Travel Advances
A change in travel advance procedures will reduce the use of travel advance request forms. Currently, any request for cash or prepayments of airfare, hotels, conference fees, etc. are accounted for as an advance by the Controller’s Office. Beginning August 1, 2009, travel advance request forms will be used only to request cash advances. Paying for airfare already purchased, registration fees for an upcoming conference, or prepayments of other travel expenses will be paid using a Travel Expense Report and will be directly charged as an expense to the account indicated on the form. The charge will appear as an expense on the ledgers as soon as payment is made. At the completion of travel, any additional travel expenses will be reported on a new travel expense report. Do not record the prepaid travel expenses on the report that is completed subsequent to the business trip.
Travel advances are only available to full time employees and graduate students of Brown. Special exceptions may be approved by the Director of University Disbursements (extension 3-7579) or the Assistant Vice President and University Controller (extension 3-2716).
The American Express Corporate Card is to be used for the majority of business related travel expenses. Items that require advance payment such as conference registration fees, airfare, and hotel room deposits should be made using a credit card. If a credit card was used for advanced payment and the bill is due prior to the travel date, the traveler may request reimbursement using a Travel Expense Report. In cases were a credit card is not accepted, payment may be processed to the vendor or the traveler using request for check accompanied with a copy of the invoice.
A travel advance may be processed to cover the cost of incidental, out-of-pocket travel expenses such as tips, taxis, and meals not chargeable to the Corporate Card. The amount requested should be the minimum necessary to cover anticipated out-of-pocket expenses with a maximum daily limit of $50.00 for domestic travel and $75.00 for international travel. The traveler should complete a Travel Advance Request Form, payable to him/herself.
Payment for conference registration fees where there will be no additional travel expenses should be processed using a Request For Check.
Travel Advance Request Form
The Travel Advance Form is available from the Controller's Office forms page. A copy of the form should be retained as a departmental record and the original should be forwarded to the Controller's Office, Travel Accounting, Box J, for processing.
Travel Advance Settlement
When the Travel Expense Report is filed at completion of the trip, it is imperative to include the advanced funds in Part 4, Settlement, in order for the advance to be properly cleared.
Failure to account for a cash advance after repeated attempts to contact the traveler will result in reporting the advance to the IRS on the traveler's W-2 and withholding of taxes on the advance amount from the traveler's paycheck. According to IRS regulation, once an unsettled cash advance has been added to a W-2, it cannot be reversed even if settled.
Request for any payment, travel advance or reimbursement will not be processed for any traveler with an outstanding advance for a previous trip that is two weeks beyond the established trip return date.
Long Term Operating Advances
A long term operating advance is generally established to accommodate long term (3 months or more) foreign projects carried out by Brown personnel.
Request for a long term operating advance should be submitted on a Travel Advance Request form with a letter or memo addressing the following information: purpose of the advance, project beginning and ending date, project director, project budget for requested funds, how funds will be administered, and procedure for clearing advance. If funds are to be wired, a Wire Transfer Form, Appendix H, must accompany the advance request.
Long term operating advances should be settled no less than quarterly. Settlement should be in the form of original receipts. Exceptions to this settlement policy must be prearranged with Travel Accounting and approved by the Assistant Controller or Assistant Vice President and University Controller in advance of travel. If receipts are in foreign currency, each receipt should be converted to U.S. dollars and labeled as to type (meal, lodging, taxi, etc.).