Travel Advance Request Process(TAR)

Disbursements & Travel ServicesDisbursements.travel@utsa.edu or 458-4213

Presenters: Nora Compean 458-4831 Zachary Bolden 458-5915

Website: http://www.utsa.edu/financialaffairs/dts/

Purpose: • The University of Texas (UTSA) at San Antonio may

advance funds to minimize financial hardship for employees and traveling students.

• Travel must be on official UTSA business.• Advance must be issued in accordance to IRS

accountable plan rules.• Other payment methods should first be pursued.• UTSA requires the use of contracted UT System-

wide travel and car agencies

Authority:

• Board of Regents’ Rules and Regulation (Rule 20801)

• Internal Revenue Service (IRC Rule 162 and various rules)

Requirements and Eligibility:

• Issued to faculty, staff and eligible student employees who travel infrequently

• Prospective employees and students are not eligible

• Domestic and foreign travel• TAR must be submitted 10 business days prior to

trip departure• Approved RTA/VE5 is required

Requirements and Eligibility:

• An approved RTA/VE5 must be in place before the traveler’s departure date and/or any travel arrangements are made:– Encumber total travel cost (transportation, lodging and

M&IE) regardless of method of payment– Email DTS inbox disencumbrance requests– Process VE6 Correction to Request to Travel when

changes include: traveler’s name, dates of travel, destinations, purpose of travel, traveler type, change encumbrance amount, or trip is cancelled.

Requirements and Eligibility (cont):

• Advances on Behalf of Students Traveling on Official UTSA Business • Referred to as Student Advance Responsible Party

• TAR is authorized by an account administrator, who identifies the employee who will have the custodial responsibility for funds while students are in travel status.

Requirements and Eligibility (cont):• Student Advance Responsible Party

• Typically accompany the student travelers on trip, but not required

• Requires an RTA, if traveling with student(s)• Does not affect employees request for travel advance, if

applicable• Responsible for the usage and reconciliation of monies

disbursed

• Complete the Travel Advance Request (TAR)• Preferred method of payment is Travel Advance Card

(TAC)

Requirements and Eligibility (cont):

• RTA is not required for Student Advance Responsible Party, if not traveling with student.

• Provide advance to student, if applicable

• Explain requirements to students and assure funds are used for allowable travel cost

Requirements and Eligibility (cont):

• Settle the travel advance within 30 days after trip return date

• If travel has not been completed and payment to Citibank is due, send a copy of credit card statement with approval to DTS for processing by UTSA established due date.

– 20th of each month

Requirements and Eligibility (cont):• Eligible activities and events include but are not

limited to:• Study Abroad• Athletics• Research • Student Activities• Group travel

Allowable Expenses:

• Meals and Incidentals (M&IE)• Lodging Expenses (include hotel tax and deposit)• Registration• Transportation • Other expenses (excludes mileage)

Note: See GSA (General Services Administration) website for per diem and lodging rates http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287

Accounts to be Charged:• 19 - Designated Funds (for travel)• 14 - State Appropriated General Funds: accounts receive

advances for meals and lodging only per the Gov’t Code Section 660.003 Travel Expenses

• 26 - Grants & Contracts: requires RSC approval• 30 - Restricted Funds: requires approval from Accounting• Subaccounts used:

68-Student Athlete travel 75-Non-student domestic travel 76-Non-student foreign travel 77- Student non-athletic team travel 78-Student athletic team travel

Audit Findings on 14 accounts• Tips and taxes must not be included

Solution: Provide alternate account number• Lodging rate increases require pre-approval Solution: Notate in Define pre-approval amounts and show encumbrance breakdown• Cost savings on TRS form cannot be a

negative amount Solution: Positive amount should reflect a savings to the State

Approvals/Certification:

• Traveler must sign promissory note• Student Advance Responsible Party must sign

promissory note, if applicable• Account administrator/Supervisor approval• Advances in excess of $10K require additional

VP/Dean/Associate/Assistant VP approval.• RSC approval (26 accounts)

Note: TAR forms will be returned if all required approvals have not been obtained.

Settlement/Reimbursement:

• Traveler has 30 days upon return of trip to settle all expenses associated with trip by submitting a Travel Reimbursement/Settlement (TRS) form http://www.utsa.edu/financialaffairs/opguidelines/0109.html

• Reimbursement is settled by DTS. The voucher is processed within 7-10 business days from receiving a correct TRS form

• If travel reimbursement is not settled within 30 days, the traveler may be reported to their respective VP for non-compliance with UTSA operational guidelines

Settlement/Reimbursement (cont):

• If returning excess travel advance funds to UTSA: • Complete deposit transmittal form and submit to Fiscal

Services• Include name of traveler • Include departmental account number xx-xxxx-xxxx• Include DTN field: e.g. TA4321 (travel advance

tracking number issued by DTS)• Include object code: 5371

TAC Cards

• Preferred method of payment for TAR• Embossed cards will be issued with name of

traveler• TAC is activated only for travel dates• Traveler must not exceed approved amount• Advance amounts will be rounded up to the

next whole dollar

TAC Cards (cont.)

• TAC cards may be requested up to 60 days in advance of travel to pay for transportation or prepay lodging expenses

• TACs can be re-used and refreshed for future trips upon submission of a new TAR

• TACs can be retained at the department level while not being used for travel

• If TAC is for one time trip, then return to DTS

TAC Cards (cont)

• TAC cards will be settled by the DTS Travel. (DTS will create the VP2s to pay Citibank and reimburse traveler — exclude team travel)

• TAC cards may be picked up at DTS/Main Campus/DT

• TAC cards may not be picked up by a proxy

Team Travel

• Complete TAR for “Student Advance Responsible Party”

• Embossed TAC cards will be issued to students, if applicable

• Pick up cards at DTS/Fiscal Svcs by faculty/staff member

• Proper faculty/student RTA’s approved-- if required

Team Travel (cont.)

• Proper reconciliation will be completed by dept to clear advance. The reconciliation should include name of traveler, UTEID, account number to charge, object code, amounts. Total amount must match total amount of billing statements.

• TAC cards must be paid by the 20th of every month regardless of travel return dates. Citibank statements will be mailed out directly to travelers/departments.

Team Travel (cont.)

• Department creates VP2 • Citibank vendor mail code 032 is used

• Submit complete documentation to DTS for final approval

How to Complete the NEW Travel Advance Request

(TAR)

Form Revised on 02/05/13

Highlights Reset button clears all form fields and reverts form

back to original state Enter an unlimited number of travel destinations Funding source entered in Section 3 Expense object codes not required Student Advance Responsible Party requests travel

advance on behalf of eligible students Expenses consolidated into one expense type

called “Transportation/Other”

Highlights (cont’d) Sections are independent of each other and can be

completed in any order All numeric fields are deleted once row is deleted

and/or section is unchecked and are not included in calculations

Traveler has option of picking up TAC at DTS or any Fiscal Services offices

Travel Advance check option available as an exception only.

Completing the Revised TAR(Rev. 01/DD/12)

• Section 1 – Traveler• Section 2 – Trip Information• Section 3 – Expenses• Meals (M&IE)• Lodging• Transportation/Other• Student Athletic/Group Travel• Charging Multiple Accounts

• Section 4 – Travel Advance Payment Method• Section 5 - Certification

You may continue to the next slide, or click on a section below for instructions specific to that section.

TIP: Form fields that require user entry are highlighted. Fields/steps that pre-fill or contain calculations are italicized.

Section 1 - Traveler

1. Select Student Advance Responsible Party. The Enter student name(s) row appears.

New: Requesting a travel advance on behalf of an eligible student. Complete steps below. For more information, including eligibility, see Advances on Behalf of Students Traveling on Official UTSA Business, a section of the Travel Advances FMOG.

3. Enter student’s full name (one student per line). Include his/her banner ID # and the advanced amount.

TIP: Click button to add more rows.

TIP: Click button to delete additional row(s).

Section 2 – Trip InformationNew: Destination fields (destination type, name, total business days/nights) have been removed. This information will be entered in Section 3 – Expenses.

Trip information should match RTA/VE5

Section 3 - ExpensesNew: Consolidated the Mass Transit, Car Rental/Fuel, Airfare, Parking/Tolls, Registration and Other expense types into one category called Transportation/Other.

Expenses:

TIP: Deselecting any of these radio buttons will erase all of the information that you entered in that specific section in addition to hiding that section from view.

Meals (M&IE)Section 3 – Expenses

User must complete four fields in this section.

IMPORTANT: If traveling within the U.S, including Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories and possessions, you MUST select the Domestic checkbox to ensure the Partial Per Diem Rate is calculated for each destination of your trip.

1. If your destination is in the U.S, including Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories and possessions, click checkbox.

2. Enter destination city, state/country.

3. Enter the GSA Per Diem Rate for the destination city. 4. Enter the total number

of business days spent at destination city.

If applicable, Partial Per Diem Ratepre-fills.

GSA Advance Total pre-fills

Meals (M&IE)Section 3 – Expenses

User may enter additional destinations for each trip.

5. Enter the department authorized lower rate, if applicable. The Destination Advance Total field changes to reflect this amount (not the GSA Advance Total).

6. If the trip includes multiple destinations, click the Add Destination button to add an additional row(s).

7. If applicable, click to delete row(s).

Meals (M&IE)Section 3 – Expenses

New: User must enter the funding source(s) for this expense.

5. Enter the account number that will be charged for this expense.

M&IE Total pre-fills.

6. If this expense will be charged to multiple accounts, click the Add Account button. See Charging to Multiple Accounts for details.

LodgingSection 3 – Expenses

In addition to hotel name, user must also enter the city and state/country the hotel is located in. User must enter the total estimated room and hotel tax charges and may enter additional hotels.

1. Enter the GSA lodging rate for the destination city, state/country.

2. Enter the daily/nightly room rate for the destination hotel.

3. Enter the hotel name and city, state/country.

4. Enter the total room charge (excluding taxes).

5. Enter the total hotel taxes.

6. If trip includes multiple hotels, click the Add Lodging button to add an additional row(s).

LodgingSection 3 – Expenses

New: User must enter the funding source(s) for this expense.

6. If applicable, enter additional hotel information in additional row(s).

7. Enter the account number that will be charged for this expense.

8. If this expense will be charged to multiple accounts, click the Add Account button. See Charging to Multiple Accounts for details.

LODGING TOTAL pre-fills.

Total Hotel cost field(s) pre-fills.

LodgingSection 3 – Expenses

IMPORTANT: If the room rate is greater than the GSA rate, the Room Rate Increase row appears. 14 State Accounts require PRE-APPROVAL.

1. Enter the total number of nights at the higher rate.

2. Select the reason for requesting the higher rate.

3. If additional expense was paid from state funds, select checkbox. The State Funds Cost Itemization section appears. 4. Select the type of cost to

be avoided and the estimated cost not incurred as a result of staying at the higher rate hotel.

Fields prefill.

Transportation/OtherSection 3 – Expenses

1. Select the expense type from the drop-down menu.

Consolidated multiple expense types into one section.

2. Enter the total amount.

3. Enter comments (optional).

4. Click to add an additional row(s), if applicable.

5. Click to delete row(s).

Transportation/OtherSection 3 – Expenses

Consolidated multiple expense types into one section.

6. Enter the account number to be charged for these expenses.

7. If these expense will be charged to multiple accounts, click the Add Account button. The account number previously entered in the Charge to Account Number field is erased.

Transportation/OtherSection 3 – Expenses

Consolidated multiple expense types into one section.

9. Enter the total amount for each expense that will be charged to each account.

8. Enter the account number.

10.Click to delete row(s). IMPORTANT: The TRANS/OTHER TOTAL and account total fields must match.

Student Athletics Team / Student Group Travel

Section 3 – ExpensesExpenses are grouped by funding source and expense type.

1. Enter the account number to be charged for each expense type.

2. Enter the total amount for each expense type to be charged to each account.

3. Click the Add Account button to add another account.

5. If an amount is entered in the Other expense type, then describe the expense in the Comments field.

4. Click to delete row(s).

Charging Multiple AccountsNew: Users may enter split an expense between multiple accounts by clicking on the Add Account button, located in the Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE), Lodging, Transportation/Other and Student Athletic/Group Travel sections.

6. Enter the amount to be charged to the first account.

5. Click Add Account to split an expense between multiple accounts. A new account number row appears.

7. Enter the additional account number.

8. Enter the amount to be charged to the additional account.

IMPORTANT: The Accounts Total field MUST equal the following fields:•M&IE TOTAL•LODGING TOTAL•TRANS/OTHER TOTAL

Section 4 – Travel Advance Payment Method

New: Additional payment pick up options and added check payment option (exceptions only).

1. Select the travel advance payment method.

The sum of each expense type pre-fills and the total travel advance request appears in the TOTAL field.

2. If TAC is selected, select where the traveler will pick up the TAC.

IMPORTANT: TAC’s are issued in whole dollars only and are rounded up to the nearest whole dollar.

Section 4 – Travel Advance Payment Method

REMINDER: If Direct Deposit is selected, then traveler must ensure the Direct Deposit – Non Payroll form is on file with DTS office.

1. If check is selected, select a pick up option.

2. If in-person is selected, select the pick up location.

3. If the traveler authorizes proxy to pick up check in-person on traveler’s behalf, then enter the proxy’s full name.

4. If mail is selected, then select check delivery method: mailed to the traveler’s address on file (U.S. mail), or mailed to the traveler’s department (campus mail).

Section 4 – Travel Advance Payment Method (TAC)

Section 4 – Travel Advance Payment Method (TAC)

Section 5 – CertificationTraveler/Dept Certification: For instructions, see Completing the Travel Advance Request (TAR), a section of the Travel Advances FMOG.

Questions?

Please email the DTS inbox with questions:Disbursement.travel@utsa.edu

HELPFUL LINKS:Travel Advance Guideline:http://www.utsa.edu/financialaffairs/opguidelines/2.9.2.htmlTravel Card Guideline:http://www.utsa.edu/financialaffairs/opguidelines/0111.htmlTravel Reimbursement Guideline:http://www.utsa.edu/financialaffairs/opguidelines/0109.html