Budget During Booking

When you book travel, your budget is evaluated to determine if the booking is within your limits. This guide explains what to expect during the booking process.

Budget Check Overview

When you select a flight or hotel, the system:

Finds your budget using the resolution hierarchy
Compares the price to your remaining budget
Determines the action based on your company's enforcement mode
Shows you the result so you can proceed accordingly

Budget Status in Search Results

When browsing flights or hotels, you may see budget indicators:

Within Budget

🟢 Flight: NYC → LAX
   Price: $450
   Your budget: $1,700 remaining
   ✓ Within budget

You can book this option without any budget restrictions.

Over Budget

🟡 Flight: NYC → LAX (Business Class)
   Price: $2,500
   Your budget: $1,700 remaining
   ⚠ Exceeds budget by $800

What happens next depends on your company's enforcement mode.

What Happens When Over Budget

Your company has configured one of four enforcement modes:

Track Only

Behavior: No restriction, but spending is tracked.

✓ You can proceed with this booking
  (Spending is recorded for reporting)

You won't see any warnings or blocks.

Warn When Exceeded

Behavior: You see a warning but can continue.

⚠ Budget Warning

This booking will exceed your budget by $800.

Available: $1,700
Booking cost: $2,500
Excess amount: $800

Do you want to proceed?

[Cancel] [Proceed Anyway]

You can acknowledge the warning and complete the booking.

Require Approval

Behavior: Over-budget bookings require manager approval.

⚠ Approval Required

This booking exceeds your available budget.

Available: $1,700
Booking cost: $2,500
Excess amount: $800

A booking request will be created for manager approval.
You cannot complete this booking until it's approved.

[Cancel] [Submit for Approval]

If you proceed:

A booking request is created
Your manager is notified
You wait for approval
Once approved, you can complete the booking

Block When Exceeded

Behavior: Over-budget bookings are not allowed.

❌ Insufficient Budget

You don't have enough budget for this booking.

Available: $1,700
Booking cost: $2,500
Shortfall: $800

Please select a less expensive option or contact your
travel administrator for a budget increase.

[Browse Alternatives] [Cancel]

You cannot proceed. Options:

Choose a cheaper option
Wait for your next budget period
Request a budget increase from your administrator

Budget Display During Checkout

When you proceed to checkout, you'll see your budget status:

Booking Summary
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Flight: NYC → LAX
Date: January 25, 2024
Price: $450

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your Budget: Sales Travel Budget
Period: January 2024

Before booking:
  Remaining: $1,700

After booking:
  Remaining: $1,250

✓ This booking is within your budget

Currency Conversion

If you're booking in a currency different from your budget:

Flight: LHR → CDG
Price: €200

Your budget currency: USD
Converted amount: $220
Remaining budget: $1,700

✓ Within budget (after conversion)

Currency conversion uses your company's exchange rates. The converted amount determines if you're within budget.

Budget Reservation

When your booking is in progress, budget is reserved (pending):

Your Budget Status:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Total: $5,000
Spent: $2,800
Pending: $450 ← Your booking in progress
Remaining: $1,750

What "Pending" Means

The $450 is reserved for your booking
It's not yet "spent" until payment is confirmed
Other people can't use this amount
If you cancel, it returns to your remaining budget

Reservation Timeout

If you don't complete your booking:

The reservation times out (usually 72 hours)
The amount returns to your available budget
You would need to start the booking again

After Booking Confirmation

Once your booking is confirmed and paid:

Pending → Spent: The amount moves from pending to spent
Transaction recorded: Appears in your transaction history
Remaining updated: Reflects your new available budget

✓ Booking Confirmed!

Your travel is booked:
  Flight: NYC → LAX
  Date: January 25, 2024
  Cost: $450

Budget updated:
  Total: $5,000
  Spent: $3,250 (was $2,800)
  Remaining: $1,750

Multi-Traveler Bookings

When booking for multiple travelers:

If All Have the Same Budget (Shared Pool)

The total booking cost is checked against the shared pool:

Booking for 2 travelers:
  Alice: $450
  Bob: $450
  Total: $900

Shared Pool Budget: $5,000 remaining
✓ Within budget

If Travelers Have Different Budgets

Each traveler's portion is checked against their budget:

Booking for 2 travelers:

Alice: $450
  Budget: Sales Travel ($1,700 remaining)
  ✓ Within budget

Bob: $450
  Budget: Marketing Travel ($300 remaining)
  ⚠ Exceeds budget by $150

The booking may proceed differently for each traveler based on enforcement modes.

Booking Requests and Budget

When your booking creates a booking request:

Budget Reserved Immediately

The budget is typically reserved when you submit the request:

Booking Request Submitted

Request ID: REQ-12345
Status: Pending Approval

Budget: $450 reserved (pending)
Remaining: $1,250

Your manager will review this request.

After Approval

Once approved, you can complete the booking:

Request Approved!

You can now complete your booking.
Budget remains reserved until booking is confirmed.

[Complete Booking]

If Rejected

If your request is rejected:

Request Rejected

Reason: Please select a more economical option.

Budget: $450 released (no longer pending)
Remaining: $1,700 (restored)

The reserved budget returns to your available balance.

Tips for Budget-Conscious Booking

Check Before Booking

Review your budget status before starting:

How much is remaining?
How much is pending?
What's my buffer for this trip?

Compare Options

When over budget, look for alternatives:

Different airlines or routes
Economy vs. premium cabins
Different travel dates
Alternative hotels

Book Essential Travel First

If budget is limited:

Prioritize must-do trips
Book essential travel early in the period
Save less critical travel for if budget allows

Communicate with Your Team

For shared pool budgets:

Coordinate with teammates
Discuss upcoming travel needs
Avoid last-minute budget surprises

Common Scenarios

"I booked but my budget wasn't charged"

If you don't have a budget assigned, bookings proceed without budget tracking. This is normal if your company hasn't assigned you a budget.

"The price changed after I checked budget"

Flight and hotel prices can change. The budget check happens again at final checkout with the current price.

"My pending booking expired"

If you didn't complete checkout within the timeout period:

The reservation was released
Your remaining budget was restored
You can start a new booking

"I need to cancel - will I get budget back?"

For cancelled pending bookings:

Budget is released immediately

For confirmed bookings with refunds:

Depends on company settings
Refunds typically credit back to budget
May go to current or original period

Understanding Your Budget - Budget basics
Enforcement Modes - How restrictions work

Budget During Booking

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