When a trip needs approval, the employee sends it from the basket and the approver decides on the Approval page. Both sides can discuss the trip in a private thread. The employee can still change a pending trip without starting over.
Where to find it
- Left sidebar Approval (
/app/approvals). The badge shows how many decisions are waiting on you. - The rules that send trips for approval: Settings → Trip settings → Approval rules and Travel policies.
The page appears when your company has the Approvals module switched on.
Page sections
- Trips: trips waiting for your decision (Directors and Travel managers).
- My trips: trips you have sent for approval (every company member).
- Cards & budgets: card and budget requests, for companies using cards.
- Duty of Care: held safety messages (Directors, Travel managers, TMC admins). See Duty of Care settings.
Each section has Active and Past tabs. If you only have one section, you see it straight away without tabs.
How to approve or reject a trip (approver)
You get an email titled "Trip approval required". It shows the trip title, the employee, the total and any comment from the employee.
- Click Open approval page in the email, or open Approval in the sidebar.
- Under Trips → Active, open the trip card. You'll see the services, the policy that was applied, any reasons a service is out of policy (for example, price above the limit or cabin class), and the employee's comment.
- Decide:
- Approve and book: choose how to pay (Company balance, Bank transfer, Pay by card or Pay by crypto) and the trip is booked.
- Approve only: approve without booking.
- Reject: optionally add a Reason (optional), then click Confirm rejection. The employee is notified.
- Decline service: decline one service and keep the rest, then click Confirm decline.
You decide on the Approval page. The email takes you there.
How the payment method is shown
Under the trip total, the card shows how the trip would be paid if approved now: Card, Balance, Invoice or Crypto. This is the method that would actually be charged, the same as at checkout. For example, if the invoice credit limit is exceeded or the balance is too low, the card shows the next method the checkout would use.
When you expand the card, you can choose the payment method yourself. If the legal entity's payment profile sets the method, the card says so.
How to discuss a trip
After a trip is sent for approval, the employee and the approvers share a private thread.
- Employee: on the basket page, click Discuss below the booking buttons.
- Approver: click Discuss on the trip card.
Write your message and send it. The other side gets a notification in the platform and an email with an Open the discussion link. The thread stays open after the decision, so you can ask why a trip was rejected.
How to change a trip after sending it for approval (employee)
- Pending trip: add or remove services as usual. The trip stays pending, and the approver is notified. The card shows Changed after submission.
- Approved trip: removing a service keeps the approval. Adding a service returns the trip to draft, and you send it for approval again.
- Rejected or booked trip: a new service goes into a new trip.
To remove a service:
- In the basket, click the trash icon on the service card.
- Or open Approval → My trips → Active, click Remove service on the trip card, and confirm with Remove service.
How to cancel your own pending trip
- Open Approval → My trips → Active and find the trip marked "Pending approval".
- Click Cancel trip in the card header.
- Confirm with Cancel trip, or click Keep the trip.
The trip and all its services are removed from approval, and the approver no longer sees it. You'll see "Trip cancelled and removed from approval".
Good to know
- While a trip waits, the employee sees "Waiting for approval. You will be notified once it is decided."
- The Past tab shows the latest 200 decisions, with Trip, Employee, Decision, Reason, Amount, Order, Chat and Status columns. Filter by Status, Employee or decision dates.
- Approvers are Directors and Travel managers.
- In Travel policies, each policy shows who it Applies to and who approves out-of-policy and in-policy purchases. Price-threshold rules are under Approval rules.
- If the price rises by up to 10% after approval, the trip stays approved.
- Removing the last service of a pending trip removes the trip.
- The discussion is only between the employee and the approvers. For help from Travel Code, use Robert.
FAQ
I added a hotel after sending my trip. Do I need to send it again? Not if the trip is still pending. The approver is notified and sees Changed after submission. If the trip was already approved, adding a service means you send it for approval again.
Can I withdraw my request? Yes. Open Approval → My trips and click Cancel trip on the pending trip.
Can I approve from the email? The email's Open approval page link takes you to the trip, where you approve or reject it.
Why doesn't my basket show Discuss? Discuss appears once the trip has been sent for approval.
Who approves trips for a given employee? Open Travel policies and check Applies to and the approvers on the policy. Price-threshold rules are under Approval rules.
The card says "Card" but our default is invoice. Why? Your default can't be used for this amount right now, for example because the invoice credit limit is exceeded. The card shows the method the checkout would use instead.
Related articles
- Trip Discussion on the Approvals Page
- Trip Names in History
- Rejecting a Single Service in a Trip
- Approval History (the "Past" Section)
- Changing the Fare on the Approval Page
- When an Employee Does Not Need a Repeat Approval
Still have questions? Message us in the support chat or at support@travel-code.com.