Per Diem

Per diem is reimbursement given to employees for traveling and lodging expenses. Companies that perform contract work for the federal government can only charge the government for business travel and meal expenses based on federal per diem rules. These rules are based on location and time sensitive dates.

There are two reasons that per diem rules exist. First, the government must set limits on how much it will pay for lodging and business meals per person. Second, per diem rules eliminate the need to keep receipts for every small expenditure, like snacks, meals, transportation, and lodging.

Per diem rules vary based on your city of origin and local prices in your destination city. If your employees must stay overnight in New York, for example, your company will receive greater reimbursement than if they had to stay in a less expensive city. Because the rules fluctuate from one place to another, there is no standard formula that can be applied. Each per diem rate must be calculated individually.

Unanet's Solution to Per Diem Complexity

Here at Unanet, we specialize in professional services automation and expense management software which comes with built-in per diem rules to ensure accuracy. Unanet saves several government contractors a considerable amount of time and money. As an expense report user, simply by entering city of origin, destination city, how many travelers there were, and how many meals were needed etc on your expense report, Unanet will calculate allowed amounts and overages.