Travel & Reimbursements

In-State:

• Traveling within CT for business, usually does not have an overnight stay

• Typically, does not require a Travel Request in Concur

Out – of – State (Domestic):

• Any travel that which the traveler must leave CT

• If the travel contains a “segment,” the traveler needs to complete a Travel Request in Concur ahead of their trip

Foreign:

• Any travel that which the traveler exits the U.S.

• Needs a Travel Request in Concur

• Fly America Compliance

  • Please be advised to review the Fly America Act if NIH grant funds are being used for travel.

Guest/ Visitor Travel:

Faculty Travel:

• If a faculty travel involves a segment (hotel, airfare, rental car) there needs to be a request (pre-approval) done first that must be approved by at least their supervisor in Concur before any travel booking can be made.

  • Requests are still best practice if there is travel without any segments, but are not required.

• When a faculty member goes on a trip, they need to decide whether to take Per Diem or to use their travel card for Actual Meal Costs (cannot go back and forth, one or the other).

• They should retain all necessary receipts that they are seeking reimbursement for so that they can be attached in Concur when preparing their expense report.

  • Expenses less than $50 on the Travel Card are not required unless faculty member is taking Actual Meal Costs and not per diem.

  • Expenses less than $25 for out of pocket expenses are not required unless faculty member is taking Actual Meal Costs and not per diem.

Student Travel:

Graduate Student Travel:

• Definition of Graduate Student: a graduate UConn student (not required to be on payroll)

  • In order to have a Travel Card, the graduate student must be on Grad Payroll.

• Options for a GA: XX

Undergraduate Travel:

• Definition of Undergraduate Student: an undergraduate student enrolled at UConn

• Three options for Undergraduate Travel:

  • An employee (staff or faculty) can pay for the student’s airfare only using their travel card. If a student separates from the University prior to the 3 years that the card is valid for use the student must contact the

  • Workaround option: Employee can book travel (airfare and hotel) for the student with the employee’s travel card and the car rental can be booked through Anthony Travel. Employee would submit request in their own profile as well as an expense report upon return, and the student would submit non-segment report for other expenses

  • Students can pay out of pocket and be reimbursed at the end of the trip through Concur

Booking Travel:

• Faculty, Staff, Students & University Affiliates

  • Travel arrangements can be booked through the Concur booking tool or through Anthony Travel directly (both can be accessed via http://travel.uconn.edu ) (Anthony Travel Email: uconncampustravel@anthonytravel.com

    • Travelers will need to provide a personal credit card or TCard (see TCard) at the time of booking. KFS accounts cannot be billed when booking using Concur

  • If a traveler would like to book airfare outside of Concur/ Key Travel, then it is strongly recommended that the traveler provide a price comparison showing that they received a better price outside of the system.

• Guests

  • Definition of Guest: non-University employee/student

  • Staff member in the department needs to book travel for guest (requires a Travel Card)

    • Step 1 – employee submits pre-approval request in Concur under their own profile

      • Traveler type should be changed from Staff/Faculty to Guest

    • Step 2 – employee then uses Concur search feature to book the airfare/hotel/rental car as applicable directly on their Travel Card. Employees can also utilize Anthony Travel by emailing: uconncampustravel@anthonytravel.com which will also link to their personal Travel Card.

    • Step 3 – After travel occurs, employee will submit an expense report only for the expenses that were charged to their Travel Card. Any additional expenses covered would need to be reimbursed through HuskyBuy.

  • If the guest decides to book their own travel, they can make their plans and submit receipts to the department staff member who will then process the reimbursement as a guest travel reimbursement in HuskyBuy.

    • This requires the guest to become a Vendor in HuskyBuy first

    • Pre-approval is required—typically through Concur but can be done at the department level.

Reimbursement Process:

• Travel Request

  • A Travel Request is needed in Concur if a trip has any “segments” and it must be completed PRIOR to their departure

  • Travelers will log their:

    • anticipated expenses (estimates are fine)

    • Dates of travel

    • Business purpose of the trip

  • If a Bradley Parking Permit is needed, a travel request must be completed

  • When a Travel Request is completed, the request will route to the traveler’s supervisor, fiscal officer, Dean (if applicable) and the travel department for approval.

• Expense Report

  • When a traveler returns from their trip, they will complete an Expense Report to document and log all of the expenses that they would like to be reimbursed for from their trip

  • Travelers will need to provide itemized, paid receipts for every expense that they are requesting to be reimbursed for.

    • Travelers can fill out a missing receipt affidavit if they are missing a receipt for a purchase with a value of $50 or under

    • Paid means a zero balance is shown, or has a transaction showing the last 4 digits of credit card

    • Any awards that funded the travel must have a letter included with the backup

    • Per Diem lodging and meal rates can be verified at: http://travel.uconn.edu/ under the Tools section (lodging is allowable up to 150% of the per diem rate)

    • When reimbursing mileage – travelers may not receive reimbursement for travel from their home to their official duty station

    • Check travel sight for Per Diem rates for hotel and food. Per Diem should align with the location traveled to and can’t be claimed for single day travel.

    • Any group meals need to have the guests’ names and affiliations.

    • The rental of SUVs is out of policy and requires a comp or additional approval.

    • If alcohol or any other charges are deducted from a meal receipt, make sure to adjust the tax and tip as well.

  • Expense report should correlate to expenses documented in the travel request

  • When an Expense Report is completed, the request will route to the traveler’s supervisor, fiscal officer, Dean (if applicable) and the travel department for approval.

    • Please be aware that expense reports may be returned if edits are needed

• Disbursement

  • When the Expense Report is completed and approved, a disbursement voucher (DV) will be automatically completed and disbursed via Concur.

Non-Employee Reimbursements & Travel:

• Disbursement Voucher for Visitor Travel:

  • Use the naming convention for the proper description of the travel which is as follows:

    • N-TravelDept. Last name. Location. Last day of travel.

    • Ex: N-Travel, ANTH J.Smith UConn 03/04/2020

  • Invoice number/date – Travel approval number and last day of expenses respectively.

  • All receipts need to be scanned and attached to the DV

  • Post-Trip Webform must be attached as well

• Circumstances of non-employee reimbursements: Search Candidates, Speakers/Honorariums, Performance, Services, etc.

  • A vendor in HuskyBuy needs to be created for any non-employee that is going to be reimbursed through the University. Individual or Business.

    • University departments are to send out invitations through HuskyBuy directly to the vendor, or the person being reimbursed. From there, the vendor fills out their information and the vendor set up, and then once the application is finalized, the department is able to pay them out in HuskyBuy via a Disbursement Voucher

    • Departments can request access to HuskyBuy by Requesting a New Supplier in the portal

  • Different reason codes will need to be used:

    • M – Services Rendered

    • K – Various fees

    • X – Subscriptions

    • P – Candidate Searches

  • *Note: These are not all the possible reason codes

  • Appropriate documentation and receipts will also be needed.   

  • The naming convention can also be used for the description of the DV.

Reimbursements (please refer to KFS training workshops and manuals):

• Out of pocket Reimbursements

  • Emergency allowable expenses of $499 and under. These purchases must be for University use only and use when other methods of purchasing are not viable.

  • Website for specific allowable and non-allowable purchases: http://accountspayable.uconn.edu/out-of-pocket-purchases/

  • Documentation for the allowable purchases is needed as backup for the reimbursement through the Kuali system.

  • Original receipts/documentation is needed for Accounts Payable.

• Travel reimbursements

  • Use information from the Travel section on this document

  • Training guides for Kuali entry: https://travel.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/481/2014/10/Advance-Guide-2017-1.docx