Remuneration on a business trip: rules, regulations, paperwork, calculation and payments

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Many companies require employees to travel regularly to solve numerous work problems. At the same time, each employer and employee should know how the remuneration of work on a business trip takes place. For this, the salary of a specialist in the company, the duration of the business trip and other factors are taken into account. If the rules for calculating payment are violated, then the company may be held administratively liable due to violation of the provisions of the Labor Code.

The concept of a business trip

Business trips are represented by the departure of an employee to another city or country by order of the manager. Their main purpose is the execution of certain orders, establishing contacts with other firms or settling various issues with contractors or customers. The duration of such trips depends on their purpose.

Most often business trips are required to resolve important issues for the company:

• building relationships with other companies;
• control over activitiesbranches;
• necessity to sign a new contract;
• attending exhibitions or presentations.

An employee who has gone on a business trip is kept his job, and the average salary is not reduced. In addition, the employer is obliged to reimburse competently all expenses associated with this trip. Therefore, business trip pay is calculated by the accounting department.

Who can be sent on business trips?

To send an employee on a business trip, it is enough just to issue a special order by the head. Based on it, the specialist must perform a specific assignment in another region of Russia or even in another state. To do this, the employee must have the appropriate skills and experience.

At the same time, there are some specialists who cannot be sent on a business trip. These include company employees:

• pregnant women;
• citizens with young children;
• underage workers;
• people caring for disabled children or sick relatives.

The above professionals can go on business trips only after they have written consent, and there must be no medical contraindications for sending on a business trip.

The concept of travel allowances

Remuneration for work on a business trip must be carried out according to certain rules. Funds received by a citizen are called travel allowances. Tothese include payments:

• Daily allowance. They are represented by the expenses necessary for living and eating a citizen in another city or country. Funds are provided exclusively in advance, so they must be received by a specialist before being sent on a trip. To transfer funds, it is required that the head issued an appropriate order. Money can be issued in the form of cash or by transfer to the employee's bank card. After returning, the citizen must draw up a report that is transmitted to the accountant. It lists all expenses incurred by a citizen during the trip, so they must keep all checks, tickets or other payment documents. If there is too little money received earlier, then additional funds are allocated.
• Payment during a business trip. It is represented by the direct salary of a citizen during a business trip. Under such conditions, the funds are calculated and accrued simultaneously with the salary for all other days in the month. Remuneration during the business trip is transferred in the general order, namely on the day the salary is paid in the company.

Pay calculation is slightly different, and this is due to the fact that a citizen is forced to spend not only weekdays, but also weekends in another city.

Nuances of accrual

When determining the amount of remuneration on a business trip, accountants must take into account some rules, and they are regularly increased due to the introduction of changes in legislation. To theserules include:

• Daily allowance cannot exceed 700 rubles if the trip does not involve crossing the state border.
• If you plan to visit another country, then this amount increases to 2.5 thousand rubles.
• Allowed to pay per diem in foreign currency, but the calculation takes into account the exchange rate on the day when the funds were directly transferred to the employee of the company.
• If a specialist independently acquires currency in another country, then he must give the accountant a certificate of exchange, and if this document is missing, then the Central Bank rate at the time of issuance of funds is used.
• If the business trip does not take more than one day, the daily allowance is not paid.
• All expenses that an employee has to bear on a trip are not subject to personal income tax or insurance premiums.
• The company can allocate daily allowances exceeding 700 or 2500 rubles, but personal income tax is required from the excess amount.
• The procedure for calculating the remuneration of an employee on a business trip has similar moments with the calculation of vacation pay.
• Salaries are accrued for people on a business trip only on working days, but on vacation funds are accrued based on full calendar days.

The accountant needs to get accurate information about how many days the employee spent on a business trip.

Legislative regulation

Payment for work during a business trip should be made on the basis of the provisions of Art. 167 TK. It indicates that the head of the company is obliged to keep his workplace for the employee, andalso cover all expenses related to the trip.

Therefore, it is illegal to transfer only salaries without various allowances.

The calculation procedure is regulated by art. 139 TK and PP No. 749. If the company's accountant violates the law, then the company and officials may be held administratively liable.

What salary is paid?

Remuneration for business trips, according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, should be calculated based on the average earnings of an employee per year. Additional funds are assigned to the employee in addition to the direct salary. These include payouts:

• reimbursement for living expenses in another region or country;
• funds intended for conducting work activities on a business trip;
• payment for transport.

In some companies, the payment for days on a business trip occurs immediately before the trip, but it is allowed to pay in advance only a certain part of this amount, and the rest of the funds are transferred after the business trip. Payment is not always represented by a strictly defined amount, as expenses are influenced by various factors, which include the exchange rate, the cost of accommodation and tickets, as well as the duration of the trip.

An employee returning from a business trip must complete a special report. It lists all funds spent and items purchased, and all expenses must be supported by appropriate payment documents. Based on the report, the finalpayment for a business trip based on the average salary of an employee.

What days are paid?

Before the calculation, you should determine how many days the employee will be on a business trip. Remuneration for work on a business trip on a day off is not accrued, therefore, only those days when the company works directly are taken into account, for which the work schedule of the enterprise is taken into account.

Accountant during the calculation must use the time sheet. This is especially true in a situation where the company uses a floating work schedule. Holidays on a business trip are not paid, but each organization can independently accrue funds if necessary for employees.

Calculation procedure

The process of determining the salary of an employee who is on a business trip for a long time involves the accountant performing several sequential actions. It is advisable during the procedure to use the provision on the remuneration of business trips, which can be formed by direct companies and secured by the appropriate order.

The calculation process is divided into stages:

• determine how many working days the employee will spend on a business trip;
• calculates the amount of salary that would be accrued to a specialist if he continued to work in the company during the billing period;
• reveals how many days are included in the calculation;
• calculates the average earnings for the period of time when the specialist will be inbusiness trip.

During the calculation of the remuneration of drivers on a business trip, additional expenses are taken into account that the employee will have to bear on a business trip. This includes the cost of gasoline, accommodation in different hotels or inns, as well as the costs necessary to carry out the instructions of the company's management. All these expenses are provided for by the Regulations on wages.

Features of payment of funds

During the calculations, accountants can use different ways and methods of calculating salaries for people who are on a business trip. Therefore, the features of this process include:

• If necessary, an additional payment up to the average salary of a citizen may be charged. It often happens that after a business trip it turns out that the employee received much less money than he would have been paid if he had abandoned the business trip and worked in the office. In this case, they may draw up a claim to the labor inspectorate. To avoid conflicts with employees, a surcharge is charged. Its size can be different, since the main condition is the need to pay such an amount of funds that is equal to the average salary of a citizen. This is especially true if piecework wages are used on a business trip. Since a citizen has practically no results of activity, then with a standard calculation it may turn out that he is paid too little salary, therefore, an additional payment is made up to the average income. The leaders of the companies themselves make such a decision, since they are not interested into worsen the financial situation of employees who agree to travel on business.
• Paying days off. Often, a specialist of an organization needs to go on a business trip for just a few days. During this period, there is a lot of work to be done. In this case, two days may fall on the weekend. According to the law, wages on a business trip on a day off are not required, but in fact, during this period, the citizen did not rest, but was engaged in work. In this case, double pay is assigned by the head of the enterprise. Instead of such payment, management may offer the opportunity to take time off in the future.
• Payroll rules for part-time workers. Often, specialists combine several jobs at once, so they work in the company part-time. After a citizen is transferred to the main position, difficulties arise with the calculation of his average earnings if he goes on a business trip. In this case, the periods when the citizen worked part-time should be taken into account. Under these conditions, the amount of the payment will be low enough that management may impose a surcharge.

Due to the above points, the correct calculation of wages for people leaving on business trips is considered a rather specific and complex process. During its implementation, the accountant must take into account the provisions of Russian legislation. If they make serious mistakes, then the employee can write a claim to the labor inspectorate. In this case, the company may be held administratively liable.

How are holidays reimbursed?

If an employee of the company is forced to work on a business trip even on weekends, then they should be compensated. To do this, one of the options can be selected:

• in the future, the employee will be given the opportunity to take time off on any day;
• Paid work on weekends double.

To transfer the double payment, the corresponding order is issued by the company's management. It indicates the position and full name of the employee who was sent on a business trip. The country and region where he was, the period of the trip and the reason for the trip is given.

To prevent double situations, it is recommended to completely consolidate the internal regulatory act in the company, on the basis of which the correct calculation of wages is made for employees who are forced to work on weekends during a business trip. This will greatly simplify the work of an accountant.

How can funds be transferred?

Payment can be done in two different ways:

• provision of funds in the form of cash issued to the employee before the trip at the company's cash desk;
• transferring money to a bank card that is a salary.

If the basic salary is transferred to a bank account, then payment for a business trip is usually made in the same way.

What wiring is used?

The accountant must correctly reflect the various transactions associated withremuneration of an employee on a business trip. For this, postings are used:

• D71 K50 - issuance of money under the report to an employee of the organization to cover expenses incurred during a business trip;
• D71 K50 - payment of compensation to an employee if during the trip he spent not only the funds received, but also his own money, therefore, he submits a report to the accountant with all his expenses;
• D50 K71 - return of funds by an employee if after a work trip he has extra money.

The employee must report to the organization for all expenses incurred, for which he forms an advance report. Various payment documents confirming expenses are attached to it. These include receipts, checks or tickets. If inappropriate costs are identified, the organization may refuse to pay compensation. Often in the expenditure documentation there are invoices in which VAT is allocated. Under such conditions, the tax can be accepted for deduction.

Conclusion

Business trips are required in different companies, since only business trips can solve different issues, conclude new contracts or control the work of branches. Specialists of the company sent on a business trip must receive per diem and correctly calculated wages.

When calculating wages, the average salary of a citizen for a year of work is taken into account. At the same time, difficulties may arise if the employee works in the company for a short amount of time or was transferred to the staterecently. In this case, an additional payment up to the average earnings is assigned. To do this, it is necessary to correctly draw up accounting entries.