Transcript May 19, 2015 Jennifer Collins, Manager, Accounts Payable Andre Simmons, Assistant Manager, Accounts Payable.

May 19, 2015
Jennifer Collins, Manager, Accounts Payable
Andre Simmons, Assistant Manager, Accounts
Payable
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State Accounting Office and Office of
Planning and Budgets are responsible for
issuing statewide travel regulations.
UGA is required to report all travel
expenditures for UGA employees annually to
the state Department of Audits and Accounts.
Last fiscal year UGA processed over 46,000
travel reimbursements for over $16 million
dollars.
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Q: Is there a way to streamline the process of
unencumbering the remaining balances on
travel authorities so that the encumbrances
are automatically released?
A: Yes, please indicate in the “Comments”
section of the check request that this will be
the final payment against the travel authority.
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Q: What is the group travel process regarding
when to use the eCheck tab and when to use the
eTravel tab?
A: The eTravel tab should be utilized when an
employee is reporting his/her own expenses.
These expenses have to be reported vs. a travel
authorization number when traveling out of
state. When submitting a reimbursement to an
employee for travel expenses covered for another
employee or non-employee, the eCheck tab
should be utilized.
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Q: Is there a checklist or written instructions
for submitting documents for out-of-state
travel?
A: Yes, there is a Travel Checklist that is
posted on the Accounts Payable website. The
direct link is
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable
/Travel_Checklist.pdf
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Q: Is there a checklist or instructions available
on out-of-state meal per diems specific to
computing travel authority amounts and
completing the Travel Expense Statement for
out-of-state travel upon return?
A: Yes, the Travel Website at
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/tra
vel.html offers guidance. In addition, when
completing the Travel Expense Statement, users
are redirected to a meal computations page after
logging in with their MyID’s.
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Q: How do you know which of the authorized travel
agencies on the UGA travel site to contact for airline
reservations? What are the procedures for booking flights?
A: Any of the authorized agencies can be utilized by
travelers. Travelers or their representatives should contact
the agency of choice and provide travel dates. The
authorized agencies are aware of the fare restrictions of
the UGA Travel Policy. They will quote a price which
should be included on a travel authorization. Once the
authorization is submitted, the agency should be notified
of the travel authority number. The agency will then work
with Accounts Payable to determine when the travel
authority is approved. Once it is approved, the agency will
purchase the ticket and bill the University for the ticket.
AP will get the bill and process the payment against the
account submitted on the travel authority.
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Q: What are the current steps to follow to
rent a vehicle for out-of-state travel?
A: Rental car information can be found on
the UGA Travel website at
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable
/rental_cars.html Hertz is the mandatory,
state contracted vendor for out-of-state
travel.
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To make a reservation, go to
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/hertzlink/index.jsp?t
argetPage=State_of_GA_Univ_System.xml and select
University of GA from the drop down menu.
If you choose to make reservations over the phone,
call 1-800-654-3131 for the State of Georgia
dedicated line.
Travelers can also rent at a counter as long as
referencing Corporate Promotional Discount (CDP)
code 2018753
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Q: Do we still use the departure and arrival
time to determine which meals travelers are
eligible for?
A: Yes, departure and arrival times should be
utilized to determine which meals travelers
are eligible for when traveling instate since
there is a time requirement.
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Accounts Payable website:
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/
Travel Website:
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/trav
el.html
Phone: 706-542-2786
Email: [email protected]
Departmental Contacts & Responsibilities:
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/apst
aff.htm
Jennifer Collins ([email protected])
Andre Simmons ([email protected])