Administration and Finance

As we are rapidly approaching a new academic year and business travel season, the Controller’s Office would like to offer some processing tips to assist our returning and new faculty and staff when they plan for to travel. 

Travel Authorization Requests (TAR’s) :

1. Please remember that all official travel for the University must be approved prior to the travel taking place or before an airline ticket or registration fee may be purchased, including PCard purchases.
2. International travel requires a special process and forms must be completed and submitted to the International Center before being forwarded to the Provost for approval.    You can find the forms for the International Center by clicking here.
3. If you cancel the trip you will need to cancel the TAR. 
1. If there are expenses associated with a canceled trip, such as airfare, registration fees, or a hotel registration you will need to do the following:
1. For a hotel, ensure that the hotel reservation is canceled timely to avoid a charge.  Otherwise, the traveler may be responsible for the cost of the charge.
2. If there is a registration fee, ensure that the registration is canceled timely to avoid any forfeiture of the registration fee.
3. If there is an airline ticket, be sure that the ticket is canceled or let the airline or travel agent know that you are not flying so that you may be able to use the ticket for another flight at another time.
2. Anytime there is a cancellation of a trip, and the TAR, a justification must be provided as to the reason for the cancellation.  Please remember that unless there is a valid business reasons for cancellation, the University will not be responsible for the associated costs and the planned traveler may have responsibility for the costs.

Once the travel is completed or canceled:

1. A Travel Reimbursements must be prepared and submitted to the Travel Department within 10 business days from the end of the travel and include original receipts for all expenses.
2. If a rental car is rented from Avis, you must return the Avis bill along with the reimbursement voucher.  Avis is a Central Billing process and we must identify those charges in order to pay the bill. 
1. You may use a University PCard for Avis car rentals, but be sure that you have a copy of the University’s “Sales Tax Exemption Certificate” with you if your PCard does not have the number on the card.  This would apply to rentals In-State only.  Out of state rentals would be assessed tax.
3. Please remember that Avis is the car rental agency of choice for the University and the insurance is provided as part of the contract.  If you find you need to use a rental company other than Avis, please be sure to opt for the insurance to cover the University and yourself.
4. Please remember that even if the only expense is for an airline ticket, you must complete a Travel Reimbursement Voucher.  This will verify that the ticket was actually used and will close the TAR.
5. If you have utilized a PCard to make any payments such as a registration fee, airline ticket or a hotel expense, please remember that you must submit a reimbursement voucher that clearly identifies those charges on page two of the reimbursement voucher.   A copy of the PCard receipts must be attached.   Please do not include these charges on the front page of the Travel Reimbursement Voucher.
6. If you have utilized a PCard to make a food purchase, please remember that those charges are to be deducted on the front of the Travel Reimbursement Voucher in the summary section of the page.
7. When utilizing your PCard for In-State (Florida) Travel purchases please make sure that you have a copy of the University’s “Sales Tax Exemption Certificate” with you if your PCard does not have the number on the card.   That will save your department the cost of the sales tax and time in retrieving the tax after the travel has been completed.   This would apply to rentals In-State (Florida) only.  You will be responsible for any Out of State sales taxes on rentals on your PCard. 
8. You would generally always be assessed sales tax from your use of a personal credit card either In-State or Out-of-State travel and you may be reimbursed for these taxes when you file your reimbursement voucher.

Back to the Administration and Finance home page.