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[ Travel ]
Travel Advance Policy & Procedure
Payment Options :|: Travel Advances
An ADVANCE is the payment of funds to an authorized individual prior to their travel or prior to an event.
Please refer to the tables below for the various types of advances available. Click here for general information on how to reconcile
a Cash or Check advance.
| CASH |
What is a Cash Advance
A cash advance is an advance of $200 or less that can be obtained within five working days of the
planned trip or event that is hand-carried to the Travel Office for approval and then taken to the Cashier's Office for cash.
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Request a Cash Advance
The individual seeking an Advance or a representative from the department
should bring the completed Advance Request (C-7) form to the Travel Office between the hours
of 11:00AM to 3:00PM along with a valid Penn I.D.
A representative from the Travel Office will make sure the individual seeking the cash advance
does not have any outstanding advances that have not been reconciled. If there are outstanding
advances, the new request will not be approved. Otherwise, they will approve the request and
date stamp the form. The person then takes the form to the Cashier to receive the cash.
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Reconcile a Cash Advance
When reconciling advances the traveler has to complete a
Travel and Entertainment Expense report and provide original receipts to document
that the monies advanced have been spent on specific costs relating to a trip or event.
All cash advances of $200 or less need to be reconciled within 30 days. A Travel and Entertainment
Expense report needs to be filled out and any original receipts over $25 should be attached.
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| CHECK |
What is a Check Advance
A check advance is an advance that will be issued in the form of a check.
The C-7 form is submitted to the Travel office for processing and the requestor should allow three weeks to request the check
be issued and mailed out to a person's campus address.
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Request a Check Advance
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Types of Check Advances.
Anticipated out-of-pocket
Prepaid expenses prior to a trip or event
International project/Program advances (6 months or less)
International project / Program advances (extended operating)
Student activities / College house programs
Other
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| ADVANCE TYPES |
Anticipated out-of-pocket advance
The University will provide advances for faculty, staff and students traveling or entertaining on behalf of the University in order to
cover reasonable expenses.
American Express corporate cards. The American Express corporate card is
made available to monthly paid Penn employees and it is the preferred method of payment
when traveling or entertaining on behalf of the University. Penn employees who are eligible
for the American Express corporate card should not require advances prior to a trip or event.
However, if they find it necessary to request an advance, that advance will be limited to no
more than $50 per day for domestic trips and $75 for foreign trips.
Students and employees without American Express corporate cards. Students and employees
without American Express corporate cards may be granted additional amounts to cover meals,
lodging and local transportation provided an explanation for the amount being requested is attached.
Athletic coaches can take out advances for anticipated team travel.
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How to request one
All requests for Advances must be done on an Advance Request form (C-7) and must include the following information:
- beginning Date and Ending Date of the proposed trip or event,
- signature of the faculty member, staff member or student requesting the advance,
- Provide information on how the advance will be spent. (Failure to support the request
may result in the advance request being denied.)
- the stated business purpose, and
- proper authorization
All advances should be requested no more than three weeks prior to a proposed trip or event
and at least ten (10) working days must be allowed for check preparation and intramural mailing
after receipt of the Travel Advance Request by the Travel Office.
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How to reconcile
Anticipated out-of-pocket expenses should be kept to a minimum and should not include:
- Airline tickets – can be charged to the Central bill account at American Express.
- Amtrak tickets – can be charged to credit cards or ProCard.
- Conference registration fees – can be charged to a ProCard or paid directly to the
conference on a Request for Payment form and processed by A/P.
- Hotel costs – should be paid at time of check-out or prepaid with a check only when
the person traveling does not have a credit card.
All advances for anticipated out-of-pocket expenses needs to be reconciled within 30 days of
the ending date of the trip or event.
Original receipts must be accompany the form.
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Prepaid expenses prior to a Trip or Event advance
The University encourages travelers to take advantage of sales or early discounts when purchasing airline tickets,
registrations or hotel deposits. In those cases the University will reimburse individuals
with an Advance for purchases of such items prior to a trip or event.
Such request should only be made when such an early payment causes a financial hardship or the individual has received
a credit card bill and needs to pay that bill in a timely manner so as not to incur any interest
or penalty charges.
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How to request one
Attach copies of airline tickets, conference registration, lodging deposits, credit card statements
and other items showing that the expenses have been incurred.
The Travel Office reserves the right to reject such an Advance request if it determines that:
- The event or travel dates have already occurred by the time the paperwork reaches the Travel Office, or
- The individual has just incurred the expense and has time to travel, return and request
reimbursement without risking any interest or penalty fees.
All advances should be requested no more than three weeks prior to a proposed trip or event and
at least ten (10) working days must be allowed for check preparation and intramural mailing after
receipt of the Travel Advance Form by the Travel Office.
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How to reconcile
When requesting an advance for prepaid expenses the traveler submitted copies of prepayments.
Now that the trip or event has concluded the traveler must attach original receipts.
To reconcile an Advance for prepaid expenses original receipts should be attached such as Airline original passenger receipt coupons,
Amtrak original passenger receipt coupons, Itemized hotel statements, Car rental print-out, Registration receipt and
Additional original receipts relating to the trip or event should be attached as well.
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International Project / Program Advances (6 months or less)
An international project / program advance is an advance that not only covers travel expenses
but may also incorporate various operating costs that are program / project related.
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How to request one
The Advance request should be processed
through the Travel Office and must include a breakdown of how the funds are to be spent.
Operating expenses may include supplies and equipment as well as food, lodging and other
transportation expenses.
All requests for Advances must be done on an Advance Request form (C-7) and must include
the following information:
- beginning Date and Ending Date of the proposed trip or event,
- signature of the faculty member, staff member or student requesting the advance,
- attached documentation that supports the amount of the advance being requested.
Failure to support the request may result in the advance request being denied
- the stated business purpose, and
- proper authorization
If an international project / program advance is on a grant or contract (i.e. 5 ledger),
it must be reviewed and approved by Research Services. Complete a Travel and Entertainment
Expenditure Justification for Sponsored Research Projects form. To expedite an Advance request,
it should go to Research Services first and, once reviewed, Research Services will send it on to the
Travel Office to be paid or returned to the department. Click here for the form:
http://www.upenn.edu/researchservices/
Forms%20and%20Agreements.html
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How to reconcile
Travelers can either itemize expenses by day and by category or attach a detailed log of their
expenditures incurred during their stay. In either case, the form must be accompanied by dated,
original receipts for expenses incurred in excess of $25. If receipts are unavailable, accounting for
such expenses must still be attached.
If using per diem for meals, check the web for the correct foreign per diem rate during the time
frame of the program and multiply it by the number of days. Reduce any per diems where meals
were provided by a third party or already included in an event.
If itemizing expenses on the expense report, the corresponding receipts must be converted into
US dollars and noted on each receipt. If using a daily log, expenses may be listed in the foreign
currency, with a currency conversion at the end. Receipts should be batched either chronologically
or by category in order to facilitate the audit process.
With project / program advances, it is the responsibility of the principle investigator to determine
if the monies have been spent in a manner that supports and facilitates the mission of the
project / program. The responsibility of the Travel Office is to ensure that these monies
are accounted for in a timely manner.
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International Project / Program Advances (extended operating advances)
Some international project / programs are ongoing
in nature and thus need to be managed on a quarterly basis.
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How to request one
If the project will continue in the foreign country for more than six months, you may want to open
a project checking account at the location. The checking account may be opened in the name of the project
manager, or with prior approval of the Treasurer, in the name of the Trustees of the University.
Advances can then be wired to such accounts on a quarterly basis. Advances on such ongoing projects
must be reconciled on a quarterly basis as well. Requests for advances of additional funds will not be
allowed if previous advances are not reconciled in a timely manner.
All requests for Advances must be done on an Advance Request form (C-7) and must include the following information:
- beginning Date and Ending Date of the proposed trip or event,
- signature of the faculty member, staff member or student requesting the advance,
- attached documentation that supports the amount of the advance being requested.
Failure to support the request may result in the advance request being denied
- the stated business purpose, and
- proper departmental authorization
If an international project / program advance is on a grant or contract (i.e. 5 ledger),
it must be reviewed and approved by Research Services. Complete a Travel and Entertainment
Expenditure Justification for Sponsored Research Projects form. To expedite an Advance request,
it should go to Research Services first and, once reviewed, Research Services will send it
on to the Travel Office to be paid or returned to the department.
Project / program advances that are being wired also require the necessary banking
information to be attached. Click here for details:
http://www.finance.upenn.edu/treasurer/
cashman/wiretrans.shtml
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How to reconcile
The same instructions apply for extended operating advances as for international
project / program advances. With extended operation advances, however, the
advances must be reconciled quarterly and not at the end of the program or project.
If an advance was wired to a University of Pennsylvania bank account or Project Manager account, copies of the monthly
bank statements, as well as a detailed accounting of each check written from the bank account,
including the payee and purpose of the check must also be submitted with the reconciliation report.
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Student Activities
Most advances for student activities are requested as “cash advances.”
Advances are provided to students for student and college house activities throughout the
academic year. A student taking out such an advance for “floor programs” can take out that advance
for a month. Advances for specific activities should contain the specific date of the activity or event.
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How to request one
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How to reconcile
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Other
Other types of advances such as Student Award / Fellowship
advances, per diems for visiting foreign nationals, etc. should use this designation. An explanation should be
provided and any supporting documentation should be attached. (Any per diem payments to Foreign Nationals
should follow the guidelines provided by the Tax Office).
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How to request one
The University, as a rule, will not provide
non-employees with travel advances. Exceptions will be granted for special circumstances.
If processing a travel advance for a non-employee, a department representative is required to state
the special circumstances. If the non-employee is unavailable for signature the Business Administrator
should sign the Advance form on behalf of the non-employee, where
indicated, acknowledging that the monies advanced are required to be accounted for and that they
will be responsible for reconciling the advance for this non-employee in a timely manner with the
appropriate receipts attached.
If seeking an advance for a “foreign national,” you must first check with the Tax
Office to make sure that such a payment is allowable under IRS guidelines and/or INS
regulations as stated in the Foreign Affairs Manual. You can reach the Tax Office by calling 215.898.6573.
All requests for Advances must be done on an Advance Request form (C-7) and must include the following information:
- beginning Date and Ending Date of the proposed trip or event,
- signature of the faculty member, staff member or student requesting the advance,
- attached documentation that supports the amount of the advance being requested.
Failure to support the request may result in the advance request being denied
- the stated business purpose, and
- proper authorization
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How to reconcile
All advances have to be reconciled with original receipts and/or per diems. Failure to reconcile an
advance will result in a 1099 form being generated.
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