How-To

Introduction: How Power Tools Work Together


Power Tools are travel management tools to customize your site, layering in company-specific policy controls and enabling company-specific data collection.

These tools are completely optional for your company. They are typically used by companies with a more heavily managed travel program and a large number of travelers using the same account. Moreover, all settings may not be needed or used by companies that do want to use these Power Tools. Capabilities commonly used by companies, regardless of size, include tracking travel spend by department code and/or project code.

From the homepage, go to Power Tools. Under the top level Power Tools, you'll be able to access areas where you can set up Policy, Department Codes and Custom Data Fields. Under Policy, you'll be able to access Travel Policies, Traveler Groups, and Reason Codes.

Travel Policies

Travel policies are preferences or limits on the types of travel your company's employees can make, including...

Air

  • Preferred Airlines
  • Out-of-Policy Airlines
  • Out-of-Policy Airlines
  • Class of Service
  • Advance Purchase
  • Low Fare
  • Web Fare
  • Reasonable Flights

Hotel

  • Lodging Per Diem
  • Negotiated Rate

Car

  • Preferred Vendor
  • Car Class

NOTE: Flight, hotel and car results violating policy settings are simply flagged as out-of-policy. Travelers will be able to purchase these items, though you may opt to require that they supply a customizable reason code for doing so and sent a notification e-mail to a specified e-mail address.

Should I set Policy?

You should set policy if you would like to flag certain flight, hotel and car options - which violate specified settings as listed in this guide - as out of policy to all users logging in to the site. You may also set various enforcement settings that notify a specified individual in the case of out of policy bookings. Agents will see the same policy settings and flags as users do, as they are booking via your company site as well.

Traveler Groups

Traveler groups can be organized along many lines: by department, by rank, etc. You might split your travelers into Sales, Marketing, IS, Development; or you could group them as Executives, Engineers and All Other, respectively. Many policy settings and other options can be set specifically by traveler group. Different policy settings can then be applied to each group.

Should I Create Traveler Groups?

All users default to a general traveler group. If you would like to associate different groups of travelers with different forms of payment or different levels of travel policy, you should create traveler groups.

Custom Data Fields

Use custom data fields to collect any additional information you need from travelers. You can add the fields to the user profile page, or collect the data during travel purchases. You may elect to include this data in reports. For example, additional information might include: spouse name, employee status, employee ID. They are also used to help track travel expenses or other necessary data - such as job code, cost center, reason for travel, and so forth.

Should I Create Custom Data Fields?

You should create custom data fields if:

  • You require additional fields of information to be collected in the user profile that are not standard to Egencia and...
  • You require the collection of additional pieces of information (such as cost center, reason for travel, job code, etc) from the traveler at time of booking, that may or may not be required on reporting.

Department Codes

Department codes allow you to track and report on travel purchases in a way that suits your business. If you prefer travel reports by department, enter a list of department codes. If you prefer travel reports to be broken down by cost center, enter a list of cost centers instead (or business unit, division, etc). Should I create department codes? You should create department codes if you would like to view reporting summarized by department (or other organizational grouping of travelers).

Reason Codes

Travel Managers define custom reason codes for air, hotel and car for their companies. Users purchasing out-of-policy travel may be required to select a code from their company's list. Should I create reason codes? You should create reason codes if you have set up air, hotel or car policies, and would like travelers to supply a reason code - from a list of reasons you can customize - when booking out-of-policy travel.