Travel Advances

Op8.22-1 Travel Advances

This section summarizes the circumstances under which a travel advance would occur, as well as the repayment process. P-Cards may now be used to prepay the following expenses with an appropriate business purpose: airfare, lodging, group travel, tours, and tickets to events. Further information on P-Card use is contained in the P-Card Policy (Op3.12-16 Procurement Card Purchases).

  1. Travel Advance Criteria
    1. An employee traveling on University business may obtain a travel advance for expenses only for: 1) University-sanctioned student group trips; 2) Off-Campus Student Recruiting; and/or 3) Foreign Travel.
    2. The Travel Advance Form must be completed in order to request the advance.
    3. Travel advances for expenses will be made to full-time University employees only.
    4. Travel advances can be disbursed up to five working days prior to travel.
    5. Travel advances need to be received in Financial Services ten working days prior to the date of the requested advance.
    6. Travel advances for the support of travel of students or other authorized individuals may be made to the department head, dean, or other authorized employees who shall be responsible for repayment of the advance.
    7. The minimum amount allowed for a travel advance is $250.
    8. Travel advances are not available for travel which has been completed. Prompt filing of the Travel Expense Report form will enable prompt payment, thereby making an advance unnecessary.
    9. Travel advances will be issued only to the employee whose name is listed on the Travel Advance Form. An employee cannot designate another person to receive their travel advance. Employees requesting a travel advance must present their University ID card to the cashier in the Bursar’s Office to receive their travel advance.
    10. The business purpose for travel should be explained in the appropriate space on the Travel Advance Form.
    11. Travel advance requests must be approved by the department head and/or cost center administrator. If the advance is for foreign travel, please complete the Foreign Travel Authorization Form prior to traveling.
  2. Repayment of Travel Advance
    1. Travel advances are posted to the recipient’s Accounts Receivable account and remain until settled through filing an expense report and/or repaying any excess amount, if necessary.
    2. Travel advances are only granted to employees who have accounts in good standing with the University.
    3. Repayment of a travel advance must be made within 30 days after the completion of the trip. Failure to repay a travel advance within 30 days may result in the loss of this privilege.
    4. Finance charges will begin to accrue on the balance in the recipient’s Accounts Receivable account 30 days after the completion of the trip.
    5. Any travel expense reimbursement for subsequent trips that are submitted to Financial Services will be applied to outstanding travel advance balances to settle an employee's account. Thus, payments from the University to the employee will not be issued to the employee when there is an outstanding Travel Advance balance but will instead be applied towards the outstanding travel advance balances.
    6. Any excess amount not returned to the Bursar’s Office within 120 days from the first day of the trip are subject to withholding and payroll taxes and will be included on W-2 forms in order to comply with IRS regulation. (See IRS Reg. §1.62-2(g)(2)(i).)

Any exceptions to this policy must be requested by the department head and/or cost center administrator and approved in advance by the Chief Financial Officer.