Travel Advances
i. Obtaining an Advance
ii. Clearing an Advance
i. Obtaining an Advance
An advance of $100 minimum may be submitted for up to 80 percent of the estimated out-of-pocket expenses for travel in excess of 24 hours and may be requested no earlier than 30 days prior to the trip. The traveler completes a Disbursement Request signed by the PI or designee that includes an itemized list of anticipated expenses, and forwards it to the SR grant specialist for approval. New travel advances will not be issued to an individual who has outstanding travel advances in excess of 60 days old. The advance must be refunded immediately when a trip is cancelled or postponed. The traveler is personally responsible for clearing the advance. To avoid personal tax liability, the advance must be cleared within 60 days after the trip.
Travel advances are normally issued to an individual requester, except in instances where the composition of the travel party requires a campus custodian to administer travel funds for several individuals. When submitting a travel reimbursement claim to clear a single advance involving multiple travelers, a travel roster is required in addition to the normal documentation requirements. The travel roster must include the name of each traveler and the signature of the traveler acknowledging funds expensed on her/his behalf. A travel roster may be found on SDSU Research Foundation’s web site at AP Forms.
ii. Clearing an Advance
When the travel is complete, the traveler may find that the entire advance was not spent, more was spent than the amount advanced, or the amount spent equaled the amount advanced. The advance must be substantiated in one of the following ways:
- If the entire advance was not spent and the traveler is returning the unspent funds in cash, cash should not be delivered to anyone other than the cashier. Deliver the cash and a completed Cash Receipt form to SDSU Research Foundation’s cashier. Include a copy of the Cash Receipt and staple the Travel Reimbursement Request form and backup documentation behind the copy of the Cash Receipt. Attach the advance card to the front of the copy of the Cash Receipt. The cashier forwards the copy of the Cash Receipt to the accounts payable travel coordinator. The travel coordinator works with the SR grant specialist to approve the expenditures and clear the advance.
- If the entire advance was not spent and the traveler is returning the unspent funds by way of personal check, complete a Travel Reimbursement Request form. Attach your receipts and personal check for the balance of unspent funds to the form and forward them to the SR grant specialist forreview. After review, the Travel Reimbursement Request form is forwarded to the travel coordinator for final audit and to clear the advance.
- If more was spent than the amount advanced or the amount spent equaled the amount advanced, complete a Travel Reimbursement Request form. Attach the receipts and forward them to the SR grant specialist for review. After review, the Travel Reimbursement Request form is forwarded to the travel coordinator for final audit and to clear the advance. If more was spent than the amount advanced, an accounts payable refund check will be issued to the traveler.
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