Travel Expense Optimizer runs business travel from the first trip request to a completed, paid booking, with fares compared and checked against policy before anyone books. The Travel Coordinator records each trip as a booking with its subject, traveler or client name, start and end dates, quoted amount in US dollars and the supplier it will be booked with.
Bookings in one list
Travel Approver, never the coordinator, decides each submitted option.
Every feature works on the same records. Pick one to see the screen your team works in.
Keep the travel suppliers you may book with, each with its eligibility, and the organizations and team members who book and review.
Resources
| Code | Name | Contact name | Address | Eligibility note | Organization | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WGAS | Willow Gate Air Services | Mina Farouk | 18 Willow Way, Denver, CO | Corporate fare agreement active | Crestvale Travel Desk | |
| CRHT | Cedar Ridge Hotels | Theo Larsen | 420 Cedar St, Portland, OR | Refundable rates available | Crestvale Travel Desk | |
| HRRL | Harborline Rail Co. | Anjali Rao | 75 Harbor Rd, Seattle, WA | Rail booking feed verified | North Harbor Advisory Ltd. | |
| BMCH | Blue Mesa Car Hire | Lucia Moreno | 9 Mesa Ave, Phoenix, AZ | Insurance certificate current | West Quay Consulting Co. | |
| NQLD | North Quay Lodging Ltd. | Samir Khan | 310 Quay Lane, Boise, ID | City rate cap accepted | Bluefield Services Group |
Carry each trip from request through hold and confirmation to completion, with the supplier units it reserves.
Bookings
| Record number | Subject | Customer name | Counterparty | Quoted amount USD | Starts at | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BKN-22404 | Denver client visit, two nights | Crestvale Advisory Ltd. | Cedar Ridge Hotels | 950 | 30 Oct | |
| BKN-71618 | Portland sales summit flight | North Harbor Consulting Inc. | Elm Coast Shuttle Co. | 750 | 14 Oct | |
| BKN-28492 | Phoenix supplier audit trip | Elmbridge Research Co. | Blue Mesa Car Hire | 720 | 14 Oct | |
| BKN-72335 | Seattle workshop hotel stay | Bluefield Services Group | Riverbend Conference Hotels | 780 | 29 Oct | |
| BKN-51275 | Boise field training travel | Silver Ridge Operations Ltd. | North Quay Lodging Ltd. | 700 | 24 Oct |
Gather fare and route options for each trip, each quoted on a date under a named policy version, and submit the preferred one for review.
Approval conditions
| Parent | Route | Quoted at | Fare USD | Policy version | Revision | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake conference travel | San Francisco to Denver | 21 Oct | 480 | Travel policy 2026.1 | 130 | |
| Denver client visit, two nights | Oakland to Portland | 21 Oct | 940 | Travel policy 2026.2 | 830 | |
| Sacramento site visit train | Los Angeles to Phoenix | 29 Oct | 590 | Executive travel policy 2026.1 | 450 | |
| Sacramento site visit train | San Jose to Seattle | 03 Nov | 250 | Domestic air policy 2026.1 | 700 | |
| Boise field training travel | Sacramento to Boise | 19 Oct | 420 | Lodging cap policy 2026.2 | 710 |
Record an independent approve, reject or return decision on each submitted option and booking revision before anything is booked.
Review decisions
| Parent | Source revision | Decision | Reason | Reviewer | Decided at | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland sales summit flight | 890 | Return | Fare exceeds route allowance | Samir Khan | 18 Oct | |
| Portland sales summit flight | 830 | Return | Lower refundable fare selected | Nico Weber | 30 Oct | |
| Sacramento site visit train | 20 | Return | Hotel rate within city cap | Anjali Rao | 31 Oct | |
| Reno annual planning trip | 420 | Return | Trip dates changed by client | Samir Khan | 23 Oct | |
| Salt Lake conference travel | 230 | Return | Approval needed for late booking | Mina Farouk | 14 Oct |
Record payment events from your provider and confirm a booking only when verified payment evidence exists.
Payment evidence
| Parent | Provider event ID | Type | Amount USD | Occurred at | Provider reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake conference travel | PAY-2026-70184 | Authorization | 860 | 28 Oct | CONF-684219 | |
| Reno annual planning trip | PAY-2026-70207 | Capture | 280 | 13 Oct | CONF-684237 | |
| Phoenix supplier audit trip | PAY-2026-70219 | Refund | 710 | 18 Oct | CONF-684251 | |
| Portland sales summit flight | PAY-2026-70244 | Void | 850 | 15 Oct | CONF-684288 | |
| Reno annual planning trip | PAY-2026-70281 | Authorization | 130 | 29 Oct | CONF-684304 |
Cancel trips under policy, record no-shows only after the threshold, correct approved scope and reconcile the receipt of every controlled action.
Operation receipts
| Operation key | Action | Expected revision | Result state | Occurred at | External reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| booking-2026-0418 | Compare fare options | 120 | Pending | 29 Oct | AIR-2026-0418 | |
| hold-2026-0421 | Place supplier hold | 250 | Needs review | 20 Oct | HOTEL-2026-0421 | |
| payment-2026-0426 | Request policy approval | 830 | Pending | 03 Nov | CAR-2026-0426 | |
| confirm-2026-0432 | Verify payment | 280 | Needs review | 16 Oct | RAIL-2026-0432 | |
| cancel-2026-0437 | Confirm booking | 150 | Pending | 26 Oct | AIR-2026-0437 |
Trip request to completed trip ships ready to use. One step needs a named approval before the work moves on: Policy review (Travel Approver).
Record the traveler, dates, quoted amount and supplier for the trip.
Record the realistic fare options with quote date and policy version.
An independent approver approves, returns or rejects the preferred option.
Hold the approved trip with the supplier and record the reserved units.
Confirm the booking only when verified payment evidence exists.
Close the trip when travel ends, keeping its full history.
Open any booking to see its booking resources, the roles that work on it, its process stages and its approvals on one page.
Customer name, Starts at, Ends at and Counterparty.
Each line is linked to this booking.
Admin, Travel Manager and Travel Coordinator, each with their own permissions.
Trip request and Fare comparison, with the role that acts.
Policy review, with who decides.
Crestvale Advisory Ltd. · Requested
| Parent | Line number | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Reno annual planning trip | 670 | Willow Gate Air Services |
| Phoenix supplier audit trip | 750 | Willow Gate Air Services |
| Denver client visit, two nights | 240 | Riverbend Conference Hotels |
Signed in as Travel Approver
| Decision | Approver | |
|---|---|---|
| Policy reviewAn independent approver approves, returns or rejects the preferred option. | Travel Approver | |
| Approve travel options, Bookings | Travel Approver |
Everyone opens Travel Expense Optimizer to the work that is theirs. Pick a role to see what it starts with.
Configures organizations, team members, users and access, and corrects records across the app.
Maintains approved suppliers and team membership, sets the travel policy version in use and oversees bookings and spend.
This is the first screen this role sees.
Travel options · Travel Manager
| Parent | Route | Quoted at | Fare USD | Policy version | Revision | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake conference travel | San Francisco to Denver | 21 Oct | 480 | Travel policy 2026.1 | 130 | |
| Denver client visit, two nights | Oakland to Portland | 21 Oct | 940 | Travel policy 2026.2 | 830 | |
| Sacramento site visit train | Los Angeles to Phoenix | 29 Oct | 590 | Executive travel policy 2026.1 | 450 | |
| Sacramento site visit train | San Jose to Seattle | 03 Nov | 250 | Domestic air policy 2026.1 | 700 | |
| Boise field training travel | Sacramento to Boise | 19 Oct | 420 | Lodging cap policy 2026.2 | 710 |
Owns trip bookings, gathers and submits fare options, places holds, confirms on verified payment and handles cancellations and corrections.
This is the first screen this role sees.
Bookings · Travel Coordinator
Independently reviews submitted fare options and booking revisions they did not prepare, recording approve, reject or return decisions.
This is the first screen this role sees.
Travel options · Travel Approver
| Parent | Route | Quoted at | Fare USD | Policy version | Revision | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake conference travel | San Francisco to Denver | 21 Oct | 480 | Travel policy 2026.1 | 130 | |
| Denver client visit, two nights | Oakland to Portland | 21 Oct | 940 | Travel policy 2026.2 | 830 | |
| Sacramento site visit train | Los Angeles to Phoenix | 29 Oct | 590 | Executive travel policy 2026.1 | 450 | |
| Sacramento site visit train | San Jose to Seattle | 03 Nov | 250 | Domestic air policy 2026.1 | 700 | |
| Boise field training travel | Sacramento to Boise | 19 Oct | 420 | Lodging cap policy 2026.2 | 710 |
Records and checks provider payment events and reconciles pending and unresolved operation receipts.
This is the first screen this role sees.
Bookings · Payments Analyst
Reads bookings, fare options, decisions and payments without changing them.
This is the first screen this role sees.
Bookings · Viewer
Review approved fares against quotes, policy outcomes, captured spend by supplier, refunds and cancellations.
This quarter
How far records got this quarter
| Stage | Reached | Step | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requested | 36 | ||
| Held | 18 | 50% | |
| Confirmed | 10 | 56% | |
| In progress | 5 | 50% |
Sample totals per stage
Approved travel options fare USD against the booking's quoted amount USD, per booking.
Number of travel options per booking, the lowest fare USD and the approved fare USD.
Review decisions by Decision, then by Reviewer, with Reason for Reject and Return.
Days from quoted at to decision at for decided travel options.
Travel options by policy version and Status.
Captured payment evidence amount USD by the booking's Counterparty, then by month of occurred at.
Payment evidence of Type Refund or Void by booking, with provider reference.
Bookings by Status per Organization for a starts at range.
Cancelled and no show Bookings by Counterparty, then by Owner.
See how Travel Expense Optimizer fits your kind of team.
Companies with a written travel policy, preferred suppliers and approvers who check every trip before it is booked.
Agencies booking for several client companies, each with its own policy, suppliers and approvers.
Consulting and engineering firms whose staff travel to client sites, with trips that change at short notice.
Each stage of trip request to completed trip names the role that acts and the status it records, so a change is never anonymous.
Each stage, the role that acts and the status it records
Prepare and review trips, fare options and payments with Proto.
Set up connections through ERP.AI and Proto workflows, with every change logged.
Every record lives in a table you can see, extend and export. Add fields or whole tables in Proto.
Browse all 12 tablesStart with one team and one process, then add the rest once the basics are running.
The app runs suppliers, trip bookings, fare comparison, policy review, payment evidence, cancellations, corrections and receipts. Booking channels, payment providers, expense claims and the ledger remain connected systems. Your approvers decide trips; Proto prepares information and configuration for review.
Gather suppliers with eligibility, the current policy version, coordinators and approvers, open trips and recent payment events.
Pilot one office for one month. Run every trip through request, comparison, review, hold, payment and completion.
A coordinator must not approve their own trip. A booking must not be confirmed without verified payment. A no-show must not be recorded before the threshold. A part-used trip must be corrected through an approved compensating action.
Compare confirmed trips and captured payments with your card statements. Obtain sign-off from the Travel Manager, keep an export of the source and agree the rollback window before cutover.
$0per user
The base account and everyday work in the ERP.AI app are free, for every user.
| Usage | Per $1 |
|---|---|
| Record reads (list, filter, get) | 20,000 |
| Search or aggregate queries | 4,000 |
| Record writes | 4,000 |
| Imported or synced records | 200,000 |
| Workflow runs | 2,000 |
| AI agent runs | 2,000 |
| Scheduled jobs or webhooks | 20,000 |
| File uploads (MB) | 2,000 |
| CSV or PDF exports | 100 |
Click Get started, then use Proto to configure Travel Expense Optimizer for your business. Pilot one office for one month. Run every trip through request, fare comparison, review, hold, payment and completion, and reconcile captured payments with your card statements before adding offices.
Fares come from your booking channel or agency tool. Coordinators record each option with its route, quote date, fare and policy version, so the approver can compare them.
A Travel Approver in the same organization who did not prepare the trip. The decision is Approve, Reject or Return with a reason, against the trip's exact revision.
No. An approved fare is a quote. The trip is held with the supplier and confirmed only when verified payment exists.
Each option records the policy version it was quoted under. A new version applies to new options; past decisions keep their original version.
The cancellation is checked against the supplier's policy and timing, reserved units are released and any refund is recorded against the booking.
Expense claims and reimbursement stay in your expense system. This app holds the booking, the fare comparison, the approval and the payment events for each trip.
Yes. Unused parts are cancelled. Used parts stay on record, and a compensating action such as a rebooking needs an approver's decision.
Prepare suppliers, coordinators and approvers, open trips and recent payment events. Rehearse one month and reconcile it before extending the migration.
Ordinary manual use has no per-user charge under the platform policy. Imports, integrations, agent execution and other machine work consume prepaid credits; implementation is scoped separately. The pricing page lists the current rates.
Start free, then use Proto to change fields, steps and approvals before your team goes live.