Cost Codes

Cost Codes allow you to track and allocate travel expenses to departments, projects, or cost centers for accounting and budgeting purposes.

What Are Cost Codes?

Cost codes are identifiers that travelers select when booking. They help you:

• Allocate expenses to the correct department or project
• Track spending against budgets
• Simplify reconciliation with your accounting system
• Generate reports by cost center

Cost Code Fields

Each cost code has the following fields:

Creating Cost Codes

1. Navigate to Cost Codes
2. Click Add Cost Code
3. Fill in the details:
   • Code — A short, memorable identifier
   • Description — What this code is for
   • Cost Center — Your internal cost center (optional)
   • GL Code — The GL code for accounting integration (optional)
4. Click Create Code

Naming Conventions

Use a consistent naming scheme:

Managing Cost Codes

Editing Codes

1. Find the code in the table
2. Click the pencil icon
3. Update the details
4. Click Save Changes

Activating and Deactivating

Toggle a code's active status without deleting it:

1. Find the code in the table
2. Click the toggle icon

Inactive codes:

• Don't appear in the traveler's selection list
• Are preserved for historical reporting
• Can be reactivated at any time

Deleting Codes

To permanently remove a code:

1. Find the code in the table
2. Click the trash icon
3. Confirm the deletion

Requiring Cost Codes

To require travelers to select a cost code for all bookings:

1. Go to Settings
2. Enable Require Cost Code
3. Click Save Changes

When enabled, travelers must select a cost code before completing any booking.

Searching Cost Codes

Use the search bar to find codes by:

• Code identifier
• Description
• Cost center
• GL code

Manual Cost Codes

If employees enter cost codes manually (not from your official list), you can manage these codes separately.

Viewing Manual Codes

View all cost codes that were entered manually:

1. Go to Cost Codes page
2. Look for manual codes section or filter
3. See all codes that travelers entered manually
4. Review usage and frequency

Promoting Manual Codes

Convert manual codes to official cost codes:

1. Find the manual code you want to promote
2. Click Promote to Official Code or Add to List
3. Fill in additional details:
   • Description
   • Cost Center (if needed)
   • GL Code (if needed)
4. The code becomes an official cost code
5. It appears in the standard cost code list

Tracking Manual Code Usage

Monitor which trips use manual codes:

• See which trips have manual codes assigned
• Identify frequently used manual codes
• Understand which codes should be made official
• Track spending by manual codes

Best Practices for Manual Codes

Review Regularly

• Check manual codes monthly
• Identify codes that should be official
• Promote frequently used codes
• Clean up one-off codes

Communication

• Let travelers know which codes are available
• Encourage use of official codes
• Provide guidance on when to use manual codes
• Update official list based on manual code usage

Standardization

• Promote manual codes that match naming conventions
• Avoid duplicate codes (manual vs. official)
• Maintain consistency across the organization

Integration with Accounting

Cost codes integrate with your financial systems:

GL Code Mapping

The GL Code field maps to your General Ledger:

• Enter the exact GL account number
• Used for expense exports and reconciliation
• Follows your chart of accounts structure

Cost Center Mapping

The Cost Center field maps to your organizational structure:

• Enter your internal cost center ID
• Used for departmental budgeting
• Matches your HR/Finance systems

Exporting Data

Cost codes appear in expense exports:

• Trip exports include the assigned cost code
• Reports can be grouped by cost code
• Data can be imported into accounting software

Best Practices

Planning Your Structure

Before creating codes, consider:

1. How do you track expenses today? Match existing cost centers
2. Who needs to report on what? Department heads, project managers, finance
3. How granular do you need? Team-level vs. department-level

Consistent Naming

• Use a standard format across all codes
• Document your naming convention
• Include the convention in training materials

Regular Maintenance

• Monthly: Review active codes for relevance
• Quarterly: Deactivate unused codes
• Annually: Audit code structure with finance team

Limiting Proliferation

• Avoid creating too many codes
• Travelers get overwhelmed with long lists
• Consolidate where possible

Documentation

Keep a reference document with:

• Each code's purpose
• Which teams/projects use it
• The responsible budget owner
• Related GL codes and cost centers

Common Scenarios

New Project

1. Create a new code: PROJ-NEWLAUNCH
2. Add description: "New Product Launch Travel"
3. Set GL code from finance team
4. Communicate to relevant teams

Department Reorganization

1. Create new department codes
2. Communicate transition timeline
3. Deactivate old codes after transition
4. Keep old codes for historical reporting

Year-End Cleanup

1. Review all codes with finance
2. Identify codes with no recent activity
3. Deactivate dormant codes
4. Archive any project-based codes that are complete