Even with fuel and travel costs on the rise, there’s no reason to let these expenses ground your bottom line.

More employees are traveling: That’s not a bad thing. It means companies are launching bigger campaigns and taking on more customers than ever. But expanding your company’s customer base doesn’t require T&E spending to skyrocket.

Here are three ways to keep T&E budgets in line:

1. Address all options. If there’s a must-attend conference in Miami this year, then your people will have to be there. But there are plenty of ways to connect, expand and train. Webcasts and audio- or video-conferences aren’t just a far cheaper alternative to travel — you can often get several employees listening in on the cheap.
2. Plan in advance. Sometimes, there’s no way around emergency or last-minute trips. But if you know about a meeting nine months in advance, make employees use that opportunity to save. Flights and hotel rooms are often cheaper the further away a date is, and most vendors will offer you a credit if the price dips lower than your original reservation.
3. Give a refresher. You can’t do much about fuel prices, but keeping employees aware of what is and isn’t reimbursable can trim spending. Sending out your T&E policy or a quick “reminder” memo on it should be enough to keep those numbers from creeping up.

Tags: Conferences, Fuel prices, Reimbursable, T&E, Travel