5.6.0 — Claims for Travel Expense Reimbursement (Std. Form 262)

If an employee extends a business trip for personal convenience, only the time of departure and return relating to university business should be shown. These days may fall within the dates shown on the T2 form but an amended form should be filed if there is an earlier date of departure or later date of return than was indicated on the original form. In addition, only those travel expenses required in connection with university business should be claimed. For example, if a trip was extended for personal convenience, subsistence may be claimed only for the time the person would have spent on university business, not the entire time away from campus.

Similarly, if an employee drives a private car where an airline flight would have been more economical, subsistence expense should begin at the time the employee ordinarily would have left headquarters or home if traveling by air. Also, depending on the duration of the trip, the employee could be reimbursed “fare-in-lieu” for his / her transportation expense; or whichever is most economical. A notation should be given at the bottom of the claim in such cases: “airfare in lieu of mileage.”

5.06.2 Travel Expense Claim (Standard Form 262)

All claims for reimbursement of travel expenses shall be submitted on the Travel Expense Claim (Std. Form 262) properly itemized, accompanied by the original receipts and approved by the individual who originally authorized the travel and has authority to commit funds from the account(s) charged. Claims should be filed no later than 30 days following trip date. Written notice will be sent 15 days after the return date listed on the T2, requesting the travel claim be submitted to Accounts Payable. A final notice will be sent 15 days later. If a claim is still not received within a reasonable time period (2-4 weeks), and a travel advance is outstanding, the amount advanced could be withheld from the employee's next salary warrant. If no advance was issued, the paperwork will be placed in an inactive file. In any event, unnecessary delays can be avoided if the employee immediately submits his/her travel expenses to the person responsible for filling out travel claims after returning from a trip.

Accounts Payable will accept legible and complete handwritten or typed travel claims. No forms written in pencil will be accepted. Accounts Payable will return any claim received that deviates from the required format or is difficult to read or understand.

Several trips may be entered on one Travel Expense Claim. When more than one trip is being listed on the Travel Expense Claim, a blank line should be left between each trip. If a trip is started at the end of the month and extended to the next month, the claim may be submitted after the trip is concluded. (Note: The overlapping of multiple months must not be used for the months of June and July because of the change from one fiscal year to another. In this case, two separate Travel Expense Claims must be submitted.) In-state and out-of-state trips cannot be entered on the same Travel Expense Claim; they must be submitted separately.

All applicable items on the Travel Expense Claim must be completed. The Travel Expense Claim is basically a balance sheet. All items recorded on any given line will be totaled and placed in the last column, “Total Expenses For Day.”

If a travel advance was made directly to a vendor who had supplied an invoice and is the only expense that will be incurred, no travel expense claim is necessary. In addition, a travel expense claim is not necessary if an employee is requesting a reimbursement for the following expenditures only: parking fees or gasoline purchased for a university car if total amount is less than $10.00. Payments of these expenses will be through the Small Dollar Reimbursement process. Employee must present a completed Small Dollar Disbursements Voucher to be approved by the travel coordinator, and then forwarded to Accounts Payable for payment. A reimbursement check will be mailed to the employee.

5.06.3 Preparation of Travel Expense Claim (Standard Form 262)

Please complete the Travel Expense Claim as completely as possible. The following items are essential to the proper completion of a claim:

5.06.4 Receipts or Vouchers

Receipts or vouchers shall be submitted for each item of expense except as follows:

Registration receipts should be conference-issued, on letterhead. Generic receipts may need to be substantiated by the front and back of canceled check or credit card statement. All registration fees claimed should be accompanied by the conference agenda and/or registration form showing conference-provided meals.

Lodging receipts must show the breakdown of charges. When the lodging receipt indicates there were two people in the room, a notation should be made on the Travel Expense Claim indicating:

a) the room was shared with another CSU employee and state their name (in this case the full rate will be allowed)

b) the room rate has been reduced to the single rate (because the person who shared the room was not a CSU employee)

c) the single rate and double rate are the same price regardless of how many people were in the room. Check with the hotel to see if they offer two different rates.

Expenses for commercial rental car should be substantiated by the rental agreement showing the breakdown of charges.

In the absence of official receipts (other than airfare/lodging/rental cars), the front and back of the canceled check or a copy of the credit card statement will be required.

In cases where receipts for cash transactions have been lost, a statement to that effect shall be made on the Travel Expense Claim and the reason given. In the absence of a satisfactory explanation, the amount involved shall not be allowed. Employees who habitually fail to furnish receipts for expenses greater than $25 will have any reimbursement for these expenses reported as income.

All necessary receipts and tickets must be securely attached to the Travel Expense Claim or on a separate sheet of paper that is attached to the Claim.

Electronic Receipts

Electronic receipts must contain the same information found on a regular receipt: the company's name, address, phone number and/or Web address, date, description of item(s), amount charged, amount paid - or showing a zero balance. If the receipt you received does not contain the required information, you must furnish a credit card statement (or canceled check) showing that the same electronic transaction was paid.

For all electronic receipts, the traveler must include the following signed statement:

“I certify that this electronic receipt is the original receipt issued to me by the vendor. I further certify that I have not submitted, nor will submit in the future, a duplicate of this receipt for payment or reimbursement.”

5.06.5 Non-Refundable Costs

An employee may be reimbursed for expenses associated with canceled trips for costs that have been paid in advance and are not refundable as long as the expenses are reasonable and can be justified. Examples of such expenses might include registration costs, airline tickets and deposits on hotels.

Submit expenses to be reimbursed on a Travel Expense Claim with proof of payment and pertinent documentation attached. The reason for cancellation should be indicated in the Remarks Section.

Any additional reimbursement received by the employee from outside sources related to this claim should be immediately returned to the university.

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	Travel Manual Updated January 2007
	TRAVEL MANUAL 5.06.0 — Claims for Travel Expense Reimbursement (Std. Form 262) 5.06.1 General Procedures If an employee extends a business trip for personal convenience, only the time of departure and return relating to university business should be shown. These days may fall within the dates shown on the T2 form but an amended form should be filed if there is an earlier date of departure or later date of return than was indicated on the original form. In addition, only those travel expenses required in connection with university business should be claimed. For example, if a trip was extended for personal convenience, subsistence may be claimed only for the time the person would have spent on university business, not the entire time away from campus. Similarly, if an employee drives a private car where an airline flight would have been more economical, subsistence expense should begin at the time the employee ordinarily would have left headquarters or home if traveling by air. Also, depending on the duration of the trip, the employee could be reimbursed “fare-in-lieu” for his / her transportation expense; or whichever is most economical. A notation should be given at the bottom of the claim in such cases: “airfare in lieu of mileage.” [return] 5.06.2 Travel Expense Claim (Standard Form 262) All claims for reimbursement of travel expenses shall be submitted on the Travel Expense Claim (Std. Form 262) properly itemized, accompanied by the original receipts and approved by the individual who originally authorized the travel and has authority to commit funds from the account(s) charged. Claims should be filed no later than 30 days following trip date. Written notice will be sent 15 days after the return date listed on the T2, requesting the travel claim be submitted to Accounts Payable. A final notice will be sent 15 days later. If a claim is still not received within a reasonable time period (2-4 weeks), and a travel advance is outstanding, the amount advanced could be withheld from the employee's next salary warrant. If no advance was issued, the paperwork will be placed in an inactive file. In any event, unnecessary delays can be avoided if the employee immediately submits his/her travel expenses to the person responsible for filling out travel claims after returning from a trip. Accounts Payable will accept legible and complete handwritten or typed travel claims. No forms written in pencil will be accepted. Accounts Payable will return any claim received that deviates from the required format or is difficult to read or understand. Several trips may be entered on one Travel Expense Claim. When more than one trip is being listed on the Travel Expense Claim, a blank line should be left between each trip. If a trip is started at the end of the month and extended to the next month, the claim may be submitted after the trip is concluded. (Note: The overlapping of multiple months must not be used for the months of June and July because of the change from one fiscal year to another. In this case, two separate Travel Expense Claims must be submitted.) In-state and out-of-state trips cannot be entered on the same Travel Expense Claim; they must be submitted separately. All applicable items on the Travel Expense Claim must be completed. The Travel Expense Claim is basically a balance sheet. All items recorded on any given line will be totaled and placed in the last column, “Total Expenses For Day.” If a travel advance was made directly to a vendor who had supplied an invoice and is the only expense that will be incurred, no travel expense claim is necessary. In addition, a travel expense claim is not necessary if an employee is requesting a reimbursement for the following expenditures only: parking fees or gasoline purchased for a university car if total amount is less than $10.00. Payments of these expenses will be through the Small Dollar Reimbursement process. Employee must present a completed Small Dollar Disbursements Voucher to be approved by the travel coordinator, and then forwarded to Accounts Payable for payment. A reimbursement check will be mailed to the employee. [return] 5.06.3 Preparation of Travel Expense Claim (Standard Form 262) Please complete the Travel Expense Claim as completely as possible. The following items are essential to the proper completion of a claim: Date/Time — Enter date and time of day, using a 24-hour clock, of departure and return. List each day if subsistence expense is being claimed. Location — Give the name of city, town or location where expenses were incurred. Lodging — Enter the actual cost of the lodging. A receipt is required. The principal campus business officer will disallow excessive and/or unreasonable lodging expenses. Meals — Enter the actual cost of each meal not to exceed the maximum amount authorized by travel regulations. “Dinner” column is to be used to claim dinner on regular travel or overtime meals. Overtime Meal and Business Related Meals — Enter the actual cost of the meal not to exceed the maximum amounts authorized as indicated in sections 5.08.0 and 5.09.0. Incidentals — Enter the total actual cost of incidentals not to exceed $5 for each 24-hour period of travel. Incidentals are not allowed on partial days (which is the final day of any trip) or trips that are less than 24 hours in duration. Transportation — a) Cost of Transportation — Enter cost of each cash purchase of transportation. b) Type Used — Show inclusively, type of transportation, using the following designations: • Scheduled Airlines - A • Railway - R • Private Car - PC • Private Airplane - PA • State Car - SC • Rental Car - RC • Bus, Airport, Light Rail, BART - B • Rental Aircraft - RA • Taxi - T Carfare, Tolls, Parking — Show cost of carfare, bridge tolls, parking, etc. Attach a receipt for any parking charge over $10.00 for any one continuous parking period. Private Car Use — Enter number of miles driven and total amount for private car use. The amount column contains a formula that will calculate the amount based on the number of miles times the current daily mileage reimbursement rate. Amounts exceeding the Standard Mileage Rate are reportable to the IRS. Business Expense — Items for all other business expenses, including lodging, registration fees, phone calls, emergency purchases of equipment, clothing, supplies and overtime meals. Reference and detail all items to be reimbursed. For phone calls, identify the place and party called. Attach a receipt for all phone calls over $5. Registration receipts should be conference issued on letterhead. Any registration fees that are claimed should be accompanied by the conference agenda and registration form. Total Expenses for Day — this field contains a formula creating a total for each row. Subtotals — Also a formula that will total each column. Purpose of Trip, Remarks or Details — Name of meeting or explanation for absence from campus. If more room is required than the form allows, please attach justification on a separate sheet. Receipts must be provided for any miscellaneous item of expense exceeding $25 except as previously noted. In the case of overtime meals and registration fees for on-campus workshops, the department account number should be indicated here. Less Advances Paid — List all advances paid for this trip. Bring the total of each line to the Total Expenses for the Day column to be subtracted from the Expense Subtotal in the section above. Claim Total — This is the amount to be reimbursed to the employee less any travel advances already received. If all the items on the claim are greater than the maximum available, record the maximum amount available in the claim total box with an asterisk (*) and reference in box 11, “maximum available.” Disregard all travel advances received for purposes of this total. The traveler should initial any changes to the “Claim Total” box. Correction fluid (White Out) may not be used to make changes on the Travel Expense Claim. Employee Signature — The employee must sign and date the Travel Expense Claim before it is forwarded to the supervisor, administrator or dean of college for approval. Signature of Officer Approving Payment — To be signed for approval of expenditures by the supervisor, administrator or dean of college. This should be the same person that approved the T2. It is the responsibility of this person to ascertain the necessity and reasonableness of the expenses for which reimbursement is claimed. The supervisor, administrator or dean's signature will serve as an authorization to pay the claim amount, whether or not it exceeds the T2 amount. Conference or convention expenses must be approved by the college dean or the area director if over $500.00. The conference agenda and registration form should be submitted with the Travel Expense Claim. Signature and Title of Authority for Special Expenses — This field to be signed by the manager of Accounting Services or Accounts Payable for approval of any special business expenses incurred during authorized travel. [return] 5.06.4 Receipts or Vouchers Receipts or vouchers shall be submitted for each item of expense except as follows: Railroad and Bus Fares — Where the fares are available in published tariffs, and the travel is wholly within the state. However, original passenger receipts must be submitted in the case of cash or charge purchases of airplane travel, Pullman accommodations and travel by any common carrier outside of the state except taxi or hotel bus fares. Subsistence Allowances — Except when specified. Fares and Tolls — Streetcar, bus, rapid transit and ferry fares; bridge and road tolls. Telephone and Telegraph Charges — Long distance telephone or telegraph charges, if date, place, and party called are shown, unless the telephone call is in excess of $5, in which case vouchers or other supporting evidence shall be required. Taxi and Bus Fares — Taxi or hotel bus fares, when necessary for official business unless over $25. Parking — Parking fees of $10 or less for any continuous period of parking. Air Travel Receipts — Receipts for air travel must be original passenger receipts. Itineraries should be submitted but will not be accepted in lieu of original passenger receipts. [return] Registration receipts should be conference-issued, on letterhead. Generic receipts may need to be substantiated by the front and back of canceled check or credit card statement. All registration fees claimed should be accompanied by the conference agenda and/or registration form showing conference-provided meals. Lodging receipts must show the breakdown of charges. When the lodging receipt indicates there were two people in the room, a notation should be made on the Travel Expense Claim indicating: a) the room was shared with another CSU employee and state their name (in this case the full rate will be allowed) b) the room rate has been reduced to the single rate (because the person who shared the room was not a CSU employee) c) the single rate and double rate are the same price regardless of how many people were in the room. Check with the hotel to see if they offer two different rates. Expenses for commercial rental car should be substantiated by the rental agreement showing the breakdown of charges. In the absence of official receipts (other than airfare/lodging/rental cars), the front and back of the canceled check or a copy of the credit card statement will be required. In cases where receipts for cash transactions have been lost, a statement to that effect shall be made on the Travel Expense Claim and the reason given. In the absence of a satisfactory explanation, the amount involved shall not be allowed. Employees who habitually fail to furnish receipts for expenses greater than $25 will have any reimbursement for these expenses reported as income. All necessary receipts and tickets must be securely attached to the Travel Expense Claim or on a separate sheet of paper that is attached to the Claim. [return] Electronic Receipts Electronic receipts must contain the same information found on a regular receipt: the company's name, address, phone number and/or Web address, date, description of item(s), amount charged, amount paid - or showing a zero balance. If the receipt you received does not contain the required information, you must furnish a credit card statement (or canceled check) showing that the same electronic transaction was paid. For all electronic receipts, the traveler must include the following signed statement: “I certify that this electronic receipt is the original receipt issued to me by the vendor. I further certify that I have not submitted, nor will submit in the future, a duplicate of this receipt for payment or reimbursement.” [return] 5.06.5 Non-Refundable Costs An employee may be reimbursed for expenses associated with canceled trips for costs that have been paid in advance and are not refundable as long as the expenses are reasonable and can be justified. Examples of such expenses might include registration costs, airline tickets and deposits on hotels. Every possible effort must be made to recoup these fees. Registration Fees — If the registration deadline has passed, the employee should provide an explanation of the reason they waited past the deadline to pursue the refund. If a portion of the refund is held as a processing fee, a copy of the refund policy should accompany the claim. Airfare — Non-refundable airline tickets may be used within one year from the date of issue with a $50-$100 change fee (may vary) and payment of the difference between the price of the old ticket and the price of the new one. Ticket has to be used by the same person as indicated on the original ticket. This can be submitted as an offset against expenses for the future trip. Hotel — Hotel deposits usually can be canceled up to 24-48 hours prior to the travel. A justification should accompany the claim if the room reservation was not canceled within that time. Submit expenses to be reimbursed on a Travel Expense Claim with proof of payment and pertinent documentation attached. The reason for cancellation should be indicated in the Remarks Section. Any additional reimbursement received by the employee from outside sources related to this claim should be immediately returned to the university. [return] Document Navigation
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Accounts Payable

Travel Manual

5.06.1 General Procedures

5.06.2 Travel Expense Claim (Standard Form 262)

5.06.3 Preparation of Travel Expense Claim (Standard Form 262)

5.06.4 Receipts or Vouchers

Electronic Receipts

5.06.5 Non-Refundable Costs

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