To be fully reimbursed for business-related travel, your travel must always be approved in advance by the Lab Director and/or the Principal Investigator (PI) for the budget from which your reimbursement will be paid. To complete the online Travel Request form:
CENPA adheres to UW Travel Office policies and procedures. These travel policies, procedures, reimbursement guidelines, frequently asked questions, and complete information can be found on the Travel Office website: http://f2.washington.edu/fm/travel/
Additional assistance can also be obtained by contacting the CENPA Administration Office.
All travel requires prior written approval for all out‐of‐state travel. The on-line Pre-Trip Approval Form, available through the CENPA website, must be completed by the traveler and submitted. The approver, usually the Lab Director or the Principal Investigator for the budget to which the travel is being charged, will assign a budget and project number. Once the request has been approved, the traveler is notified and can then proceed with making their travel arrangements. All expenses must be work‐related and obtained at the most economical price to the State and the University. Please refer to Traveler’s Responsibilities on the UW Travel website (under the Policies and Procedures section) for more information. Exceptions must be noted either on the pre-trip Travel Request Form or on the post-trip Travel Reimbursement Form.
Travel can be booked through a travel agency, directly with an airline, or an online agency of your choice. Effective 06/07/12 airfare no longer must be purchased through a contract travel agency or directly with the airline. You may purchase airline tickets from internet providers such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, etc. The new policy allows higher education to book travel arrangements using the “most” economical means possible. If your travel arrangements may be canceled and/or changed, you may want to consider contract airfare fares, as most contract fares are refundable.
STATE CONTRACT TRAVEL AGENCIES:
https://finance.uw.edu/travel/netid-uw-travel-agencies
It is recommended that you purchase tickets with your individual UW VISA Travel Card or the departmental Central Travel Account, but it can be paid using a personal credit card. All but the CTA are reimbursed through eTravel. Effective 06/07/12 only contract fares must be purchased using the individual travel card or CTA. The UW Preferred Travel Agency is Christopherson Business Travel. There are many benefits available by using Christopherson Business Travel, which can be reviewed here: https://finance.uw.edu/travel/CBT
In general, the Fly America Act requires that travelers using federal funds (including grant funds) fly only on a U.S.-flag airline. (A code-share satisfies the Fly America Act as long as the ticket is bought through the U.S. airline, even if a non-U.S. airline operates the flight. Again, your ticket must show the U.S. airline and flight number, e.g. “United Flight 1000 operated by South African Airways”.) However, for certain destinations there are Open Skies agreements that give federally funded travelers more flexibility. Here are those exceptions:
If you are flying to/from anywhere in the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway, then you can book tickets on an E.U.-flag airline (or an Icelandic or Norwegian airline). This applies, for example, to tickets on airlines like British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, or Alitalia. Note that not all European countries are part of the E.U., so not all European airlines qualify.
If you are flying to/from Switzerland (which is not part of the E.U.), then you can book tickets on a Swiss airline as long as there is no city-pair contract for your origin and destination points. There is a link below to the list of city-pair contracts. If there is a city-pair contract then you must book tickets on a U.S.-based airline. If your travel includes a stop or layover in an E.U. country, then you may fly an E.U.-flag airline whether or not there is a city-pair contract in effect.
If you are flying to/from Australia, then you can book tickets on an Australian airline as long as there is no city-pair contract for your origin and destination points. (See city-pair link below.)
If you are flying to/from Japan, then you can book tickets on a Japanese airline as long as there is no city-pair contract for your origin and destination points. (See city-pair link below.)
If your travel doesn’t qualify under Open Skies, there are certain conditions that would allow you to use a foreign airline anyway. For example, you don’t have to use a US-flag airline if no such airlines operate the route, or if the use of such an airline would extend the travel time by more than 24 hours.
FLY AMERICA ACT:
http://f2.washington.edu/fm/travel/airfare#fly (UW Travel Fly America link)
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103191 (GSA Fly America link)
OPEN SKIES AGREEMENTS:
http://www.state.gov/e/eb/tra/ata/
CITY PAIRS:
http://cpsearch.fas.gsa.gov/cpsearch/search.do?method=enter
Enterprise and National are the UW preferred/contract rental car providers. However, any car rental company can be used. In order to determine if insurance is needed, consider the rental vehicle source, the method of payment and the coverage desired. This is detailed on the Car Rentals chart on the UW Travel website: http://f2.washington.edu/fm/travel/carrentals
You must familiarize yourself with the insurance coverage of the different rental options and ensure you are adequately covered. Typically, if you purchase with a UW Travel Card you can decline the rental car insurance, but please consult the Car Rentals chart for the definitive answer. For all foreign locations, third party motor coverage (liability insurance) must be purchased per UW policy. Compact, standard or full size cars are allowable; other classes will require justification.
As with your hotel bill, your car rental receipt must show the dates the car was picked up and dropped off and the payment method. You can also be reimbursed for gas used for the rental car and, although receipts are not currently required for UW reimbursement for expenditures of less than $75, retaining those receipts will help verify your gas purchase to the rental car company when you return the vehicle.
If you drive your own car on University business, you are reimbursed the applicable mileage rate for each mile driven from your official duty station. The mileage rate reimbursement includes the cost of gas. Mileage documentation must be turned in with your Post Travel Worksheet, either by using MapQuest, for point‐to‐point mileage, or keeping a mileage log using your odometer readings.
Travelers on official UW business are automatically covered under a blanket University of Washington policy. Full details of the program can be found at the Risk Management website.
http://f2.washington.edu/treasury/riskmgmt/home
Register for conferences and workshops in advance (and include the registration fee in your pre-travel cost estimate). If there is a discount for registering early, be sure to take advantage of it: CENPA will only reimburse registration fees at the early-bird rate. The traveler must include the conference website link when travel is requested. If there is no website for the meeting or conference, then an informational email from the meeting coordinator or meeting organizer must be attached.
The UW will cover the cost to acquire a valid passport or visa, provided that it is essential for UW business travel.
Adding personal time/travel with a business trip is allowable only when all of the following conditions exist:
Purchase airfare for personal trip separate from the UW business trip if personal time is at a location other than the UW business location. The Travel Office currently requires that personal time be described as where you went, for how long (start to end dates), and the purpose, e.g. family vacation. These justifications must be included for the days from the start of your trip to its conclusion that was not actively spent in the business portion of your trip. Reimbursement is only allowed for the cost of airfare for the business-related portion. Therefore, when booking your flight you need to obtain comparison airfare/two itineraries if personal time location and date are different than UW business location:
Separate personal and business expenses.
All documented and allowable travel expenses paid by the traveler may be reimbursed after the trip. To be reimbursed, please complete the online Post Travel Worksheet and submit it to the CENPA Administration Office within 14 days of your return. You can either attach receipts to the online Post Travel Worksheet or provide paper receipts to the CENPA front office. Receipts are required for items over $75 U.S. dollars. Expenses incurred in a foreign currency will be exchanged to U.S. Dollars using the OANDA currency converter for the day the expense was incurred. Your credit card statement can replace the OANDA currency conversion so you may include that, if available. Be sure to block out any personal information.
A copy of the Conference Registration form clearly showing what was provided in the cost of the registration—including meals and extras--is required and must be submitted with your Post Travel Worksheet, along with a copy of the conference agenda/schedule. Please note that CENPA will only reimburse registration fees at the lowest applicable rate, so be sure to take advantage of early-bird discounts.
Verify lodging per diem allowance since reimbursement is limited to maximum allowance unless an exception applies. Prior approval is required if claiming reimbursement over the allowable lodging per diem rate, and written justification must be provided. If the hotel is more than five miles from the conference hotel, then prior approval is required. The zero-balance hotel receipt must show your check-in and check-out dates, the daily room rate and any applicable taxes, and the payment method, e.g., credit card.
CENPA meal per diem policy effective April 1, 2016:
- For trips 8 days long or longer, meal per diem is $25/day.
- For trips 7 days or less, the traveler may choose one of two meal reimbursement options for the entire trip:
- Document meal costs and claim actual cost of meals, up to the government meals & incidental expenses (M&IE) rate for the location [Link to GSA rate lookup]. A meal log is sufficient documentation. Receipts are not required except for individual expenses greater than $75, or if the traveler covered another traveler’s meal cost and wishes to be reimbursed for both.
- Claim a flat per diem rate. For most days of the trip, the CENPA meal per diem rate is set to 75% of the government M&IE rate for US locations, and 50% for locations outside the US [http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877]. If any meals were provided at no extra cost to the traveler (for example, breakfast included in the hotel room rate), their value will be subtracted from the per diem; the traveler should indicate those meals in comments in the post-travel worksheet. (Example: “Breakfast included Mon-Thu. Lunch was included on Wed.") For the first and last day of the trip (travel days), the reimbursement will be prorated according to the traveler’s departure/arrival times [http://f2.washington.edu/fm/travel/meals#reimbursement]. Travelers do not need to compute the meal per diem rate themselves, nor do they need to estimate the value of included meals.
Exceptions:
- Banquet tickets must be entered as separate line items in the reimbursement according to UW policy. The banquet reimbursement replaces the portion of the per diem reimbursement corresponding to that meal. A receipt is required for reimbursement of a banquet ticket. [http://f2.washington.edu/fm/travel/meals#actual]
- Alcohol purchases are not eligible for reimbursement.
- If one traveler paid for another traveler’s meal, an itemized receipt is required. [http://f2.washington.edu/fm/travel/meals#others]
=== Example ===
Tia Traveler leaves Seattle on Sunday to attend a conference in Chicago Monday through Wednesday. On Wednesday evening, she drives to Batavia to work at Fermilab on Thursday, before flying back to Seattle on Friday. Tia’s breakfasts are included in her Chicago hotel room rate (but not in her Batavia room rate) and she attends a $50 conference banquet Tuesday night.
After her trip, Tia decides to claim the flat per diem rate. On the post-travel worksheet, she writes “Free breakfast Monday-Wednesday. Attended conference banquet Tuesday dinner.” She submits the receipt for the banquet ticket along with her other travel receipts.
While preparing Tia’s travel reimbursement, the Fiscal Specialist determines that the CENPA M&IE per diem rate for Chicago is $55.50/day (75% of the $74/day GSA rate). Of this daily rate, $14.25 is allocated for breakfast, $16.50 for lunch, and $24.75 for dinner, determined by scaling the GSA meal breakdown by 75%. Meanwhile, the CENPA M&IE per diem rate for Batavia is $38.25: $9.75 for breakfast, $11.25 for lunch, and $17.25 for dinner.
Sunday is a travel day from Seattle to Chicago, so Tia’s M&IE expenses are reimbursed at 75% of the CENPA Chicago M&IE rate: $41.63.
Monday is a full day in Chicago. Tia’s breakfast is covered through her lodging expenses, so $14.25 is deducted from her M&IE claim. Tia’s M&IE reimbursement for Monday is $41.25.
Tuesday is another full day in Chicago. Tia’s M&IE covers only lunch today (since breakfast was paid as a lodging expense, and dinner was the conference banquet), so she is reimbursed $16.50 for M&IE and $50 for the banquet line item, making $66.50 total in food reimbursements for the day.
Wednesday is like Monday, and Tia’s M&IE reimbursement is $41.25.
Thursday is a full day in Batavia. This time Tia must pay separately for all three of her meals, so she receives the full M&IE per diem for Batavia: $38.25.
Friday is a travel day from Batavia to Seattle. Tia’s M&IE reimbursement is 75% of the CENPA Batavia M&IE rate: $28.69.
Tia’s total M&IE reimbursement for the trip is $207.57, and her $50 reimbursement for the banquet ticket brings her total food reimbursements to $257.57.
For additional information, please refer to the UW Travel Office meal per diem link: http://f2.washington.edu/fm/travel/meals
If you did not charge your airfare to the CTA, please provide the airfare itinerary with your request for reimbursement, even if you are not requesting airfare reimbursement.
“We understand this. From talking to other departments that travel a lot globally, they have said they just carry a receipt book that can be handwritten and have the individual providing the service sign. For taxis and things like this we know this is probably the most we will get unless they pay with a credit card. We need the amount listed and which currency it was paid in, the service they paid for and the date.”
Reasonable commuting expenses at the travel destination, including parking fees, bus or train tickets, and bus passes, are reimbursable. Traveler discount cards (such as railway discount passes) are reimbursable if used to make commuting more economical. The traveler is solely responsible for any fines, including parking tickets and fines for traveling without a valid transit pass.
Travel reimbursement requests must be submitted at least quarterly, and in no case after the budget to be charged has been closed. Please see the Fiscal Specialist if you have any questions. Failure to submit quarterly reports may result in non-reimbursement based on UW Travel Office policies.
Travel reimbursements are now performed online in ARIBA. Once the Fiscal Specialist has entered your travel reimbursement and it has been approved by the compliance and funding approvers, you will receive an email from ARIBA with the subject line: “ACTION REQUIRED…”. The traveler will need to click on the “OPEN” button in the email to access your travel reimbursement/Expense Report (ER) in ARIBA. Once you log into ARIBA, and after reviewing your ER for accuracy, you can then click on the green “APPROVE” button to complete the process. Or, if the ER contains errors, click on the red “DENY” button, add a comment in ARIBA describing the nature of the error, and contact the CENPA Fiscal Specialist with the details of the denial. UW employees already enrolled in Payroll direct deposit will have their travel reimbursement automatically direct deposited to the same bank account within two business days from final approval of the ER (expense report).