Per diem is a Latin phrase meaning “per day.” In business travel, it refers to a fixed daily allowance that companies pay employees to cover meals, accommodation, and incidental expenses without requiring itemised receipts for every purchase. Zoho Expense lets you configure per diem rates by city, country, or travel duration, and employees can claim per diem instead of individual receipts for qualifying trips.
When an employee creates a trip in Zoho Expense, the system automatically calculates the total per diem allowance based on the travel dates and the applicable rate for each destination. The employee can then add the per diem claim to their expense report. If actual expenses exceed the per diem rate, the employee can choose to claim actual costs instead, subject to policy settings.
Per diem simplifies expense management for both employees and finance teams. Employees do not need to collect and submit receipts for meals and small incidentals. Finance teams can predict travel costs more accurately and set clear spending expectations before a trip begins. Zoho Expense enforces per diem policies automatically, flagging any deviations for approval.
Yes. Zoho Expense allows you to mix per diem for some expense categories (like meals) and actual receipts for others (like flights or accommodation), depending on how your organisation has configured the per diem policy.
Zoho Expense allows admins to configure custom per diem rates by city or country, so you can enter official government rates (such as GSA rates in the US or TA/DA rates in India) to ensure compliance with your organisation’s travel policy.
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