Maximizing travel VAT refunds with virtual credit cards

Booking and managing hotels can be quite complex when companies are interested in VAT reclaim.

With VAT refunds, companies can save up to to 25% on hotel spend — its a big deal 🤑

Depending on where your employees travel to, having compliant invoices means that you can recover VAT on a wide range of typical business travel expenses that could include everything from hotels, car hire, restaurants, conferences, exhibitions, transport, and fuel.

Shared credit cards are often used for online booking tools, this causes issues when looking at VAT compliance and expense management.

If an admin or traveler holds a company card which is used for travel or any general purchase, there is a heightened risk of abuse or fraud, uncontrolled spend, and often limits hotel offerings to prepaid content since the card cannot be sent with the business traveler.

Prepaying for hotel content from online travel agents means lost VAT since the invoice is from the booking platforms and not the hotel.

Virtual credit cards are the end to shared cards since they can be sent with the traveler, providing a more cost-effective, accountable and accurate way of paying for hotels allowing for VAT compliant invoices.

Each virtual card is unique to a traveler and comes with built-in, pre-issue approval controls as well as budgetary limits. This fine-grained control over who can use a card and what it can be used adding greater control over traveler spend.

This is more cost-effective, accountable and accurate than using centrally held cards as a lot of time is saved on tedious expense reports and reconciliation after the trip since expenses are matched to travelers and trips.

Making the business traveler smile

Most travelers are experts at finding the best hotels, comparing prices, looking at reviews and booking the perfect room.

Giving each traveler their own centrally managed virtual credit card empowers the traveler to book on business travel sites like voyya.com and booking.com whilst still paying securely with business funds securing VAT compliant invoices.

So how do virtual credit cards work?

A virtual credit card number or VCN for short is exactly the same 16 digit number that is printed on a traditional debit or credit card. A traditional plastic card is just a way to carry this 16 digit number around with you. This card has to be manufactured and sent and carried around everywhere you go. On the other hand, a VCN can be created in seconds, sent to the travelers mobile phone or email.

Virtual cards can be used anywhere a traditional card can be used and offers these added benefits to companies.

Perfect invoice compliance for easy VAT reclaim

With a service like Voyya.com, the traveler can easily pay the supplier on his trip while getting a perfectly compliant VAT invoice.

Lost and non-compliant invoices are the biggest reason for missed VAT refunds. At Voyya.com we help companies to book the best hotels at the best prices and provide compliant VAT invoices for increased VAT refunds. We can even submit them to your VAT provider — free of charge.