Most travel policies cover trains, flights, hotels and meals. Mobile data abroad is missing, or reduced to one line such as “phone costs reimbursed against a receipt”. Five decisions are enough to cover it: who qualifies, how much data per type of trip, who approves, what happens when the plan runs out, and which security rules apply. This guide walks through each one, gives you a clause to copy, and shows how to enforce it without checking anything by hand.
Why data is usually left out
Phones tend to sit with the mobile fleet, run by facilities or IT, not with travel procurement. Company contracts often cover the countries staff visit most, so the question only comes up for some trips, the ones outside the covered zone. Nobody owns it, so everyone improvises.
- Some leave roaming on, and the bill turns up with the carrier invoice weeks later.
- Some buy a SIM card at the airport and claim it on expenses.
- Others avoid spending anything and work over hotel or conference Wi-Fi.
None of this is forbidden. None of it is decided either. The cost is only known afterwards, and nobody asks the security question.
When you do not need a separate rule
If your staff mostly travel where their company line already includes data, they should just use it. EU lines roam like at home across the EU, within the carrier’s fair use limits. UK contracts vary, so check yours. Before writing anything, list what your contract includes outside your home zone, country by country. The rule below is only for the destinations it does not cover.
The five points to cover
- Who qualifies: the simplest rule is any employee on a business trip outside the zone their line covers, whatever their role. Rules by job title create exceptions to manage.
- How much data: an allowance per type of trip, not per person. The table below gives starting points.
- Who approves: the manager approves the trip, as today. Data follows from the table, with no second approval flow.
- Running out: what happens when the plan is used up, with a limit written in advance.
- Security: no public Wi-Fi for sensitive data, and a clear step if the phone is lost or stolen.
How much data per trip
Usage drives consumption. Email, messaging, maps and ride-hailing use little. Video calls use a lot more. Start from this table, then adjust it with each person’s real usage after two or three months.
| Type of trip | Typical use | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Short visit, 1 to 3 days | Email, messaging, maps, ride-hailing | 3 GB |
| Trip of up to 2 weeks | The same, plus some video calls | 10 GB |
| Trade show, site work, long assignment | Regular video calls, online tools all day | 10 GB plus one top-up |
| Multi-country trip | Depends on length | A regional plan, where one exists |
To set a budget, here are public prices from our Pricing page on 7 November 2026, including VAT: 3 GB for 30 days in Turkey at €8.99, 10 GB for 30 days in the United States at €17.99 and in Morocco at €29.99. Prices vary a lot between countries, so base a monthly budget per person on your most expensive destinations, not on an average.
Who approves, and when
Do not create a separate request for data. The manager approves the trip as usual. Whoever books the trip, an office manager or travel assistant, sets the traveller up at the same time, following the table. Only exceptions go back to the manager: more data than the table allows, or a country you are not sure how to cover.
The eSIM is installed before departure, over Wi-Fi, at the office or at home. Write that into the policy: it is what saves people hunting for a connection when they land.
Running out: decide before the trip
The usual case: a video call on the last day uses up the plan. There are three ways to handle it, and you need to pick one.
- Capped automatic top-up: the same plan is added when the data runs out, a limited number of times.
- Top-up on request: the traveller asks, the administrator tops up.
- No top-up: the traveller waits for safe Wi-Fi, which pushes them towards public networks.
We recommend the first, with a low limit of one or two top-ups per trip. Nobody gets cut off mid-assignment, and the maximum cost stays known.
One thing to remember: our eSIMs carry data only. Calls and texts stay on the usual line and may be charged as roaming outside the covered zone. Say in the policy whether calls go through a company app or over the line.
Security: the public Wi-Fi rule
Hotels, airports, cafés and venues offer shared networks you do not control. The simplest rule: no sensitive data over public Wi-Fi. That means client systems, finance, HR and confidential documents. If you have a company VPN, your IT rules on it still apply. With enough mobile data, travellers have no reason to join those networks for work.
Add a step for loss or theft: the traveller tells a named contact straight away, who suspends the eSIM.
A clause to copy
Fill in the bracketed parts, then have the clause approved like the rest of your travel policy.
- Scope. This rule applies to any business trip to a country where the employee’s company line does not include data [zone covered by your contract].
- Provision. The employee receives a data eSIM provided by the company, ordered by [team or person] when the trip is booked. They install it before departure, over Wi-Fi.
- Allowance. Trips of 1 to 3 days: 3 GB. Trips of up to 2 weeks: 10 GB. Long assignments or heavy use: 10 GB and one top-up. Anything more is approved by the manager.
- Running out. If the data runs out, the same plan is topped up automatically, at most [1] time per eSIM and within a budget of [amount] per employee per month. Beyond that, the employee contacts [contact].
- Local SIMs and roaming. Local SIM cards and data roaming on a company or personal line are not reimbursed, unless the eSIM provided does not work and the employee has reported it to [contact].
- Security. No sensitive data (client systems, finance, HR, confidential documents) is accessed over public Wi-Fi: hotels, airports, cafés, venues. The employee uses their mobile data [and the company VPN].
- Loss or theft. The employee reports a lost or stolen phone to [contact] without delay, who suspends the eSIM.
- Calls. The eSIM carries data only. Calls go through [app]. Calls over the usual line outside the covered zone are for emergencies.
Enforcing it without manual checks
A rule that has to be checked by hand ends up ignored. In Terudo Business, each part of the clause maps to a setting.
- Equip: one destination, one plan, the people ticked. Each receives their eSIM by email, in your company’s name, with a page to install and track it.
- Monthly budget per employee: checked on every order and every top-up.
- Monthly account cap, if you want one: a total nothing goes past.
- Automatic top-up: the same plan at the same price, with a maximum number of top-ups per eSIM, within budgets and the cap. Without it, the administrator gets an email and tops up from the dashboard.
- Prepaid credit by card: each eSIM and top-up is deducted from it. An order the credit does not cover is declined.
- Usage per person: installed or not, data used, expiry date. That is what you use to adjust the allowance table.
- Loss, theft or a leaver: the administrator suspends the eSIM from the list.
- Cancelled trip: an eSIM that was never installed is cancelled and its price goes back on the credit.
Where to start
List the countries your staff visited last year and check, for each one, what the company line covers. Copy the clause, fill in the brackets and get it approved. Then open a Terudo Business account, set budgets and automatic top-up to match the clause, and equip the next trip. After three months, review usage per person and adjust the allowances.