Setting up Business Trip Approval in Bitrix24
An employee messages their manager in chat: "I need to go on a business trip to Kazan for three days." Manager replies "ok". Accounting finds out when the employee brings receipts after the trip. Hotel booking is on a personal card, tickets purchased at inflated prices, expense report written on a napkin. Business trip approval via business process in Bitrix24 brings order: request, approval, budget assessment, documents, calendar blocking.
Business Trip Approval Process
A business trip is formalized via business process (BP) based on lists or smart processes. Typical workflow:
- Request — employee fills form: city, dates, trip purpose, preliminary budget.
- Manager Approval — direct manager approves or rejects. If amount exceeds threshold — additional approval from finance director.
- Budget Confirmation — accounting reviews budget, confirms limits.
- Booking — office manager or employee books flights and accommodation.
- Business Trip — employee travels, dates blocked in calendar.
- Expense Report — employee attaches receipts and documents after return.
At each stage, participant receives notification and task. If approval not obtained within N days — escalation.
Request Form
Fields in business trip request:
| Field | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Destination City | Text | Yes |
| Start Date | Date | Yes |
| End Date | Date | Yes |
| Trip Purpose | Text | Yes |
| Transport (air/rail/road) | List | Yes |
| Estimated Ticket Cost | Number | Yes |
| Estimated Accommodation Cost | Number | Yes |
| Daily Allowance (auto-calculated) | Number | Auto-filled |
| Total Budget | Number | Auto-filled |
| Comment | Text | No |
Daily allowance is calculated automatically: number of days × daily rate (configured in BP parameters). Total = tickets + accommodation + daily allowance.
Document Generation
From an approved request, the business process generates:
- Business Trip Order — per template (Form T-9 or custom)
- Assignment — trip purpose and expected result
- Travel Certificate — if required by company policy
Documents are generated from DOCX templates via Bitrix24's document generator and attached to the request. Employee and accounting receive copies.
Calendar Blocking
After business trip approval:
- An event "Business Trip: [City]" is created in employee's calendar for the entire period.
- Event is visible to manager and colleagues — when planning meetings.
- If using Google Calendar or Outlook sync — event is mirrored there.
Expense Report
After return, employee fills expense report in the same business process:
- Attaches scans/photos of receipts, tickets, hotel invoices
- Lists actual expenses by category
- Accounting reviews, reconciles with budget, approves
The difference between advance and actual expenses is calculated automatically — for reimbursement or refund.
What We Configure
- Business process approval workflow: route, participants, timelines, escalation
- Request form with automatic budget calculation
- Document templates: order, assignment
- Calendar blocking upon approval
- Expense report form with document attachment
- Notifications at each stage