Travel
As of February 2022, Concur has become our new campus standard for expense reimbursement processing. Concur is a software that provides an electronic workflow for the entire Travel & Entertainment Process.
Business-related travel expenses will be covered by your department as long as it is approved and expenses are within UC/Campus guidelines. This includes expenses related to lodging, transportation, conference fees, and/or meals while traveling for conferences, outreach events, off-site meetings, and/or other general training and development.
Travelers will be responsible for initiating travel requests and creating expense reports in order to request reimbursement for business related expenses.
See G-28, (Full) Policy and Regulations Governing Travel for the complete Travel policy.
Enrollment Services Travel Workflow
1. BEFORE you travel, submit a Pre-Travel Request via Concur.
- The New Travel Request must be submitted by the traveler. The request should include all information related to the travel, including projected expenses. The request will then be reviewed and approved by the Enrollment Services Administrative Unit, and the Department Head. If prior approval is not completed, you will not be reimbursed for travel expenses.
- Request Naming Convention: [Staff Initials] [Event Name or Initials] [Date (optional)]
- Ex., AB WACAC Conference 2023; CD Council Meeting Spring 24; EF LA Outreach Week 1
- Travel approvals must be submitted a minimum of two weeks (10 working days) before the start of your planned business trip.
- Note* You will be asked to submit FAU (funding/accounting) details in your request. You must reach out to your department delegate via email or google chat that your requests is ready for this step. They will adjust the Pre-Travel Request with the proper FAU to use based on your type of travel or entertainment event. Once they complete this step, they will let you know that the Pre-Travel Request is ready to be submitted.
HOW TO CREATE AND SUBMIT A REQUEST (VIDEO)
As needed, include a Cash Advance Request prior to submitting your Request for approval.
- Cash Advances are a method to provide travelers with money to spend before they depart on a trip, or to provide cash before a purchase is made. This request would be common for Travelers/Entertainers who are not T/E Cardholders.
HOW TO REQUEST A CASH ADVANCE
*Note* To view the linked instructions on the Knowledge Base Portal, you must be logged in to the Knowledge Base using your UCSB NetID and Password (https://ucsb.service-now.com/kb)
2. When planning and booking your trip, please consider the following:
- Use Concur to make your travel arrangements. Concur is a secure Web portal for booking University business travel which automatically applies UC negotiated rates with savings of airlines (2%-33%), car rentals (15%-30%), hotel (10%-40%), and rail (15%).
- If your trip has not been booked through Concur, you must register your trip for UC Traveler Insurance Coverage (free of charge). The University has arranged for employees and students traveling on official University business to be covered for a wide variety of accidents and incidents while away from the campus or primary workplace. If you book your travel arrangements through Concur, the travel reservation will automatically be registered for traveler insurance coverage. If you book through other methods, be sure to register your trip. Print your travel insurance confirmation to take with you on your trip.
- Travel Outside of California: Requires travel registration through the UC Away travel registration system. Again, Travel registration is not required when making reservations through Cncur since the travel data is transferred automatically.
- Rental cars can be booked through Concur, or if you would like to use a UCSB vehicle, contact Transportation Services by calling (805) 893-2924 to place your request.
- If you need a larger than standard vehicle due because you are traveling with event supplies/equipment or plan to carpool with other travelers, make this note in your Travel Request to ensure approval for this exception.
HOW TO BOOK TRAVEL IN CONCUR
3. While you are traveling:
- Upload your receipts to Concur online or on the Concur Mobile App! Original receipts are required for registration fees, hotels, meals, parking, all transportation (airfare, taxi, shuttles, gas expenses, and rental cars). Itemized receipts are required for ALL meals.
HOW TO UPLOAD RECEIPTS TO CONUR WEB
HOW TO UPLOAD RECEIPTS USING CONCUR MOBILE
- If you need to provide documentation for a receipt that was either unavailable, lost, or missing, you must submit a Declaration of Missing Evidence form to Concur while processing your Expense Report. This form is available on the Concur online portal and mobile app.
HOW TO UPLOAD DECLARATION OF MISSING RECEIPT USING CONCUR MOBILE
4. Reimbursement Rates:
- Meals: As of July 1, 2022 (announced September 29, 2022) the daily maximum reimbursement for meals is $79.00 for trips that are 24 hours or more. You will only be reimbursed for actual expenses up to $79.00. This includes tips! Enrollment Services suggests limiting tips to 15% unless there is an exceptional circumstance with prior approval. Under NO circumstances will a traveler be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages. If alcohol is consumed with a meal, a separate check is recommended that the traveler will be personally responsible for paying.
- Lodging: As of January 1, 2024 the CONUS (48 states in the continental U.S.) maximum lodging reimbursement rate is $333 per night, before taxes and mandatory hotel fees. Exceptions are allowed if a hotel rate at $333 is not available. Traveler must submit additional documentation, such as price comparisons within the proximity of the meeting location, that supports the higher lodging rate incurred. Price comparisons should be performed at the time of booking. Pre-arranged conference lodging rates in excess of $333 per night do not require an exceptional approval.
- Mileage: As of January 1, 2024, the reimbursement rate for the use of a private automobile for University business travel is 67.0 cents per mile. You may only claim personal vehicle mileage if you provide documentation of the following minimum liability requirements to your travel preparer:
- $50,000 for personal injury to, or death of one person
- $100,000 for injury to, or death of, two or more persons in one accident
- $50,000 for property damage
Allowable Mileage Expense
- Mileage shall ordinarily be computed between the traveler's headquarters and the common carrier or destination. Expenses for travel between the traveler's residence and headquarters (commuting expense) shall not be allowed. However, mileage expenses may be allowed between the traveler's residence and the common carrier or destination if University business travel originates or terminates before or after the traveler's working hours, or if travel originates or terminates during a regularly scheduled day off.
- When a traveler is authorized to drive a private vehicle to or from a common carrier terminal, mileage may be reimbursed as follows:
- One round trip, including parking for the duration of the trip; or
- Two round trips, including short-term parking expenses, when an employee is driven to a common carrier.
- Also, if an employee who is not on travel status has a temporary assignment away from campus, reimbursement shall be made for mileage expenses incurred between the campus and the assignment location, or home and the assignment location, whichever is less.
5. Use of the New Travel/Entertainment Card
- All frequent travelers and entertainment hosts should apply for the new Travel/ Entertainment Card.
- Use of the Travel/Entertainment Card is restricted to official university business travel and entertainment expenditures. The card should NOT be used for personal expenditures. The University reserves the right to review the detail of all transactions posted to the card.
- It is the cardholder’s responsibility to report expenses on their new T/E Card. If you book or pay for any of your travel expenses using a university-issued T/E Card, submit a travel Expense Report to allocate the expenses to its respective travel event/department. Failure to settle outstanding charges in a timely manner may result in the suspension and/or cancellation of card privileges.
HOW TO REQUEST A NEW T/E CARD
6. AFTER you return from your trip, complete your Expense Report on Concur.
- An Expense Report is necessary to finalize the reimbursement process for your approved travel. The expense report must include ALL your original receipts. If you don't have a receipt for an expense claimed for reimbursement, be sure to include a Declaration of Missing Evidence form.
- Make sure to create an Expense Report using the approved Expense Request.
- IMPORTANT: Make sure you are submitting reports in a timely manner. In the event that you expect to have outstanding expenses in your queue, ensure you are in communication with your direct supervisor and Admin Team as this can impact our ability to track year to date spending on special projects, identify trends for budgeting purposes and/or reconcile accounts in a timely manner.
HOW TO CREATE AN EXPENSE REPORT FROM AN APPROVED REQUEST
HOW TO ADD CARD TRANSACTIONS TO AN EXPENSE REPORT
7. Your Department Delegate will give your Expense Report a final review prior to submission.
- Now that your Expense Report is complete, send an email to your delegate to let them know it’s ready for final review. The delegate will:
- Confirm that details and all proper documentation are attached
- Confirm that UC Policy and guidelines are met.
- Update FAUs/Accounting information to ensure expenses are allocated to the correct funding
* To ensure our delegates can review the expense reports timely, mark your emails using the Subject Line: “Concur Expense Report _ Report Title Ready for Review”
8. Finally, submit your Expense Report for Approval.
- After their review, your department delegate will let you know that your Expense Report is ready for submission. Logon to Concur and “Submit Report”. You’ll get email updates notifying you when the process is complete.
New Traveler/Entertainment Host in Enrollment Services?
As a new traveler/entertainment host for the Enrollment Services cluster, you must first complete available Concur Training Session 1 and Session 2 on the BFS Website.
Once you’ve completed the necessary training, it’s time to set up your department delegate and apply for a Travel/Entertainment Card.
While Travelers/Entertainers are responsible to submitting requests and expense reports through Concur, each employee will need to add a delegate from the Administrative Unit to ensure requests are within UCSB Policy and that proper accounting details are being used upon final submission of any Concur requests.
1. It is required that you add your respective department delegate to your Concur profile.
Admissions: Mariella Cazares Flores (PRIMARY)
Early Academic Outreach: Gabriella Piazza (PRIMARY)
Financial Aid & Scholarships: Alina Murillo (PRIMARY)
Grants & Development: Alina Murillo (PRIMARY)
Registrar: Gabriella Piazza (PRIMARY)
NAGPRA: Alyssa Saavedra (PRIMARY)
Promise Scholars: Alyssa Saavedra (PRIMARY)
Campus Sustainability Programs: Katie Maynard (PRIMARY)
HOW TO ADD A DELEGATE IN CONCUR
*Note* Ensure you allow your delegate full access. Your Primary delegate should be your contact prior to submitting any requests in Concur.
2. Apply for the Travel/Entertainment Card.
HOW TO REQUEST A NEW T/E CARD
3. Activate your new Travel/Entertainment Card as soon as you receive it.
- Call the number on the back of the new card to activate it. Once the card is activated and used by the employee, the card will automatically be linked to the employee's Concur profile within 3-4 days.
4. Provide the last 4 digits of your Travel/Entertainment Card to your delegate.
- Send an email to your delegate letting them know that you have obtained your new card and will be using it for business related expenses moving forward. Providing them with the last 4 digits of your card will allow them to ensure the proper expense types are being submitted in your Expense Reports so that the expenses are allocated to the right accounts.
Leaving Enrollment Services?
If you are a cardholder and will be leaving Enrollment Services, be sure to create Expense Reports for all to-date expenses and check in with your department's delegate to ensure you're ready to close out your card. Once all expenses have been accounted for and are in the process of being allocated, move forward with destroying the corporate card and sending an email to our campus
Corporate Card Manager to have them close out your card.
It is preferred that you wait until your last day of work to do this if you are a frequent user or have expenses that are pending to be posted in Concur.