Accounts Payable
Travel Manual
Updated January 2007
TRAVEL MANUAL
5.04.0 — Travel Advances
5.04.1 General Procedures
Accounts Payable will issue a revolving fund check as a temporary advance to an employee for travel expenses before the travel is actually performed. Advances may be issued upon the completion of form T2: Request for Absence from Campus. It should be submitted concurrently with all other travel forms, and should be received by Accounts Payable not more than 30 and not less than three days before departure.
The advance should be reasonably calculated and should cover all prior expenses such as registration fee, airline ticket purchase, hotel deposit and estimated subsistence costs (food and lodging).
Advances will only be made for $150 or more, and only one travel advance check will be issued. Accounts Payable will not pay separate expenses for an individual—this is the responsibility of the person taking the trip. If the only expense that will be incurred is a registration fee, a payment to a travel agency, or some other similar one-item expense, an advance will be issued directly to the vendor. An invoice, although not mandatory, is preferred and would eliminate the need for a travel expense claim. If an invoice is not supplied, a travel expense claim must be prepared.
If after returning from a designated trip and after filing a Travel Expense Claim (Std. Form 262), the claimant is entitled to an additional reimbursement — e.g., mileage — a second revolving check can be issued after the claim has been audited and approved. Claims and/or revised T2 forms must be filed prior to the end of the fiscal year (June 30) in which the trip occurred if any additional reimbursement is to be paid. If the advance exceeds the employee’s travel expense, the employee is required to promptly reimburse the revolving fund for the difference. A check made payable to SDSU should be attached to the Travel Expense Claim and should be returned no more than 30 days after the expense is paid or incurred.
Employees who fail to repay unused travel funds within thirty days of the trip may be denied travel advance funds for future trips. If travel advance funds were not used during the trip, they should be readily available for repayment and should not have been spent for personal uses.
Travel advances not cleared within 30 days after return from a trip or upon separation from the university may be withheld from employee’s salary warrant.
If a trip is canceled or postponed indefinitely, the advance must be returned, but no later than 30 calendar days from the date of the advance.
Travel advances and additional revolving fund checks must be picked up in Accounting Services. A representative of the employee may be sent for this purpose; however, in either case, staff / faculty / student identification is required. Three working days should be allowed to process an advance request. If a travel advance is needed for a Thursday trip, the request must be received in Accounts Payable by 3 p.m. Monday in order for the check to be ready by 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Important Note: All travel claims should be filed promptly.
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5.04.2 Preparation of Travel Advance Form
The Travel Advance form has been eliminated and incorporated into the T2: Request for Absence from Campus. See section 5.05.2 of this document for instructions regarding completion of form T2, Request for Absence from Campus.
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5.05.0 REQUEST FOR ABSENCE FROM CAMPUS (T2)
5.05.1 General Procedure
Form T2: Request for Absence from Campus is used to request an authorized absence from campus for the purpose of traveling to a destination in order to perform official university business. The T2 is also to be used to request a revolving fund check as a temporary advance for travel expenses before the travel begins. (See section 5.04.1 for policy regarding Travel Advances.)
Therefore, the T2 should be approved and retained by the college / division dean/ director for any university related trip off-campus even if reimbursement is not provided. It should be typed and submitted at least ten days in advance for in-state trips and at least 15 days in advance for out-of-state trips. The T2 protects the employee as well as the institution since it documents why the employee must be absent from the campus and how the absence relates to university business.
Note: A T2 need not be submitted to Accounts Payable if all three of the following conditions are met:
- The trip is in-county and not related to a monthly mileage claim
- There is no expense to be reimbursed the employee, and
- No university car is being used
If the T2 is being submitted for the purpose of amending a prior T2 prior to the trip date, type the word “Amended” in the upper right-hand corner. Also, indicate right below this why it is being amended (e.g., with funds rather than without funds, increased allocation, trip date change, etc.). If the trip has already taken place, an amended T2 is not necessary. The dean, administrator or supervisor’s signature on the travel expense claim will serve as an authorization to pay the claim amount, whether or not it exceeds the T2 amount.
Employees who claim mileage on a monthly basis must prepare a Blanket T2 to include a range of dates that they will be off campus and claim private car mileage for trips within San Diego County. The department should estimate the amount of money the traveler will be claiming for this mileage. When the claim is submitted, it should be accompanied by the Monthly Mileage Report and should indicate in the remarks section that there is a Blanket T2 on file. The amount of the Blanket T2 encumbrance will be reduced each time a claim is submitted. All employees claiming private car mileage must also have a Std. Form 261, Authorization to use Privately Owned Vehicles on State Business on file as well as a Defensive Driver Training Certificate (contact Public Safety).
University employees traveling overnight in California should attempt to have the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) waived for all hotel/motel rooms they occupy while on official state business. Inquire when making reservations. When checking in, you may request an exemption certificate to waive the tax. Many hotels/motels have their own form for this purpose. The format of these exemption certificates will vary among establishments. SDSU also provides form STD 236, Hotel/Motel Transient Occupancy Tax Waiver for claiming this exemption.
Note: The T2 available on the Accounts Payable Web site includes a Transient Occupancy Tax Waiver, which is attached as page two of the document. Participation by operators is strictly voluntary and is dependant on local laws and ordinances; however, it is strongly recommended that travelers request the TOT be waived.
Presentation of your university ID card may be required to verify your government (state / university) employment status.
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January 17, 2008
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