Travel Department June 24, 2016 Get the scoop on Travel documents, end of fiscal year travel deadlines and upcoming events!!

Travel Department The Travel Department audits business related travel authorizations, travel vouchers, mileage reimbursement vouchers, as well as student travel forms. We ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with the college’s travel policies and procedures. The goal of the Travel Department is to ensure dependable and timely services to South Texas College faculty, staff, and students with excellent customer service and a commitment to continuous process improvement. “Here’s the Travel Scoop” Please remember that in order to audit travel documents in a timely manner, all approvals (Financial Manager, Supervisor, Vice President, etc.) and documentation must be in order and received within the Travel deadlines Also – Fiscal year end deadlines are fast approaching: FY 2016 BUDGET – all items received, services rendered & travel occurring on 8/31/16 or prior FY 2017 BUDGET – all items received, services rendered & travel occurring on 9/1/16 or later  

Travel Staff Dalinda Gamboa-Accounting Group Manager x4619 Maricarmen Ramirez-Accounting Group Supervisor x4609 Patricia Jackson, Accounting Specialist-Travel x4656 Vanessa Limon, Accounting Assistant-Travel x4618

The Scoop on Travel Authorizations Travel Authorizations should be forwarded to the Travel Department every time an employee has approval to travel out of district (Hidalgo/Starr Counties) Travel Guidelines/Procedures are available on the Business Office/Travel webpage http://finance.southtexascollege.edu/businessoffice/travel.html Travel Authorizations should be submitted to the Travel Department at a minimum of 15 business days prior to travel (taking registration deadlines into account) TIPS to expedite advance payment: Membership payment requires STC Institutional Membership form Mileage requests north of San Antonio requires airfare quote comparison along with mileage mapquest that shows exact address Submit copy of Driver’s license/insurance card (with traveler name) for all trip mileage requests All original approval signatures needed on Travel Authorization form

Authorizations (Continued) The Scoop on Travel Authorizations (Continued) End of fiscal year for STC – August 31, 2016 End of fiscal year deadline – September 8, 2016 TIPS: Travel Authorizations with travel dates after August 31, 2016 will be processed in the new fiscal year (FY17). The only exceptions will be: Registration fees with a due date prior to September 30, 2016 which offer a savings to the college for early payment. Airfare with travel dates prior to September 30, 2016. These exceptions will be processed and charged to the department’s FY 2016 budget.

The Scoop on Mileage Encumbrances An Employee In-District Mileage Reimbursement and Authorization form is needed when authorized employees are allowed to travel in district (Starr & Hidalgo Counties) TIPS for expediting review: This form should be on file for all employees traveling within the 2 counties on College business If employee’s first or last travel destination is not their home base, please submit Standard Mileage Method form (SMM) Make sure to close all open mileage encumbrances for employees that are no longer traveling. To do this: Send an e-mail (must be from the FM or approved by the FM) to the Travel Department requesting that the encumbrance(s) be closed. Make sure to include the following: Name of the traveler (employee) Traveler’s A# Encumbrance Number

The Scoop on Travel Vouchers Upon return from a trip, employee must submit the Travel voucher along with receipts within 15 business days or When In-District travel is complete – a Travel voucher and Mileage log are needed TIPS to expedite reimbursement: Attach all proper documentation (i.e. receipts, boarding passes, mileage log, SMM forms, faculty teaching schedules, school calendars –if applicable, etc.) Verify that the traveler’s address on the voucher matches the address in Banner. Verify that the Organization Code on the voucher and mileage log is correct. Verify if there is an open mileage encumbrance or submit a new one if needed All proper approvals are on the voucher forms In state- Employee, Immediate Supervisor, Financial Manager Out of state- Employee, Immediate Supervisor, Financial Manager, Division Vice President Mileage Log – Employee, Immediate Supervisor, Financial Manager, Division Vice President, if applicable Standard Mileage Method Form – Employee, Immediate Supervisor, Financial Manager

The Scoop on Travel Vouchers (Continued) The Travel Department will be sending out e-mail reminders for missing travel vouchers. The Travel Guidelines state, “a Travel Voucher must be submitted to the Business Office within 15 days after returning from the trip.”  The 15 day rule is accelerated for travel happening the last week of August. Please submit the approved vouchers for August travel along with the required documentation as soon as the traveler returns from the trip in order to meet the FY 2016 deadline of September 8th. Reminder: IRS requires an "adequate" accounting by the recipient within a reasonable period of time. This means that employees must verify the date, time, place, amount and the business purpose of the expenses. Receipts are required unless the reimbursement is made under a per diem plan.

Here’s the Scoop about Helpful Banner Forms FTMVEND-Vendor Maintenance FAIVNDH-Vendor Detail History FOIDOCH – Document History FAIINVE-Invoice/Credit Memo Query FGIBAVL-Budget Availability Status FGITRND-Detail Transaction Activity FGIOENC-Organization Encumbrance List FGIENCD-Detail Encumbrance Activity

A Scoopful of Current Events The college is migrating from processing travel and mileage reimbursements on paper to an online system. The Travel Department has completed end-user training for several Divisions and will continue training through the Summer. Part I of our training consists of online authorizations whether it be for a trip or for mileage reimbursements. Part II consists of generating the expense reports off of the authorizations. What is an expense report you might ask? The expense report simply replaces the travel voucher.

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