Procedure: 302-Travel Advances Including e‑Reimbursement Travel Authorizations and Cash Advances
Date: 10/17/03 (Last updated: 1/04/2010)

Statement of Procedure:

Section 1 Travel Expense Report (TER)

REQUEST FOR TRAVEL ADVANCE (6166): A Travel Advance may only be given to a UW employee. The exception would be for a newly hired individual for relocation expenses. Travel advances are to be given to the requesting employee and may not be given to or used by another employee. Likewise, the travel advance is issued for a specific trip and may not be used for a trip different than the one that was listed on the original request.

Accounting for a Travel Advance on a TER when the traveler has incurred expenses greater than the amount issued on the Request for Travel Advance: indicate the total expenses by account code at the top right of the TER. Type the dollar amount of the Travel Advance along with the Travel Advance ID Number, Institution, Division, and Department in the second area. The Account, Fund, DeptID, Prog., and Class (Bldg#), Budget Year, and Project should already be preprinted on the TER. (If you are using a computer-generated form, verify that this information is on the TER). Subtract the Travel Advance amount from the Travel Expense amount and indicate the total in the Net Amount area.

Accounting for a Travel Advance on a TER when the Traveler has incurred expenses less than the amount issued on the Request for Travel Advance: indicate the total expenses by account code in the top right area of the TER. Type in this amount along with the Travel Advance ID Number, Institution, Division, and Department in the second area. The Account, Fund, DeptID, Prog., and Class (Bldg#), Budget Year, and Project should already be preprinted on the TER. (If you are using a computer-generated form, verify that this information is on the TER). The Net Amount should read -0-. Never indicate a negative amount in this area. Staple a check for the difference to the front of the TER. Indicate on the TER the amount of the total expenses plus the amount of the check and total ensuring they equal the amount of the travel advance.

Section 2 e-Reimbursement

Creating the Travel Authorization/Cash Advance

To create a travel authorization click on Employee Self-Service, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, Create.
Create TA

After entering the required information and anticipated expenses, click submit. The traveler will be prompted for a Cash Advance if their e‑Reimbursement account has been activated for cash advances when the Travel Authorization is submitted. If a Cash Advance is desired, the Traveler should click "Yes" when prompted for the Cash Advance.

CA prompt

Note: There is no opportunity to add a Cash Advance to a Travel Authorization once the TA has been submitted and when "No" is selected at the Cash Advance prompt. Travelers who have not been activated for Cash Advances will not see the prompt asking if they want to receive a Cash Advance.

A Travel Authorization and Cash Advance ID will be assigned.

TACA details

Payment and Reconciliation

  1. For employees: payment of the advance will be made via direct deposit into the same account as the individual's payroll check without exception.
  2. For newly hired employees who have not yet started work: payment of the advance will be in the form of a check and mailed.
  3. For newly hired employees who received advance payment for travel and were assigned a non-employee ID number (number prefix "NH____") before they started work:

    4. ALWAYS log into the e‑Reimbursement system with the non-employee ID number (number prefix "NH____") to create the Expense Report for which expenses for the cash advance are being claimed.

  4. When creating the Expense Report after travel has occurred, the traveler is alerted that an outstanding cash advance exists.

    5. ALWAYS create the expense report by using the cash advance link indicated in the alert. When using this cash advance link, the expense report entry is streamlined because it includes prepopulated expenses created when the cash advance was requested. Using the linked TA/CA will also close out the TA/CA.

    Please note: A newly hired employee who was assigned a non-employee ID (number prefix "NH___") before their official start date MUST create the Expense Report with the "NEH___" number. If the "NH___" number is not used, there will NOT be an alert to warn that there is an approved TA/CA and the TA/CA will never be closed out (e.g., reconciled).

    Screen shot showing the alert that there is an approved travel authorization.

    Create ER from TA/CA

  5. The traveler receives several alerts when the expense report is submitted if expenses are less than the outstanding cash advance.

    A submit confirmation is displayed after the expense report is submitted. The confirmation illustrated below indicates that the traveler owes the University $50.00.

    CA due University

    An example of the warning screen when an expense report is submitted and the expenses are less than the outstanding cash advance.

    CA due University warning

  6. When the traveler does not spend the entire cash advance, it is the traveler's responsibility to submit a check payable to UW-Madison for the outstanding balance when the expense report is submitted along with the receipt packet.  
  7. The Approver forwards the check to the Auditor for reconciliation.
  8. The Auditor approves the expense report.
  9. After approving the expense report, the Auditor records the refund in e-Reimbursement. The navigation is: Travel and Expenses > Manage Accounting > Reconcile Cash Advances. Enter the check number and amount of the check, then click “Save for Later”. This will change the status of the cash advance to “reconciled” and it also creates some accounting entries. 
  10. The check is submitted for deposit using a Vendor Refund Form. The Vendor Refund Form should be is coded as a credit to account 6241 using the same chartfield coding as the original cash advance (Fund, DeptID, Project, and Program). for the deposit and the debit will be to 6100 cash. Enter the Cash Advance and Expense Report numbers in the “Inv No” field; e.g., CA###/ER####.
  11. Review outstanding cash advances on WISDM:
    1. Log into WISDM.
    2. From the navigation menu, choose Other Searches and then Transactions.
    3. Use the current fiscal year.
    4. Include all accounting periods.
    5. In the Organization box, select "starts with" and enter Department number; enter 6241 in Account.
    6. Check "yes" for Balance Account.
    7. Submit.
    8. WISDM will display all outstanding cash advances which have been set up. Output data to Excel to view, sort, and/or save the information.

Related Documents:

Related Policy:

Who should know this procedure?

  • Deans, Directors, employees who travel, and staff who prepare travel reimbursements

Contacts:

  • Dean's/Divisional Offices may e-mail BusCashAdv@bussvc.wisc.edu with questions.
  • Travelers and departmental staff should contact their respective Dean's/Divisional Offices for policy or procedural questions.

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