Business travel authorized through email lacks the structure needed to manage it consistently. Employees describe their travel plans in their own terms, omitting details the approving manager needs to make an informed decision. Estimated costs are stated without breakdown. The purpose of the trip is assumed rather than documented. And when travel spend needs to be reviewed or reconciled, the authorization record — if it exists at all — is buried in a thread that nobody can easily find.
The Employee Travel Authorization template for SharePoint, built with Infowise Ultimate Forms, gives employees a structured way to request authorization for business travel — capturing trip details, itinerary, transportation and accommodation requirements, and estimated costs — with the manager's authorization decision recorded in the same SharePoint record.
How it works
Employee and travel details
The form captures the employee's identifying information alongside the essential details of the proposed trip — the purpose of the travel, the destination, the travel dates, and the business justification for the trip. Documenting the purpose and justification at the point of request ensures that the approving manager has the context they need to make a decision without additional follow-up, and that the authorization record reflects the business rationale behind every trip approved.
Itinerary and transportation
The form includes a structured itinerary section capturing the planned travel route — origin and destination locations, departure and return dates and times, and the preferred or required mode of transportation. For trips involving multiple legs or stopovers, each segment can be recorded within the same form, giving the manager and travel coordinator a complete picture of the planned journey without relying on separately attached itineraries.
Accommodation requirements
A dedicated accommodation section captures the hotel or lodging requirements for the trip — location, check-in and check-out dates, and any specific requirements relevant to the booking. Keeping accommodation details within the same authorization record as the travel itinerary ensures that every aspect of the trip is documented and visible to the people responsible for making or reviewing the arrangements.
Estimated cost breakdown
The form captures an itemized estimate of the expected travel costs — transportation, accommodation, meals, and any other anticipated expenses — giving the approving manager a complete picture of the financial commitment being requested before they make a decision. The structured cost breakdown also provides a baseline against which actual expenses can be compared when the travel expense claim is submitted after the trip.
Manager authorization
Once submitted, the travel request is reviewed by the approving manager directly within the form. The manager records their decision — authorized or declined — along with any comments or conditions attached to the authorization. The decision and comments are stored as part of the same SharePoint record as the original request, creating a complete, auditable chain from request to authorization without any separate document or email thread.
What you get
- A structured travel authorization form capturing trip purpose, destination, dates, itinerary, transportation, and accommodation
- An itemized estimated cost breakdown covering transportation, accommodation, meals, and other anticipated expenses
- Manager authorization section with decision and comments recorded within the same SharePoint record
- A complete, auditable chain from travel request to authorization — no separate email thread required
- Every authorization record stored in a searchable SharePoint list, filterable by employee, destination, date, or status
- Configurable columns and cost categories to match your organization's travel authorization requirements
- Free for all Ultimate Forms customers, installed automatically with a single click
Built on standard SharePoint lists
The Employee Travel Authorization system is built entirely on standard SharePoint lists. There is no external data storage and no custom interface. All travel authorization records stay inside your SharePoint environment, governed by your existing permissions and data policies. The system can be extended or adapted at any time in the browser by the administrator who manages the site.
Read detailed installation instruction.
