For the most up-to-date travel recommendations and procedures from the university, please visit the UI Travel Website. If you have questions about pcard usage or travel after reviewing this webpage, please email uss-provost@uiowa.edu.
Affinity Group Directors - before you make any travel arrangements funded by IP, please contact Daniel Vorwerk, assistant director, communications & relations. Daniel is able to assist with the following on your behalf:
- make travel arrangements for university guests funded by IP and for event-sponsored affinity group director (airfare, hotel, and airport shuttle reservations).
- Daniel will work with the university’s preferred travel agency and the traveler to purchase flights.
- If a traveler chooses to purchase tickets on their own, a flight itinerary and official receipt with credit card information (e.g., MasterCard xxxx xxxx xxxx 6443) is needed. Reimbursement will take place AFTER the travel dates.
Accounting & Budget Support
Mary Paterson
Study Abroad Support
Candice Stevens
Affinity Group Directors Support
Daniel Vorwerk
Best Practices for IP Staff
PCard Usage while Traveling
- Email receipts, business justification, and funding description to uss-provost@uiowa.edu as soon as expenses are incurred, weekly at a minimum.
- Review and approve your pcard voucher at the end of the billing cycle within one business day of it arriving in your workflow inbox.
- If you have upcoming travel and need a pcard limit increase, uss-provost@uiowa.edu can initiate that for you. Make your request at least two weeks in advance of travel. Include the $ amounts you need for transaction limit and monthly credit limit to accommodate your upcoming travel expenses.
- To initiate a new pcard application, email Candice Stevens, candice-stevens@uiowa.edu with a description of the intended use (cardholder travel, low dollar goods and services, or both).
- Do NOT use the Pcard for individual travel meals. If waiting for per diem reimbursement after completion of travel is a hardship, please email Mary Paterson, mary-paterson@uiowa.edu to discuss a possible cash advance. Allow two weeks in advance of travel to process the cash advance. If you have a cash advance, university policy requires your TEV to complete all workflow approvals within two weeks of your return.
Lodging
- Use a credit card in your own name that you can carry with you on your trip to secure your reservation (e.g. Pcard or personal card, not a USS Pcard). Final itemized hotel checkout folio is required whatever payment method you use.
- We recommend booking with the hotel directly. When you use a travel site, dates and other details are often not changeable.
Meals
- Do NOT use the Pcard for individual travel meals. If waiting until after completion of travel for per diem reimbursement is a hardship, please email Mary Paterson, mary-paterson@uiowa.edu to discuss a possible cash advance. Allow two weeks in advance of travel to process the cash advance. If you have a cash advance, university policy requires your TEV complete all workflow approvals within two weeks of your return.
Trip Set Up & Transportation
- Request ProTrav trip creation from uss-provost@uiowa.edu and copy mary-paterson@uiowa.edu. Include the dates, destination, and purpose of the trip. Document the purpose of the trip with a link to the conference website, an event flyer, and/or your invitation to participate in the event. Trips should complete workflow approval before any travel expenses (hotel deposit, airfare, etc.) are incurred, at least 14 days prior to departure for domestic travel and 21 days for international travel.
- List all Cook County, IL destinations (e.g. Rosemont) as Chicago.
- Transportation
- If there is personal travel associated with your trip, check with uss-provost@uiowa.edu before purchasing airfare to ensure UI policy is followed.
- Ground transportation may be paid on a pcard. Be careful not to use a pcard entered in your Uber/Lyft app to pay for personal, non-business transportation.
- Mileage to CID is 23 miles one way, unless you live closer to CID than campus. In that case, please provide your actual mileage when you submit your reimbursement request. If someone drops you off and picks you up from the airport, you are allowed two round-trips to CID.
TRAVEL RELATED UI WEBSITES
Receipts & TEV
- Photos of receipts are acceptable, but resolution is sometimes an issue. Make sure all the details are visible:
- Vendor
- Purchase date
- Payment amount
- Itemized Purchase Description
- Some Study Abroad providers require actual meal receipts (not per diem) in order to reimburse the university for Study Abroad staff provider-sponsored travel. IP will use per diem to reimburse the traveler. Please email your receipts to candice-stevens@uiowa.edu so she can invoice the provider.
- The traveler is responsible for providing English translation of receipts in foreign languages. The main point is to identify specifically what was purchased.
- TEVs are not processed automatically. Email uss-provost@uiowa.edu with your reimbursement request and any required documentation. Copy mary-paterson@uiowa.edu.
- IP policy requires submitting receipts within two weeks of completion of travel. Failure to do so may result in a denial of the reimbursement.
- Include your conference agenda (pdf or link to website) or equivalent (e.g. study abroad program itinerary, IP funding award letter, etc.) with your reimbursement request.
Payment & Reimbursement Procedures
Conference Registrations
Preferred Method of Payment: Procurement Card, contact uss-provost@uiowa.edu for assistance
Receipts Needed
If Procurement Card Used: Registration form or fax/e-mail from professional organization hosting the meeting
If Personal Credit Card Used:
- Official receipt from conference/professional organization
- If paid with Visa card: credit card transaction (this could be a line item on a statement or a screenshot/PDF of the individual transaction taken from the bank or credit card company website.
- Otherwise: The official receipt with credit card information (e.g. Mastercard xxxx xxxx xxxx 6443)
Flight Reimbursement
If you are seeking reimbursement from IP for airfare you purchased yourself, please make the request within two weeks of completion of travel. Failure to do so may result in a denial of the reimbursement.
Receipts Needed
If Procurement Card Used: E-Ticket
If Personal Credit Card Used:
- Flight itinerary
- If paid with Visa card: original passenger receipt and the credit card transaction (this could be a line item on a statement or a screenshot/PDF of the individual transaction taken from the bank or credit card company website.
- Otherwise: the official receipt with credit card information (e.g. Mastercard xxxx xxxx xxxx 6443) - Can only be reimbursed after the travel dates.
- If you purchase airfare with personal travel added, a comparison quote for the business-only dates/destinations is required at time of purchase. Google Flights works. If you need assistance, send your purchased itinerary to uss-provost@uiowa.edu and ask them to pull a comparison quote for you. Include the business dates, (i.e. generally one day before and one day after a conference).
Hotel Deposits and Expenses
Preferred Method of Payment: Procurement Card
Preferred Vendors: See the UI Travel website
Receipts Needed for Hotel Deposit
If Procurement Card Used: Online booking page or fax/e-mail from hotel verifying the cost of the room
If Personal Credit Card Used:
- Online booking page or fax/e-mail from hotel verifying the cost of the room
- If paid with Visa card: credit card transaction (this could be a line item on a statement or a screenshot/PDF of the individual transaction taken from the bank or credit card company website.
- Otherwise: The official receipt with credit card information (e.g. Mastercard xxxx xxxx xxxx 6443)
Receipts Needed for Hotel Expenses
If Procurement Card Used: Itemized check out folio
If Personal Credit Card Used:
- Itemized check-out folio
- If paid with Visa card: credit card transaction (this could be a line item on a statement or a screenshot/PDF of the individual transaction taken from the bank or credit card company website.
- Otherwise: The official receipt with credit card information (e.g. Mastercard xxxx xxxx xxxx 6443)
Meal Expenses
If you are inviting a visitor to campus you may provide the meal per diem as your budget allows.
Due to the staff time it takes to review and audit actual meal expenses, IP policy does not allow using the Pcard for individual travel meals. If waiting until after completion of travel for per diem reimbursement is a hardship, please email Mary Paterson, mary-paterson@uiowa.edu to discuss a possible cash advance. Allow two weeks in advance of travel to process the cash advance. If you have a cash advance, your TEV will need to complete all workflow approvals within two weeks of your return, per UI policy.
- Business meals where we host a non-UI person are allowed on the pcard.
- Alcohol is not allowed on the pcard.
- Alcohol is not a reimbursable travel expense.
- International and domestic per diem meal allowances are based upon federal government guidelines. Amounts are prorated for partial days.
- When meals are provided as part of the conference or meeting, travelers will not be reimbursed for the cost of the meal when the traveler chooses to eat outside of the conference, unless there is an exception approved by Mary Paterson. Include information about provided meals, such as a conference agenda, in your reimbursement request to USS.
Mileage Expenses
Visit the universities mileage reimbursement site for the most up to date information.
Receipts Needed
Provide the addresses of the endpoints for your ground transportation, e.g. campus to CID, home address to CID, hotel to restaurant, etc. You don’t need to provide a Google map.
Rental Car Expenses
Preferred Method of Payment: Procurement Card
Preferred National Vendor: National Car Rental
Preferred Local Vendor: UI Fleet Service. The University will not reimburse a rental car expense if Fleet Service is available. The method of payment is Fleet Service Requisition through Self Service. Fleet services requisitions should be submitted to workflow at least two weeks in advance of travel.
Receipts Needed
If Procurement Card Used: Itemized final car rental receipt given upon return of vehicle.
If Personal Credit Card Used:
- Itemized final car rental receipt given upon return of vehicle
- If paid with Visa card: credit card transaction (this could be a line item on a statement or a screenshot/PDF of the individual transaction taken from the bank or credit card company website.
- Otherwise: The official receipt with credit card information (e.g. Mastercard xxxx xxxx xxxx 6443)
Taxis/Shuttles/Public Transportation Expenses
Preferred Method of Payment: Procurement Card
Receipts Needed
If Procurement Card Used: Receipt for taxi, shuttle or public transportation.
If Personal Credit Card Used:
- If under $75, a receipt is preferred. If over $75, a receipt is required.
- If the transportation is between cities, a receipt is required.
- If paid with Visa card: credit card transaction (this could be a line item on a statement or a screenshot/PDF of the individual transaction taken from the bank or credit card company website.
- Otherwise: The official receipt with credit card information (e.g. Mastercard xxxx xxxx xxxx 6443)