Government Contract Travel Expense Compliance and Audit Essentials

Key points

• FAR 31.205-46 continues to govern government contract travel cost reimbursement as a key audit area.
• Contractor procedures must ensure advance planning for allowability; the first procedure is combining visits within the same geographical area into a single trip.
• Contractors must use the lowest customary standard coach airfare during normal business hours to the maximum extent possible.
• Contractors must coordinate travel to minimize trips to the same location; sometimes a weekend stay is more economical than round trips.
• Concur Expense tracks GSA per diem rates and automatically applies them to expense reports.
• Concur integrates tightly with TMCs, allowing users to search travel within the system and establish company-specific rules.
• Auditors will review whether contractors comply with travel policies, whether trips serve allowable purposes, and whether costs are documented.
• Concur solutions automatically separate unallowable costs into their own accounts.