Managing Per Diems in UAE

Control UAE Travel Spend with Qashio

Per diems are key to controlling travel and expense (T&E) spend. Corporate travel management UAE is often messy and inaccurate. But managing travel budgets doesn’t have to be messy. With the right tools, you can give employees freedom to travel while keeping budgets tight. One of the simplest ways to do that? Set clear per diem allowances.

A per diem is a daily limit employees can use for meals, transport, and other business travel costs. It removes the need for individual reimbursements and helps your team know what they can spend.

Some companies set per diems low to save money. But that often leads to unhappy travellers, out-of-pocket expenses, and an overall poor travel experience. A better approach is combining fair per diem rates with automation, live spend tracking, and built-in controls.

In this guide, we’ll break down how per diems work, why they matter, and how UAE businesses can manage them smarter with Qashio.

Per Diem Best Practices

Business travel can be an excellent way to build relationships and drive growth. But it needs to be structured to prevent overspending. Here’s how to keep it efficient:

• ‍Give every traveller a card. No one should pay out of pocket. Out-of-pocket expense reimbursements can lead to overspending or missing receipts. Qashio allows you to give each employee a corporate card with automated receipt collection.
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• Avoid conversion fees by spending in local currency. Use a card with multi-currency wallets to spend in the local currency; that way you can avoid paying hefty currency conversion fees.
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• Set clear budgets. Define daily limits and fair Per diem allowances UAE rates so employees know what they can spend. By setting firm limits, employees know where they’re allowed to spend and avoid overspending. By using a Qashio card to set firm card limits that reject any out-of-policy or excessive charges, you can prevent employees from overspending.
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• Automate your approval process. Set smart spending tiers with built-in approval rules for example, automatically route any expense over 500 AED to the line manager for review.
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• Simplify receipt collection. Centralise receipts with clear, digital processes. Either limit submissions to email, or use a tool like Qashio that lets employees upload receipts via WhatsApp and automatically matches them to transactions.

The key to controlling travel spend is to have firm guidelines, the right tools, and the right spending options. Speak to the Qashio team to find out how Qashio can support your business in managing per diems.

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