SILS Travel Procedures

Artifacts
The 3 artifacts the traveler needs are found on the SILS Administrative Sakai site.

• Travel documentation, a .pdf which describes the general process a traveler should follow.
• SILS Conference or Professional Activity Leave and Travel Request Form (henceforth called the Request form)
• Travel Expense Reimbursement Form (henceforth called the Expense Form) 

Procedures
First, the traveler should complete and submit the Request form. It is an editable .docx form that the traveler can download, complete, and email as an attachment to the ADA.

After returning from the trip, the traveler completes the Expense Form, an editable .xlsx form that automatically calculates the totals, and gives it to the C&GS, along with all the necessary documentation (e.g., receipts).

The ADA and C&GS are responsible for many steps of approval, entering information into various university information systems, and otherwise keeping track of travel and travel expenses.

When the ADA receives a Request Form from a potential traveler, she prints it out and then checks the traveler's funding source (e.g., SILS funds or a grant) to be sure there's enough money to cover the estimated expenses. If there is, she signs and dates the form to indicate the travel has been approved, and deletes the electronic copy. If the funding source is insufficient, she informs the traveler, and they can work together to find additional funds. For example, the traveler might be able to use some SILS funds to augment a grant.

After the trip, the C&GS receives the completed Expense form and accompanying documentation from the traveler. It's not unusual for her to have to ask for additional documentation. She recommends that travelers take the per diem payments for meals, because then they don't have to keep the receipts.

The C&GS enters the information from the Expense form into the UTS. Each item has to be entered into the correct category. Then she prints out a report from the UTS that includes the expenses and a bar-coded authorization form. She asks the traveler to review the expenses and if they are correct, to sign the authorization form. The signed authorization form is then faxed with the receipts to the UTS. She submits the online form, which triggers a message to the ADA that it is ready for final approval. Once the ADA approves it, the submission is complete. The printed Request and Expense forms are filed in the appropriate binder.

Reimbursements usually are made as direct deposits into the traveler's bank account within a few days of submission. The traveler receives an email from the UTS when the reimbursement is issued.

Q: Why does a traveler need to complete the request form if he or she isn't asking for funding?
A: It documents that the trip is for University business, and will therefore be covered by University insurance.

Q: Why do receipts have to be taped to 9 X 11 paper?
A: When we submit the expenses for reimbursement, we fax all the receipts to the University travel system. The faxes are automatically scanned into the system and associated with the trip number. If receipts aren't securely taped to regular paper, they'll jam the fax machine.  Or get lost somewhere.

Q: What's the hardest part of entering expenses into the travel system?
A: Hotel bills. Some entries are for the hotel, others are miscellaneous, such as charges for internet. Often people will charge meals to the hotel bill, so those have to go under meals. And some are personal charges, such as paying for a movie. Each line has to be checked to go into the right category.