Overseas travel planning tips

Overseas travel planning tips include ideas for what to pack, last-minute to-dos to square away and what to bring for a comfortable flight to another country. International travel planning ideas make every business trip better.

Overseas Business Travel Guide

• Trip insurance protects business travelers from unplanned emergencies. Include buying trip insurance when planning overseas business travel.
• On the home front, ask a trusted neighbor to keep an eye out for deliveries and to report any suspicious activity while you’re traveling. Hold mail through the USPS website at least two days before leaving for overseas business travel.
• Review itineraries for meetings and after-work activity before leaving on an international business trip. Using the itinerary, review the standard packing list and decide if anything extra is needed for overseas business travel.

International Travel Planning Tips

• At work, change email and voicemail to indicate the dates of the business trip. Let colleagues know in advance about the days out of the office and that email is the best method of contact for the duration of the trip.
• The day of the trip, flight times should be checked and double-checked. Plan to arrive two hours before departure for international flights.
• Empty the refrigerator, take out the garbage and recycling and set timers on lights in front of windows the night before traveling. Turn down the thermostat before leaving for business travel overseas.
• Be aware of current TSA guidelines for what’s allowed in carry-on bags. In general, liquids must be kept to a minimum and stowed in clear plastic bags.

International Corporate Travel

• An international corporate travel checklist isn’t complete without some attention to traveler’s comfort on long flights. Keep necks secure with a blow-up pillow and backs safe with the LUMBARWEAR® Ladies’ Short during the flight. LumbarWear provides girdle-like support with a twist; the undergarment also helps support the back, critical during international corporate travel.
• Books, an MP3 player and magazines make long flights fly by. Catching up on office work that never seems to get done in the office can also help make international corporate travel more productive. Organizing files, starting to complete expense reports and updating a calendar are excellent ways to pass the time during international corporate travel.
• An updated address book in Outlook or in a journal means postcards can be mailed home from every place visited.

International Business Travel Tips

• An electronic translator can be a business traveler’s best friend in a foreign country. Whip out the translator as needed to navigate transportation, shopping and of course, finding the way back to a hotel.
• Manicures and pedicures should be kept simple during international business travel. Nail polish remover is difficult to travel with, since it seems to be one of the liquid products almost guaranteed to leak — or explode — during a long trip. A PedEgg™ easily slips into luggage to keep feet feeling polished while overseas.
• Water and heaps of moisturizer keep business travelers hydrated during long flights. The best skin care products keep international travelers thoroughly moisturized during an extended trip overseas. The new Chapstick® True Shimmer™ products keep lips soft and supple while adding a hint of color.
• Plans for business travel overseas might include converting funds. Currency exchange converters are typically available at international airports, hotels and stores. Look for department stores like Marks & Spencer that don’t charge visitors a fee for currency exchange.
• Include time for immunizations when planning international business travel. Shots may be required for entrance into some countries. Find out which countries require immunizations by checking the country’s tourism website.

Guide to Tracking Business Travel Expenses

Tracking travel expenses can be a headache. But it’s a necessary evil, and critical to ensuring every dime spent is reimbursed. Business travel is easier with some tried and true tips to track travel expenses while on the road and free expense tracking software.

Tracking Travel Expenses

• Updating an expense statement on the road is by far the most efficient way to stay on top of business expense reports. In this “perfect world” scenario, business travelers leave for a trip with an open expense statement and update it every evening.
• Keep an envelope handy to hold receipts while on the road. Make a note on every receipt that indicates what the business expense was for, e.g., “lunch with client.” This is a pain, but paper receipts are still a necessary evil and typically have to accompany a completed expense statement.
• A PDA can come in handy when creating expense statements, especially if it features Documents to Go or another software program that’s compatible with expense tracking. Tap notes about expenses as soon as the purchase is made or the meal is completed.

Expense Reports

Microsoft Office offers a wide variety of free expense tracking software on the Microsoft Templates website. The expense statements can be quickly downloaded and are in an Excel spreadsheet format unless otherwise noted.

• The Travel Expense Report with Mileage Log includes fields for description of expense, airfare, lodging, ground transportation (gas, rental car, taxi), meals & tips, conferences and seminars, miles (personal car only), mileage reimbursement, miscellaneous, currency exchange rate and expense currency. The expense report automatically calculates mileage reimbursement and total reimbursements for expenses.
• The simple Credit Card Use Log is helpful for tracking expenses related to corporate purchases. The expense report includes fields for description, amount, merchant name, transaction fees and balance. The spreadsheet does not calculate APR for credit cards and does not automatically calculate total travel expenses.
• The Petty Cash Log includes fields for receipt number, description of purchase, amount deposited, amount withdrawn, charged to, received by and approved by.
• The Expense Report Database is an Access expense report and doubles as expense tracking software. The database allows employees to enter in their personal and employee information, track business expenses and print expense statements. The handy database also allows users to review expense reports by employee and to review reports with combined information about business expenses.