Organizing Travel Documents

Whether you are traveling for work or pleasure, there are usually a fair number of documents to keep track of pertaining to your trip. There is nothing like the frustration of rummaging through a bag for a boarding pass you thought you had printed out or visa documentation you need to cross a border. Most of these items can be recovered electronically without much hassle; however, this is not the case with receipts you might be stockpiling on a work trip. These tend to go missing without much effort on your part and, once they are lost, they might be lost forever. Depending on the requirements of your employer or granting agency, with these slips of paper goes your reimbursement.

One way to get in front of this looming disaster is to bring something with you to organize your travel document archive. In a pinch this can be a simple envelope; ask your hotel for one or bring one with you and, at the very least, you can store all of your documents together. In an ideal situation, you would bring something that would not take up space, but would allow you to organize paper into categories like visas, lodging and transportation, business meals and incidentals. Invest in something like a slash pocket folder or hook and loop closure envelope to make the process of reconciling expenses less complicated when you get home. These are cheap and easy to store.