Budget's Tight? Don't Cut Your Travel Just Yet The future of business just became a whole lot more uncertain. Especially if you're still in the start-up and growth phase of your company.

The news is full of it…

"The Rand is plummeting" and "We're being downgraded to junk status".

The future of business just became a whole lot more uncertain. Especially if you're still in the start-up and growth phase of your company.

So, where to from here?

When do you start re-assessing your budgets and what is the first item you'll cut?

Before you decide to axe your business travel, here are five ways you can tighten up on your expenses to avoid this:

Eliminate hidden travel booking fees

Have you ever booked a cheap flight online only to find you have to pay thousands of rands to change your flight when you miss it because of the traffic to the airport? Times this by the number of sales managers in your team and it quickly adds up!

Don't waste precious time

Wasting precious time in your day on Google searching for the best flight, car hire and hotel room. You could be spending these hours crunching numbers, closing deals and bringing the money in!

Consolidate expenses

Consolidate all your travel spending and improve your cash flow by paying everything on one credit account.

Add a level of transparency into travel for your business

You need to be able to see and track your spend on business trips. This means having one holistic view of what all your managers are spending when they travel and have the right measures in place to ensure they don't overspend.

Partner with one travel management company

Stop paying separate agencies for your visa, passports and travel requirements. By partnering with one travel management company who can provide you with all these services, you can save on paying separate fees.

You can do all the above in one simple step – by partnering with Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT)!

Having been in the industry for over 20 years, they have global negotiating strength and long-standing relationships with the world's top airlines, hotel chains, car rental companies and travel providers, giving them the power to offer you the best options at the best prices.

And sometimes the cost savings isn't just on a better rate for a flight or hotel.

Almost 45% of all business trips are changed at least once and usually at the last minute. FCBT assigns a dedicated account manager who is available 24/7 to every business account, so any last minute changes can be made at any time of the day and that's where most of your savings come in.

Plus they offer flexible payment options to business travellers. These include options like company or personal credit card payments, travel lodge cards and interest free credit accounts.

A travel lodge card helps manage your travel spend by consolidating and sorting all your travel expenses into one simple monthly statement. So you can see exactly what you've spent on airlines, accommodation and car rental on the same statement.

FCBT also offer bill backs, a service where they cover all your travel costs, consolidate them, and bill them back to the company. This basically means the company doesn't have to deal with lots of little expense claims after a business trip. For a risk conscious, growing organisation, this is a huge way to reduce fraud and control travel spend.

But, the most worthwhile reason to consider enlisting a travel specialist is they will have the right knowledge and experience to help you develop a solid company travel policy. Flight Centre Business Travel can set up your company travel policy to streamline staff travel and secure preferred suppliers. This ensures that all flights booked have been duly authorised and are within the allocated budget, reducing your financial risk significantly.

FCBT can help any growing business with their business travel – even in tumultuous times!

To partner with Flight Centre Business Travel and learn more enquire here or call 0877 40 51 61 to speak to a specialist today. Visit their website on www.fcbt.co.za