ÑÇÖÞȺp

A look at ÑÇÖÞȺp Expense data shows higher spending on business travel in 2024 than the previous year. We looked at domestic and international air travel bookings in ÑÇÖÞȺp Travel for 2024 and compared them to those in 2023. We found that domestic air travel volume for business trips was up 3% year over year and international travel volume increased nearly 6%.

After looking at volume, the return to business travel made us curious about spending on corporate travel programs. Our 2024 Global Business Travel Survey found that nearly a third of business travelers said their company was focused on cutting back on travel costs.

Despite this, ÑÇÖÞȺp Expense data collected in 2023 and 2024 indicates that the total number of expense transactions increased 13% year over year, with the average expense transaction costing $102. While the 2025 economic outlook might be uncertain, we saw more stable spending in 2024.

Change in Number of Transactions per Expense Category

₁Miscellaneous refers to expenses that don¡¯t fit within a company¡¯s defined expense categories

₂Other refers to non-standard expense categories 

₃Telecom includes wired and wireless telephone fees as well as the costs of phone and communication devices

₄Gas refers to fuel expenses

₅Mileage refers to reimbursement based on miles driven

Transactions increased across the board between 2023 and 2024. Looking at the total number of expense transactions in each spend category, lodging, ground transportation, and meals saw the highest percentage increases, with lodging up 17%, ground transportation up 16%, and meals up 13%. This aligns with ÑÇÖÞȺp Travel data showing an increase in business travel in 2024.

On the other hand, categories such as office expenses (6%) and telecom (0%) saw smaller changes. Office expenses include office supplies, furniture, etc., while telecom-related expenses include telephone fees or the cost of mobile devices.

We¡¯ve also seen modest growth in mileage (9%) and gas-related transactions (7%), which are often tied to driving personal vehicles. Employees may have opted for alternative transportation methods, with car rentals up 10%, train travel up 14%, and ground transportation (including taxi and ride share) up 16%.

Average Transaction Amount by Category

The average expense transaction amount per category remained largely flat year over year. Categories such as meals, ground transportation, lodging, and gas saw minor cost reductions. Lodging, for instance, saw a decrease from $140 to $136 per transaction, which could be due to companies negotiating better rates, encouraging cost-conscious spending, or benefiting from stabilizing prices.

Conversely, some categories experienced modest increases, such as air travel-related transactions (rising from $425 to $438) and train travel ($65 to $69). These changes likely stem from inflation, increased demand for travel, or shifts toward premium travel options.

¡°ÑÇÖÞȺp Expense data showed a more ideal year for corporate spending in 2024¡ªone where we saw increased spending yet fairly flat average costs per transaction,¡± according to Chris Juneau, senior vice president and head of product marketing for SAP ÑÇÖÞȺp.

Cost Control and Compliance

Organizations rely on expense policies and automated expense management tools to rein in employee spending. These methods are important because on average, 15-20% of expense reports contain non-compliant spend. Most stem from errors and wasteful spending¡ªsuch as duplicate transactions, not providing itemized receipts, or excessive spending against expense report benchmarks¡ªrather than employees acting with malicious intent.

We know this because at SAP ÑÇÖÞȺp, we offer Intelligent Audit and ÑÇÖÞȺp Verify to identify non-compliant spend and potential fraud. Both solutions use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology to process more than 80 million compliance checks per month.

¡°The expense management process should be as accurate, painless, and compliant as possible because businesses spending more on employee expenses translates to stronger business outcomes, greater innovation, and deeper customer connections,¡± says Juneau.

Methodology: SAP ÑÇÖÞȺp analyzed aggregate expense transactions in ÑÇÖÞȺp Expense between January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024, and equivalent time periods from 2023. Expenses for this analysis were tagged as ¡°airfare,¡± ¡°car rental,¡± ¡°entertainment,¡± ¡°gas,¡± ¡°ground transportation,¡± ¡°lodging,¡± ¡°meals,¡± ¡°mileage,¡± ¡°miscellaneous,¡± ¡°office, ¡°other,¡± ¡°parking,¡± ¡°telecom,¡± and ¡°train.¡± Averages in the charts above include the cost of ancillary and other related charges.