you start
Decide these first
Decisions to make
- The budget format: by program, by fund, by quarter, or all three
- Your rate benchmark for lodging and meals (for example GSA per diem rates)
- Which trips are fixed (board meetings, convenings) and which are estimates
- How much contingency to hold, and where
People to involve
- Program directors (their trips)
- Grants manager (what each award allows)
- Executive assistant (board and leadership travel)
- Finance committee
The plan
A workable timeline
Our suggested lead times. Adjust them to your organization; shorter is possible, but costs and stress go up.
10 weeks before
Collect last year
- Pull last year's travel by department, project and traveler from your reports
- List the fixed events: board meetings, convenings, conferences
8 weeks before
Ask program leads
- Send each program lead the planner with last year's trips filled in
- Ask for trips, travelers, destinations and the fund that pays
6 weeks before
Price it
- Estimate lodging and meals with a benchmark such as GSA per diem rates
- Estimate airfare from recent actual fares, not list prices
- Mileage at the rate your policy uses (many use the IRS standard mileage rate )
4 weeks before
Check against awards
- Check each grant's travel line against what the award allows
- Move trips that serve several programs onto a shared line, with the split written down
Through the year
Compare and adjust
- Compare actual spend with budget each quarter in your reports
- Re-forecast after big changes: a new grant, a cancelled event
Who does what
Your part, and ours
| Task | Your organization | silentVIP |
|---|---|---|
| Plan trips | Program leads list trips | Shares last year's actuals from reports |
| Price trips | Finance sets benchmarks | Can quote typical routes on request |
| Department budgets | Sets a budget per department and period | Compares budget with actual spend in reports |
| Track during the year | Reviews quarterly | Reports by entity, department, project, supplier and traveler |
Checklists
Copy these into your plan
Print this page or copy the lists into your own template.
Per trip, collect
- Purpose and program
- Fund or grant that pays
- Travelers and how many trips
- Origin, destination and nights
- Airfare, lodging, meals, ground estimates
Before you submit
- Every fixed event is in
- Every grant line matches its award
- Shared trips have a written split
- Contingency is visible, not hidden in other lines
Common mistakes
What usually goes wrong
Budgeting from list fares
Use what you actually paid last year for similar routes; list fares overstate some routes and understate others.
Forgetting guests
Speakers, board members and participants you fly in are often the largest line, and the easiest to miss.
One line for everything
A single "travel" line can't be checked against grants. Budget by program and fund.
Questions
Common questions
Should we use per diem rates or actuals?
Many organizations budget with a per diem benchmark and reimburse under their policy. Use whichever your policy and awards require.
Related
Tools and guides
More in Playbooks
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