General Travel FAQ
Airfare
How do I obtain a cost comparison for airfare?
Best practice is to capture (screen shot or print out) the price of the airline ticket without personal days at the same time as booking the actual flight. Other option is to contact a CTP full service agent to determine if the additional days cause an increase in price, any overage cost can be charged to the traveler’s personal credit card and the business expense for the airfare can be charged to the Abilene Christian University (ghost card/departmental card.) If travel dates are past and a cost comparison is required, then estimate 2 weeks from the current date and select the same day of the week travel would have taken place to arrive and depart the location for Abilene Christian University business.
Budget Report
What is the (DL) document number showing up on my budget reports?
Airfare and agency fee expenses on the ghost card will be booked to the departmental FOAP based on the information entered in Concur.
What is the (J) document number showing up on my budget reports?
Expense on the travel card will be booked back to the department as a Journal voucher.
Cost Comparison
When is a cost comparison required?
1. Personal days inculded with business travel requires the need for a cost comparision to verify conservation of funds.
2. When traveling out of state, it is typically cheaper to fly, so travelers should provide a cost comparision of a flight vs mileage to drive to specific location.
3. Fuel cost vs reimbursement of mileage in personal vehicle. Traveler will be reimbursed the lesser of the two options.
Exemption
What signatures are required on the exemption form?
Signatures are determined by the location of travel and what is being requested. Instate – Director or Chair and Dean; Out of State – Director and VP, Academic – Chair, Dean, and VP.; Foreign – Same as out of state approval including President’s approval.
Expense Report
What if the FOAP is different from the original FOAP on the requisition?
Expense report will need approval on the FOAP line indicated by initials of preparer to verify the change of FOAP is not a data entry error.
Who needs to sign the travel expense report?
The traveler is required to sign the expense report to confirm the expense are true and accurate. A second signature (supervisor) is required if the amount of the expense exceeds the approved requisition by 10%.
Where do I itemize the agency fee on the expense report?
Agency fee has a designated field on the expense report when paid by personal card/travel card.
How do I fill out the travel expense report when the ghost card is used for airfare?
Enter $0.00 in the airfare & agency fee fields, then enter the specific airfare & agency fee amount on the ghost card field designated for Ghost Card Airfare & Agency Fee Amount at the bottom of the form. Travelers will need to provide the invoice itinerary from CTP/Concur for verification of airfare purchase.
Foreign
What documentation must be attached to the requisition for foreign travel?
Affirmation, Waiver and Liability Release Form; Daily Itinerary while in foreign country; Emergency contact list. Office of International Programs reviews that documentation is attached to requisition.
Lodging
What do I need to provide to the Travel Office for proof of conference room rate?
Documentation that states the conference room rate provided by the conference organizer. Best practices is to screen shot/print the list of hotels on the registration page at the time of booking the hotel reservations.
What is the allowable amount for lodging expenses?
Lodging rates can be found at www.gsa.gov for the per diem rate look-up by location. Travelers on state funds are limited to the GSA per diem for the lodging rate (nightly rate) at the location of rest. Travelers on local funds can exceed the GSA by 50% for the per diem lodging rate at the location of rest.
What if I exceed the GSA for lodging?
An exception signed through the appropriate VP is required for expense that exceed policy (over 50% of the lodging rate when traveling on local funds). If the expenses are not approved, then the traveler will be limited to the policy and the hotel taxes will be adjusted to the correct amount based on the allowed nightly rate.
Can conference hotels be booked through the conference registration website?
Yes. Conference hotels can booked through the conference website. The traveler can book outside the Concur/CTP tool for conference hotels.
Meals
Do I need to provide a meal receipt for Business meals?
Yes. Meals that meet the requirement of a business meal must provide receipt, list of attendees, and an approved FO-19 form.
Do I submit meal receipts/log with the expense report?
No. Meal receipts should not be submitted with the expense report. Meals must be documented as a total per day on the expense report. The first and last day of travel are limited to 75% of the GSA rate determined by the destination city.
Mileage
When are the daily commute miles deducted from mileage reimbursements?
Commute mileage is only taken into consideration for Non-Overnight travel on local funds. State funded travel is limited to the distance from Headquarters.
Receipts
What receipts are required by the Travel Office?
List of required receipts: Itemized Hotel Bill, Car Rental, Registration Fee (when not paid by Pcard), Airfare with ticket number, Fuel, Parking, and Tolls.
What if I have lost a receipt for tolls or parking?
Tolls and parking receipts can be itemizes on a log, providing the date, amount, and location. EZ Tag statements can also be provided as documentaion for tolls.
Requisition
How do I create a travel requisition for a new employee?
New employees will need to be set up in XXXXX as a vendor. Email XXX@XXXX to request set-up by providing the employee’s name and XXXXXID.
(Please provide protocol for Abilene Christian University)
Do all faculty and staff need a travel requisition when traveling together?
Yes. Requisitions are required for in-state overnight, out-of-state and foreign travel locations providing approval to be away from headquarters and allows expenses to be allocated correctly on the expense reports.
Student
How do I allocate the student expenses?
1. If a student has their own requisition, then the expense needs to be itemized on the expense report.
2. If a student is traveling with faculty/staff and was included in the faculty/staff requisition, then all student expenses are totaled together and documented on the student field of the expense report.
When does a student need a requisition in their name?
1.If a student is traveling without faculty/staff.
2.If a student is going to be reimbursed for their expenses related to Abilene Christian University business.
What documentation must be attached to the requisition for student travel?
Release & Indemnification Agreement form should be attached to the Banner Requisition. Medical Emergency Form is kept at Department level with availablily to faculty/staff leader.