What is a Travel Card?

The Travel Card is an official University of Utah credit card issued in an employee’s name, similar to the Purchasing Card (PCard). The Travel Card is designed to be the preferred purchasing solution for university business travel expenses. Travel purchases must be made by the cardholder, who is on (or arranging) an official university business trip and be made in accordance with all applicable university and other regulations, policies, rules and procedures. See University Policy 3-030: Travel & Rule R3-030A: University Travel Payment and Allowable Expenses  

Definition of University Travel

Travel is defined as at least 100 miles away from the individual’s normal place of employment (or home for an individual who is not an employee) for at least 10 hours. University Travel usually requires an overnight stay. 

The Benefits of Using a Travel Card Include

• Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness: Travel Cards streamline the purchasing process, saving time and money for both you and the university. 
• Avoid Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Using an approved method of university funding helps travelers avoid out-of-pocket expenses. Arrangers can also use their Travel Cards to make arrangements on behalf of a traveler, so travelers are not out of pocket for airfare, rental cars, hotels, etc.   
• Ease of Reconciliation: Charges made on a Travel Card will populate automatically onto the cardholder’s Concur profile and can be easily included in Expense Reports.  As soon as an Expense Report is completed in Concur, the Travel Card charges are reconciled and appear in Management Reports. No further reconciliation is needed. 

Types of Travel Cards Available:

Who is Eligible?

Eligibility for a Travel Card is limited to faculty and staff of the University of Utah or its hospitals and clinics.

Important Notes

• To become a cardholder, an individual must participate in cardholder training.
• Student employees are not eligible to be issued a Travel Card.
• All cards are issued to employees directly and cannot be loaned or transferred to another employee.

Applying for a Travel Card

The following steps are required prior to obtaining a Travel Card. Steps may be skipped if the cardholder already has access to the relevant system.

1. Gain access to your Concur Account. Submit a request here if you do not have an account. After being granted Concur access, you can apply for a Travel Card through Concur.
2. Use the request module in Concur to submit a new card application. Instructions can be found here.
3. Participate in the new cardholder training. Training will be assigned to you and must be completed before a Travel Card is issued.

Travel Card Training

Completion of Travel Card training is mandatory before a Travel Card can be issued. Training completion will be verified before card issuance.

ACCESS TRAINING HERE

While the cardholder training is not required for delegates, it is available and recommended.

Concur Overview

SAP Concur is the university's comprehensive platform for managing all aspects of your Travel Card activities. The following solutions are covered:

• Transaction Management: Easily track and manage transactions, ensuring accurate and timely reconciliation.
• Card Requests: Request new card applications, make changes to card limits, close cards and other card-related modifications.
• Documentation Storage: Securely store all relevant documentation and approvals for transactions, providing a clear audit trail.
• Audit: Concur is used by internal and external auditors to verify for accuracy, compliance and to assess risk.

SAP Concur streamlines the entire cardholder process, helping you maintain organization and compliance with university policies.

Best Practices When Using a Travel Card

1. Cardholders are responsible for all charges made on their Travel Card. Do not loan the card to any other person or employee.
2. Keep receipts for all transactions as they are required for the reconciliation process. Exception: Purchases under $25 will not require submission of a receipt but an explanation comment is required if a receipt is not submitted.
3. Ensure that the purchase is not restricted by any university policy. Please see Travel Card Restricted List in Section 3 for more information.
4. Submit transactions in Concur on an Expense Report within 20 days after the conclusion of business travel.
5. Avoid Utah Sales Tax
   • The University of Utah’s Sales Tax License Number is 11874443-002-STC. This number is printed on every Travel Card.
   • The university’s sales tax exemption for Utah and other states can be found here.
   • A reasonable effort should be made to avoid sales tax. During travel, sales tax cannot always be avoided. In these cases, sales tax may be reimbursable.
6. US Bank Cycle Dates: 26th of the current month to the 25th of the following month. These dates are important for your credit card limits. At the end of each cycle, your spending will restart for the following month.

Approvals and Signatures

Most approvals will be completed in Concur. In the case of physical forms, approval signatures can either be a handwritten signature (which will be verified in GFA) or it must be an official university-approved certified electronic signature (DocuSign or Adobe Sign) according to University Regulation 3-006.

Security and Fraud Protection

• If you see a suspicious transaction, call US Bank immediately at 800-344-5696.
• Never send the full credit card number in any correspondence.
• Ensure that you give your card number each time you make a purchase.
• The Travel Card should not be set on a recurring payment plan because your card information is susceptible to change, your card is more prone to fraud and the vendors can still post payments to your Travel Card, even if it is closed.

Lost or Stolen Cards

If your card is lost or stolen, call US Bank immediately at 800-344-5696. The cardholder must be the one to contact the bank and they will be asked to accurately verify legitimate transactions, identify fraudulent transactions and provide personal security information.

Employee Termination or Transfer

When a cardholder leaves the university or transfers to a different department, their Travel Card must be canceled. You can request to close your Travel Card through the request module in Concur. Delegates can also request to cancel a card on the cardholders’ behalf.

Time Away from Work

If you are planning on taking a vacation or leave including – but not limited to – maternity, paternity or FMLA, contact the Card Services Office or use the request module in Concur to temporarily suspend your card while you will be absent. Your card can easily be reinstated upon your return.

Personal Purchases

Intentional personal purchases are not allowed on the Travel Card. This includes any transactions that does not directly serve the university’s or department’s business needs and are not related to official business for yourself, your colleagues or others.

If you made an intentional personal purchase on your Travel Card, you may need to reimburse the total procurement price of the purchase and remit an administrative penalty in an amount equal to 50% of the personal use expenditure to the university (Utah Code 53B-7-1-106).

For example:

Total procurement price of purchase $1,500

Administrative Penalty (50%): $750

Total Reimbursement Amount: $2,250

Accidental Personal Purchase

If an accidental purchase is made on your Travel Card, please do the following:

Before beginning the repayment process, the transactions should attempt to be refunded. If the transaction is successfully refunded, both the debit and the credit should be marked as Expense Type: Personal/Non-Reimbursable in Concur, with receipts attached and the expense report submitted as normal.

If the expense has already been allocated prior to receiving the refund and an expense type other than Personal/Non-Reimbursable was used in the expense report, the credit should be allocated to the same expense type and chartfield where the personal charge was posted.

In either scenario, the debit and the credit should be allocated and documented identically, so that the charges balance at the General Ledger and documentation remains consistent between both charges.

If a refund cannot be obtained for the personal purchase, the following steps should be followed, in order:

CONCUR

1. Assign a header chartfield to the Expense Report (if not already completed).
2. Locate personal expense in Concur.
3. Select expense type “Personal/Non-Reimbursable”.
4. Attach any receipt you have for the transaction. If no receipt is available, please attach a Missing Receipt Form.
5. Provide an explanation of the personal charge in the comments, including any attempts to have the charge refunded (if applicable).
6. Submit expense report.

REPAYMENT

1. Access the repayment storefront.
2. Complete the form with your contact information and the Concur report number (if known).
3. Input the price of the repayment, which should be the exact amount of the personal charge.
4. Add to cart.
5. Proceed to checkout with the shopping cart link in the top right of the screen.
6. Checkout with a personal credit card like you would with any other online retailer.
   • If you prefer to repay via ACH bank payment, you must register a NelNet account. More information on how to register can be found here.
7. You will receive a confirmation email when the payment is completed. Please retain this confirmation for your records.

You will not need to select any chartfield information during this checkout process. The refund will post to the same chartfield where the expense posted, so they net to zero at the General Ledger.

We understand that mistakes happen. This process is designed to make reconciling those mistakes as easy and painless as possible. However, excessive use of this process or an abuse of your University issued credit card will result in audit findings, and possible revocation of your card.

Per Diem: Meals

The Travel Card should not be used to purchase any meal that would otherwise be covered by the per diem. These are the individual meals that are not provided by the conference or host. Individual meals, incidentals or snacks should be paid out-of-pocket and reimbursement can be claimed as per diem on the traveler’s Expense Report.    Travelers and arrangers are allowed to use the card to pay for business meals and catering that include more than one person. All meals that are provided by a group conference, including group meals paid for by traveler, should be excluded from the traveler’s per diem.   

Proof of Purchase

All Travel Card transactions must have proof of purchase (receipt or invoice) retained in Concur. A valid proof of purchase contains the following information:

• Purchase date
• Vendor
• Detailed list of items purchased
  (including the amount for each individual item)
• Total transaction amount
• Proof of payment
  • An invoice alone is missing the
    proof that the payment was processed.
  • Having the proof of payment ensures
    that the invoice isn’t paid twice by
    other means of payment.
  • This can also be accomplished by a “PAID” stamp, an email confirming the payment was processed or a note that the Travel Card was processed successfully (or something similar).

Missing a Receipt?

If a cardholder or delegate is missing a receipt, they should start by contacting the vendor to see if it can be reprinted or resent. Most vendors are willing to provide this information. If a missing receipt cannot be acquired, the attempt to obtain it should be documented and a Missing Receipt Form should be completed and uploaded in place of the missing receipt. This form should be used sparingly.

Travel Card Submission Timeline

Be attentive to your transaction and submission dates so they post within the correct accounting month. We recommend cardholders review their transactions often as a best practice.

Concur Expense Report Review

After each business trip, a Concur Expense Report should be reviewed and submitted by both the cardholder and their ADSC approver (or designated delegate) within 20 days of the trip’s conclusion. To remain compliant with university policy, all Travel Card expenses must be fully reimbursed within 60 days of the end of travel.

When reviewing the Expense Report, the cardholder, delegate and the approver(s) must ensure that all charges are accurate, within policy and for university business. They should verify that the correct allocation information has been entered where needed. Additionally, every charge must be supported by appropriate documentation and original receipts, all of which must be uploaded to Concur.

By submitting and approving an Expense Report, the cardholder (or delegate submitting the Expense Report) and the approver(s) are certifying that the following are true:

• The transaction was allocated correctly.
• The reason for purchase has been accurately described, including why the purchase was made.
• Anything unusual or unique about the purchase has been recorded in the Expense Report (tax refunded, restricted item exception granted prior to purchase, etc.).
• All original documentation for the purchase is retained in Concur.
• The total amounts on the proof of purchase (receipts) match the report amount in Concur.
• The documentation is complete, including purchase date, vendor information, transaction amount and itemized summary of the item(s) purchased.
• All transactions contained within the report are appropriate to the mission of the cardholders’ department, support the University of Utah’s goals and are compliant with University of Utah policy.

If it’s impossible or unclear how to accomplish any of the requirements above, it is the responsibility of the cardholder, delegates and the approver(s) to contact the Card Services office and describe the issue they’ve encountered. The Card Services office is eager to work with cardholders to resolve the situation and find a possible solution.

Failure to meet the above requirements can result in disciplinary actions, including a possible revocation of the cardholder’s Travel Card.

Identifying and Correcting Errors

Transactions must be reviewed in a timely manner. Problem transactions must be disputed with the bank within 30 days of the transaction. To contact US Bank, call 800-344-5696. This number is listed on the back of the Travel Card. All Travel Card transactions will need to be submitted on an Expense Report, including fraud and errors. By solving the issue with the bank in a timely manner, the transaction’s correction can be processed with the original purchase.

Travel Card Audit

All cardholders are subject to university, state and federal audits at any time.

The Travel Department will conduct regular, unscheduled and unannounced audits of Travel Card accounts. Concur is the primary auditing tool for Travel Card transactions. With the built-in AI feature, all transactions are monitored and reviewed for compliance in real time. Travel Card holders will be alerted if there is a discrepancy on a Travel Card Expense Report. If caught in prepayment, the status in Concur will display as “pending external validation,” and Expense Reports will not pass submission until the issue is resolved.

Following the guidelines and using the resources in this handbook will ensure that you are within policy and that there is no reason for the Travel Card office to contact you. In the event that the Travel Card office finds a violation or needs clarification on any transaction, they may contact the cardholder, delegates and approvers.

If additional information is needed from you, our auditors will reach out. The email will come from UniversityofUtah@audit.concursolutions.com. Please respond within the timeframe given in the email. Failure to respond could result in you being considered non-compliant in the audit.

The Travel Card office reserves the right to require retraining or to revoke Travel Cards for failure to comply with rules and guidelines, or failure to provide accurate documentation.