Travel

The preferred method of payment for air, rail, or bus fare is the department’s CTA, also
known as the Central Travel Account. (See BPPM 95.04)

Not sure if your department has a CTA card? Check with the Travel Team: travel.bc@wsu.edu

• You must have an approved Spend Authorization submitted in Workday prior to
  purchasing airfare.

• By using the CTA card, you do not have to carry the balance of the purchase on a
  personal credit card.

• Departments/Programs are eligible to accrue reward miles for future travel.

• Many departments also use Concur (Global Travel’s online booking tool for WSU) so
  travelers can schedule their own flights.

Traveler Personal Credit Card – A personal credit card may be used to purchase airfare

• Traveler cannot seek reimbursement for the purchase until after the travel has been
  completed.

• Payments prior to a trip are considered an advance per the State, so they are not
  allowed to be reimbursed until after the trip. Advances for airfare are prohibited per
  the State.

WSU Travel Card – University travelers are to use the Travel Charge Card for business-related
travel and entertainment expenses as defined in the University travel policies. (See BPPM
Chapter 95) University travelers should not charge any expenses on the travel card that are
not reimbursable by WSU.

• The individual cardholder is personally responsible for paying all charges on the card
  by the statement due date. The account is not a revolving credit account. Partial
  monthly payments are not permitted. Any late fees incurred are the sole
  responsibility of the cardholder.

• If choosing to purchase airfare in advance it is the responsibility of the cardholder
  to pay the balance of the card in full regardless of whether the travel has been
  completed or not.
• Prohibited purchases include any personal items and any non-official travel related
  expenditures.
• If the traveler will not be getting directly reimbursed for the expenses via an Expense
  Report, then the Travel Charge Card is not an acceptable form of payment.

Before you start travel: Spend Authorizations are only required for Out of State or Foreign Travel. If you are traveling within Washington as an employee, a Spend Authorization does NOT need to be completed. Please see WSU’s BPPM 95.01 for further detailed information.

Here’s a quick how-to:

How to cancel a spend authorization? (PDF)

For an expense report, you would follow similar steps to cancel.

The U.S. General Services Administration page for Per Diem Rates, you’ll find rates for Lodging and Meals. The map on the page also shows per diem rates for other countries as well.

You can find your Spend Authorizations or Expense Reports in Workday by searching:

• My Spend Authorizations
• My Expense Reports

WSU’s Business Policies and Procedures Manual 95 for travel offers information about what mileage is reimbursable.

Travel Mileage (PDF)

We also offer a mileage log (excel) that can be filled out every month as well. Reminder – departure & destination locations should be noted.

Once you see that your expense report is with the Expense Partner, this is WSU Central Travel. It will go through the final review. It takes about 10 business days for payment to be issued out once the funding manager approves not when the expense report is submitted. Review the Travel Process in Workday PDF under Travel Tips.

No there is no minimum, they just can not go over per diem meals and lodging for the days they have gone, but they can request less.

Reference – BPPM 95.05

Faculty and staff employees can request travel/cash advances ONLY if they will be in travel status for no less than 15 days.

Nonemployee students and graduate students (even if on paid assistantships or appointments) are able to request a travel/cash advance even if in travel status for less than 15 days.

Guarantee for Advance of Funds to Non-employee students

University policy limits cash or travel advances to faculty and staff employees only. The responsible dean or director may request an exception to the Travel Advance policy in order to advance funds to a non-employee student.

To ensure payment to the university in the event the recipient defaults in accounting for and/or returning the funds, the dean or director completes and signs a Guarantee for Advance of Funds to Non-employee Student certification form. The dean or director enters the applicable worktags of the gift account that is to support any outstanding balance of funds.

The dean or director must attach the certification form to the Spend Authorization in Workday.

Amount of Advance

According to the BPPM 95.05 under Amount of Advance:

The best practice is to avoid advancing the traveler more than they will spend. It is recommended that the advance amount be no more than the total per diem allowance for the number of days in travel status.

Example

Travel to Phoenix, AZ from 3/1/18 through 3/17/18

If the daily per diem allowance is: $174 (lodging) + $59 ( meals and incidentals) = $233. We will take the number of days in travel status: 16 and multiple our daily allowance total by 16 to attain out Total Advance amount ($233 x 16) = $3728.

Returning Advances: (BPPM 95.20)

Any unexpended portion of a travel advance must be returned to WSU at the close of the authorized travel period. (SAAM 10.80.60)(PDF)

A university employee who does not repay an advance is considered to be in default. The University may withhold amounts due from the employee’s salary or wages.

WSU Compliance and Risk Management – International Travel is where you can find the information on International Travel Insurance.