Travel Orders: Streamline Business Travel Through Digitalization

In today’s business environment, operational efficiency is key to success. Nevertheless, many companies still lose valuable hours on administrative processes. One of the biggest sources of unnecessary work is the separation between travel order management and time & attendance records. When these two systems do not speak the same language, the consequences include:

• Manual reconciliation of data,
• Time-consuming verification of working hours,
• Inevitable human errors that can prove costly during labour or tax inspections.

The fact that many companies still manage travel orders using traditional, paper-based methods was also confirmed by an online survey conducted among participants at the seminar.

A Unique Solution on the Market: Complete Synergy with Working Time Records

The main challenges companies face daily when dealing with travel orders include:

• Large volumes of paperwork and manual signatures,
• Time-consuming manual calculation and entry of expenses,
• Slow reimbursement processes and a constant risk of non-compliance with legislation.

In practice, however, the greatest challenges are often missing data and poorly organized supporting documentation, such as various receipts and toll payment confirmations. As a result, companies devote significantly more time to travel order administration than is necessary or acceptable from an efficiency perspective.

Špica’s modular travel order solution provides a breakthrough, as it operates as part of the working time recording system. Instead of two separate processes, companies gain a single, fully integrated ecosystem. In practice, this means that once an employee enters the required information, the system automatically takes care of everything else—from the initial travel request to the final payroll calculation—without a single duplicate data entry. Technology takes over the administrative burden, enabling companies to improve efficiency and operate paperlessly and error-free. And all of this is achieved significantly faster than the three days the process can take in some organizations.

“To borrow a thought from a Slovenian mountaineer—the goal is the journey. In the business world, however, travel orders are an area that simply needs to be managed  and automated as much as possible in order to simplify work for everyone involved. This can only be achieved through integration with working time records, which is  exactly what we have done at Špica,” emphasized Tone Stanovnik, Director of Špica, during the event dedicated to travel orders.

From Master Data to Final Settlement

How do travel orders work, you may ask? Simply and transparently. Employees enter all the necessary data and expenses themselves, while managers and accountants only need to review and approve them. Everything takes place in one location—in a single application instead of two or even three.

“Once employees enter their data, the system automatically handles all subsequent steps—from approvals to settlement and payment,” explained Gregor Berčič, Application Consultant for Travel Orders at Špica.

At the event dedicated to travel orders, he presented the entire process and lifecycle of a travel order—from setup to reimbursement:

• Creation and Data Entry: Employees submit a travel order with all relevant information. The system even supports allocation to multiple cost centres and advances for travel expenses (prepaid amounts).
• Electronic Approval: The process includes multi-level approvals, automated notifications, and delegated authorizations. The manager approves the request, the employee supplements any missing information, and accounting ultimately approves or rejects it. Everything is centralized, transparent, and supported by a built-in audit trail.

Once a travel order is approved, the system automatically performs the final settlement. Berčič demonstrated how easily financial exports can be prepared, including payment orders, REK forms, and accounting journal entries. Export data can be fully customized for different accounting, HR, and ERP systems and is also prepared for direct tax reporting (eDavki) and payments via online banking.

“The greatest advantage comes from integrating the Travel Orders module with the All Hours working time recording system. Business trip events are automatically transferred into daily working time records. You enter the data only once, and the system takes care of everything else. No more manual verification and reconciliation of two separate records.”

The solution also supports a range of more advanced travel order scenarios, such as:

• Company fleet management,
• Booking company vehicles, including vehicle-specific restrictions (e.g., executive vehicles, service technicians) and benefit-in-kind management, 
• For international operations, the system supports multiple companies or subsidiaries within the same travel order, exchange rate lists, and multiple currencies (EUR, USD, and others), with exchange rates updated automatically every three hours.

Many of the Travel Orders functionalities are presented in detail in the presentation: Špica Travel Orders.

Legislation and Compliance – Avoid Costly Mistakes

Travel orders are subject to close scrutiny by inspection authorities. Labour law specialist Nina S. Kavčnik highlighted in detail where inspectors most commonly identify errors and  how companies can successfully avoid them in advance. She emphasized that a digitalized travel order system ensures full legal security and complete compliance with legislation. At the same time, she pointed out a number of mistakes companies commonly make in travel expense reimbursement processes and in the area of labour law compliance.

More of her recommendations can be found in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section.