Conference and travel request automation

Purpose

1.1. Enables faculty and staff to automate conference and travel request submissions, approvals, notifications, compliance checks, data entry, and travel record management.
1.2. Standardizes automating the end-to-end process from initial request to expense reconciliation, eliminating manual tasks.
1.3. Automates communication and record creation across HR, finance, and management systems to support efficient faculty mobility.
1.4. Ensures requests are automatically routed, tracked, and archived for compliance and reporting.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Form submission via portal or external form tool.
2.2. Email with specific keywords or request template detected.
2.3. Direct request entry into HR, ERP, or travel booking systems.
2.4. Scheduled batch process for aggregating multiple requests.

Platform variants

3.1. Microsoft Power Automate
• Trigger: “When a new response is submitted” in Microsoft Forms
• Action: Approval, record creation in SharePoint/Excel
3.2. Zapier
• Trigger: “New Form Entry” (Google Forms, Typeform)
• Action: Gmail/Slack notification, Google Sheets update
3.3. ServiceNow
• API: createIncident, getUserRecord
• Automates submission logging and approval routing
3.4. Salesforce
• API: POST /services/data/vXX.X/sobjects/CustomObject
• Automates storing requests in Education Cloud
3.5. Workday
• API: Submit Travel Request (Workday REST API)
• Automates entry and approval tracking
3.6. Concur
• API: TravelRequest POST /api/travelrequests
• Automates trip booking and policy checks
3.7. Google Apps Script
• Trigger: “On Form Submit”
• Automates emailing, calendar events, and sheet updates
3.8. Slack Workflow Builder
• Trigger: Form or message
• Action: Automates direct approval pings and status updates
3.9. DocuSign
• API: Envelopes:create
• Automates digital signature routing
3.10. Trello
• API: POST /1/cards
• Automates request card creation/tracking
3.11. Jira
• API: POST /rest/api/3/issue
• Automates ticket creation for travel requests
3.12. Asana
• API: POST /tasks
• Automates task assignment to managers
3.13. AirTable
• API: POST /v0/{baseId}/{tableId}
• Automates travel request tabling and pipeline
3.14. Monday.com
• API: create_item
• Automates notification and approval workflows
3.15. Notion
• API: pages.create
• Automates conference log database entry
3.16. BambooHR
• API: POST /api/gateway.php/{company}/v1/time_off/request
• Automates leave and travel time sync
3.17. Box
• API: POST /files/content
• Automates document upload and sharing
3.18. Smartsheet
• API: POST /sheets/{sheetId}/rows
• Automates line item request tracking
3.19. SAP
• API: POST /travelrequest
• Automates finance and HR integrations
3.20. Freshservice
• API: POST /api/v2/tickets
• Automates support for issues during travel process.

Benefits

4.1. Automates repetitive manual processes, reducing errors and delays.
4.2. Improves response speed by automating status updates and notifications.
4.3. Ensures auditability by automatedly logging and tracking every step.
4.4. Supports policy compliance via automated checks and escalations.
4.5. Empowers centralized request management and automated reporting.
4.6. Enhances transparency with automated workflows and reminders for all stakeholders.