Start with a travel profile
One shared document saves dozens of questions. It usually covers:
- Preferred airlines, seat and cabin rules, and when an upgrade is acceptable
- Hotel preferences: location relative to meetings, chains you collect points with, room needs
- Ground transport: car service, rental, rideshare, or rail where it makes sense
- Budget rules from your company travel policy, if one exists
- Loyalty program numbers and known traveller details, stored in the password manager, not in the document
- Timing rules: no flights before a certain hour, a buffer after landing before the first meeting
Research and booking
For each trip, the assistant offers a short set of options that fit the profile, books once you approve (or within agreed limits without approval), adds everything to your calendar and builds a one-page itinerary: flights, confirmation numbers, hotel address, meeting locations, travel times and who to contact if something changes. Payment uses a company card you've authorised for travel, with a clear limit.
When plans change
Agree what the assistant can change alone. A common rule is that the assistant can rebook within the same fare class and a set price difference, and contacts you for anything beyond that. Make sure they know which bookings are refundable before you need to cancel.
Receipts and expense reports
Expense admin is mostly matching and filing. A typical routine:
| When | Task |
|---|---|
| As receipts arrive | Forward or save receipts into one folder or your expense tool, named by date and vendor |
| Weekly | Match receipts to card transactions and flag anything missing |
| Month end | Prepare the expense report or export for your bookkeeper, with notes on business purpose |
| Quarterly | List subscriptions and renewals, and flag ones you may not need |
The assistant prepares and organises. You, or your bookkeeper or accountant, review and approve. The assistant shouldn't decide how expenses are categorised for tax purposes.
What you provide
- The travel profile and your company's travel policy, if you have one
- A company card or travel account with limits you're comfortable with
- Access to the expense tool or receipts folder your bookkeeper uses
- Loyalty logins shared through the password manager
Common questions
Can the assistant book personal travel too?
If you agree it in the scope. Keep personal bookings on a personal card and in a separate folder so expenses stay clean.
Should the assistant hold my passport details?
Only if bookings need them, and only stored in the password manager's secure notes, not in email or documents.
Who handles visas or entry requirements?
An assistant can remind you and point you to official government sources, but you should confirm requirements yourself for each trip.
Want this handled for you? Tell us what fills your inbox and calendar, and a service partner will reply with a proposed scope.
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