3024.1 Creating and Submitting an Expense Report Procedure

Procedure #3024.1; Rev. 0 (Effective July 1, 2019)
Related Policy: UW-3024 Expense Reimbursement Policy
Functional Owner: Accounting Services, Division of Business Services
Contact: Expense Reimbursement Program Manager – Allie Watters, expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu, (608) 263-3525

Procedure statement
Who is affected by this procedure
Procedure
Contact roles and responsibilities
Definitions
Appendix
Related references
Revisions

I. Procedure statement

All payments made to employees and non-employees for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses are initiated in e-Reimbursement, the Expenses module of the Shared Financial System (SFS). Expense reports are reviewed by an approver and an auditor prior to payment. Approval routing is based on the Department ID referenced in the funding allocation for each expense line.

Employees may delegate an alternate to create and modify expense reports on their behalf. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure expense reports are submitted on time and in compliance with policy.

This document details the required procedures for submitting an expense report. For a complete how-to guide, visit the Expense Reimbursement website.

II. Who is affected by this procedure

Employees who seek reimbursement for out-of-pocket or Corporate Card expenses; Alternates who prepare expense reports.

III. Procedure

To get started, employees/alternates must sign into the Shared Financial System (SFS), click the Expenses tile, then click Create Expense Report. If acting as an alternate for another traveler, click the drop-down arrow next to the employee’s name in the upper left corner of the screen, then select Change Employee. Select the appropriate employee from the resulting list and proceed to the next step.

General Information: The first page is the General Information page, also commonly referred to as the header information. Information entered here applies to the entire expense report.
1. Business Purpose – Choose the one that best describes the reimbursement. See Appendix A below for definitions and further details on business purposes.
2. Default Location – Primary location of your trip.
  1. Choose your headquarter city for non-travel expense report.
  2. Locations may be listed by city or county.
  3. For international locations not listed by city or county, select ‘COUNTRY NAME, OTHER LOCATIONS’. Do not select the nearest big city if the trip was not actually to that city.
3. Reference – Select In-State, Out-of-State, or Foreign.
  1. This is based on where the destination is in relation to the traveler’s headquarter city (for example, if someone headquartered in Atlanta, GA, traveled to Madison, the Reference would be ‘Out-of-State’).
  2. For non-travel expense report, select ‘Not a Travel Related report’.
4. Date of departure/return – Dates of UW business travel. Do not include personal vacation days in these dates.
5. Attachments
  1. Receipts are required to be electronically attached to the expense report.
  2. In addition, travelers/alternates must attach additional documentation required for an approver/auditor to fully review each claim (e.g., conference agenda, email correspondence explaining unusual circumstances, map to support mileage claim).
  3. Do not attach anything with protected or confidential information.
    1. Redact credit card and social security numbers.
    2. When reimbursing research subjects, it may be necessary to redact anything with details of the research being done. Map printouts for research subjects may use a nearby location instead of the research subject’s home address.
    3. If no other options are available, hard copies may be saved instead of electronic attachments in order to protect a recipient’s confidentiality. This must be noted in the expense report.
6. Justification – Notes are added by the traveler or alternate to provide the details of the reimbursement.
  1. Every expense report must have at least one note. That note must include a sufficient business purpose to justify the reimbursement. Any personal time added to the trip must be clearly indicated in the business purpose to validate that only appropriate UW–Madison business expenses are being claimed.
  2. Spell out all acronyms.
  3. Additional notes may be added as needed.
Expense details: This section is where users enter the details of their expenses.
1. Choose Add expense lines from the Expense Report Action drop-down menu. Users may also choose to add lines from My Wallet or to copy an existing expense report.
2. Choose the appropriate Expense Type for the expense. See Appendix B below for definitions and further details of expense types.
3. Payment Type: Choose the appropriate payment type for each expense line:
  1. Personal Funds – Out-of-pocket expenses for which the traveler will be reimbursed.
  2. Prepaid Purchasing Card – Expenses paid on the Purchasing Card. The traveler will not be reimbursed for these expenses. It is not required to include expense lines for prepaid items.
  3. US Bank Corporate Card – Expenses paid on the My Corporate Card. Reimbursement for these expenses will be paid directly to U.S. Bank on behalf of the traveler. See Procedure 3024.4 – Working with My Corporate Card and My Wallet.
4. Amount
  1. It is recommended that travelers manually convert foreign currency amounts and enter only US Dollars in this field.
  2. For rate-based Expense Types (e.g. Meals and Incidental Expense, Mileage), this field cannot be manually modified.
5. Non-Reimbursable
  1. Mark an expense non-reimbursable.
  2. This can be used for non-business-related expenses and for expenses that were paid via an outside source (e.g. airfare paid by the host conference).
6. Red Flags– All red flag error messages must be resolved before an expense report can be submitted. Examples include:
  1. An invalid funding string.
  2. Required information is missing.
  3. Airfare ticket number is a duplicate of a previously-created expense report.
Review and Submit – Alternates and travelers must ensure the accuracy of the expense report prior to submission.
1. Expense Report Summary – ensure the breakdown between reimbursable, non-reimbursable, Corporate Card, and Prepaid Expenses is accurate. Modify the payment types on individual expense lines if necessary.
2. Additional Information – If there are Cash Advances or Travel Authorizations available, associate them with the expense report here. For more information on working with Cash Advances, see UW-3025 Cash Advances.
3. Submit
  1. Current UW employees must submit their own expense reports.
  2. Alternates can submit expense report on behalf of non-employees and recently-terminated employees.

IV. Contact roles and responsibilities

Traveler (employee)/Claimant/Recipient: the person receiving reimbursement. Employees are responsible for submitting their own expense report and following all applicable UW travel policies. An employee may assign an alternate to create and modify an expense report on their behalf, but the employee is ultimately responsible for submitting their own expense reports.
Alternate: responsible for creating and submitting expense report on behalf of others. Employees who seek reimbursement can assign an alternate to create and modify expense report for them, but the employee must submit their own. Expense reports for non-employees or recently-terminated employees are created and submitted by alternates.
Approver: Upon submission, expense report are first reviewed by an approver. Approvers are responsible for reviewing supporting documentation, reviewing expense report for policy compliance, and reviewing funding being charged.
Auditor: Expense reports are reviewed by an auditor after the approver. Auditors are responsible for reviewing expense reports for policy compliance.

V. Definitions

e-Reimbursement: the Expenses module of the Shared Financial System (SFS), used to create, submit, and approve expense report/reimbursement claims.
Purchasing Card: University-liability credit card that can be used for travel and non-travel expenses.
Corporate Card: individual-liability credit card that can be used for travel and non-travel expenses.
Business Purpose: When using University funds or requesting a reimbursement from University funds, documentation of a clear business purpose is required so an approver, auditor, site manager, and/or post-payment auditor may reasonably conclude and agree the expenditure is an appropriate business expense. The business purpose, which is defined as one that supports or advances the goals, objectives and mission of the University, adequately describes the expense as a necessary, reasonable, and appropriate business expense for the University. All expenses must support a University business purpose.
Non-employee: an individual who does not have an active appointment at the University. Non-employees can be reimbursed for travel-related expenses through e-Reimbursement.

VI. Appendix

1. Business purposes
  1. Business – Expenses for routine business travel not better classified in another category.
  2. Conference – Expenses incurred to attend or host a conference.
  3. Fundraising – Expenses incurred for University fundraising.
  4. Job candidate hosting – Expenses incurred for hosting job candidates.
  5. Local travel – Expenses incurred when traveling within the headquarter city or surrounding area. Expenses can be accumulated and filed weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
  6. Non-Travel – Expenses incurred on the Corporate Card or out-of-pocket for low-dollar purchases made in compliance with UW purchasing policies.
  7. Professional development – Expenses incurred by employees for education or job/professional trainings.
  8. Recruiting – Expenses incurred for recruiting employees and students to the University.
  9. Relocation – Expenses incurred for employee relocation.
  10. Research – Expenses incurred for research or research-related activities including fieldwork or faculty presentation of papers.
  11. Student travel – Expenses incurred by students for business or educational travel. Does not include study abroad or International Education programs. Employee expenses to accompany students select from other business purposes.
  12. Study abroad – Expenses incurred by travelers (faculty or students) for study abroad or other international education programs.
  13. Team travel – Expenses incurred for sport team travel.
2. Expense types
  1. Air – Baggage Fees – airline baggage or equipment fees.
    1. Description – if additional baggage beyond the first piece and/or overweight/oversized baggage is claimed, provide justification.
    2. Account codes 2800, 2801, 2802.
  2. Airfare – commercial coach/economy including allowable charges for seat assignments.
    1. Description – if claiming a related fee, provide a justification.
    2. Merchant – select the merchant from the preferred drop-down menu or enter the merchant name in the non-preferred field.
    3. Ticket Number – a unique ticket number is required.
    4. Account codes 2800, 2801, 2802.
  3. Airfare Change/Cancel Penalty – Charge imposed by the airline to change, re-issue or cancel tickets.
    1. Description – provide an explanation of the circumstances.
    2. Merchant – select the merchant from the preferred drop-down menu or enter the merchant name in the non-preferred field.
    3. Account codes 2800, 2801, 2802.
  4. Athletic Pre/Post Game – for use by Athletics only.
  5. Athletics Team Meals – for use by Athletics only.
  6. Day Trip Meal Allowance – meal costs including tax and tip in connection with travel that does not include an overnight stay. The amount is based on the per diem rate and cannot be manually modified.
    1. Account codes 2863 and 2864.
  7. E-Re Estimated Withholding – withholding of estimated taxes. It is required to be used with any Relocation expenses. It must be entered as a negative number and will reduce the net reimbursement.
    1. It can also be used for withholding of taxes for expense reports submitted over 90 days and for tuition reimbursement in excess of allowable limits.
    2. It will require a credit reference to be entered (“Estimated tax withholding” is sufficient).
    3. Account code 7060
  8. Event – Audio Visual Equipment – costs for the rental of audio visual equipment or related technologies for the purpose of hosting a University-sponsored event, Official Function, or educational program such as a conference, reception, workshop, etc., with multiple attendees from both inside and outside the University.
    1. Description – provide a business justification for expenses incurred and specify what type of event was held. Indicate whether or not a fee was collected from attendees.
    2. Merchant – enter the name of the merchant.
    3. Account code 2894.
  9. Event – Catering – cost of food/beverage, service fees, gratuities and/or delivery fees related to hosting a University sponsored event, Official Function, or educational program such as a conference, reception, workshop, etc., with multiple attendees from both inside and outside the University.
    1. Description – provide a business justification for event expenses incurred and specify what type of event was held (reception, conference, etc.) If a meal was served, indicate breakfast, lunch or dinner. Indicate whether or not a fee was collected from attendees.
    2. Merchant – enter the name of the merchant.
    3. Number of People – enter the number of attendees.
    4. Add Additional Attendees – enter the names and affiliations of the attendees. For large events, an attendee list can be attached to the expense report instead.
    5. Account code 2893.
  10. Event – Meeting Space – costs for meeting space or room rental for the purpose of hosting a University sponsored event, Official Function, or educational program such as a conference, reception, workshop, etc., with multiple attendees from both inside and outside the University.
    1. Description – provide a business justification for event expenses incurred and specify what type of event was held (reception, conference, etc.) If a meal was served, indicate breakfast, lunch or dinner. Indicate whether or not a fee was collected from attendees.
    2. Merchant – enter the name of the merchant.
    3. Account code 2895.
  11. Gas for Vehicle Rental/Fleet – purchase of gasoline for rental vehicles or fleet vehicles when State/UW gas card is not accepted.
    1. Description – provide a purpose for the gasoline purchase and indicate the type of vehicle that was used (rental or fleet). For Fleet, explain why the provided fuel card was not used.
    2. Account codes 2810, 2811, and 2812.
  12. Lodging – Group – lodging accommodations for multiple business travelers who share a room and the reimbursement is being claimed on one expense report.
    1. Description – provide the names and affiliations of all individuals included in the lodging payment.
    2. Number of Nights – enter the number of nights stayed.
    3. Merchant – select the merchant from the preferred drop-down menu or enter the merchant name in the non-preferred field.
    4. How Many People – the number of UW business travelers included in the amount reported.
    5. Account codes 2850, 2851, and 2852.
  13. Lodging – Individual – lodging accommodations for individual lodging expenses, including a shared room for which the traveler is claiming only their portion of the charge.
    1. Number of nights – enter the number of nights stayed.
    2. Merchant – select the merchant from the preferred drop-down menu or enter the merchant name in the non-preferred field.
    3. Account codes 2850, 2851, and 2852.
  14. Lodging – Student – track any student lodging expenses for compliance with the Clery Act. This new accounting code should make Clery Act reporting much more efficient.
    1. Description – enter the address of the lodging property.
    2. Number of nights – enter the number of nights stayed.
    3. Merchant – type the name of the lodging property.
    4. How many people – enter the number of students staying in the room.
    5. Expense location – enter the location of the lodging property.
    6. Account codes 2853, 2854, 2855. SFS will automatically select the proper account code (in-state, out-of-state, foreign) based on the REFERENCE selection in the header of the expense report (in-state, out-of-state, foreign).
  15. Meal and Incidental Per Diem – per diem allowance reimbursed to travelers for overnight travel based on location of stay.
    1. Amount – the amount is based on the location, date, and any selected deductions.
    2. Location – enter the location the expense was incurred. When traveling to the destination, this is the location the traveler stayed that night. When returning from the destination, this is the location the traveler stayed the night before.
    3. Per Diem Deductions – select first/last day for first and last day of travel and indicate any meals provided to the traveler (ex: as part of a registration fee).
    4. Account codes 2860, 2861, and 2862.
  16. Meals – Hosted – meal purchased for a group and claimed by a single individual.
    1. Description – provide a business purpose for the purchase and indicate which meal was served (breakfast, lunch or dinner).
    2. How Many People – enter the number of attendees.
    3. Add Additional Attendees – enter the names and affiliations of the attendees. For large events, an attendee list can be attached to the expense report instead.
    4. Account codes 2860, 2861, and 2862.
  17. Mileage – reimbursement for use of a personal vehicle. Do not use this expense type for vehicle rentals or fleet vehicles.
    1. Description – enter information used to determine Transportation ID. Include addresses of originating/destination locations and any additional stops. For situations where privacy is a concern, the exact address is not required.
    2. Transportation ID – choose the appropriate rate – Standard (300 miles roundtrip or less) or Turndown (more than 300 miles roundtrip)
    3. Mileage – enter the roundtrip mileage. The amount is automatically calculated based on the rate and the number of miles. The amount cannot be manually modified.
    4. Account codes 2830, 2831, and 2832.
  18. Misc. – Purchases/Supplies – best judgment UW-Madison business-related purchases ($5,000 or less) such as books, copy charges, shipping, etc.
    1. Description – provide a description of the purchase and a UW-Madison business purpose.
  19. Parking – parking charges incurred while conducting UW-Madison business.
    1. Description – enter a reason for the expense and, if applicable, the number of days parked at the location.
    2. Account codes 2870, 2871, and 2872.
  20. Registration Fee – fee charged to attend an event such as a conference, workshop, seminar, training or meeting.
    1. Description – provide the name of the event and a UW-Madison business purpose and identify what is included (meals, etc.) in the fee.
    2. Account codes 2840, 2841, and 2842.
  21. Relocation – Stipend – an Employee Relocation Award provided to cover some or all of an employee’s moving expenses.
    1. Originating Location – the location the traveler is relocating from.
    2. Expense Location – the location the traveler is relocating to.
    3. Account code 2884.
  22. Taxi/Subway/City Bus, etc. – local transportation charges for taxi, shuttle, city bus, ferry, subway, ride sharing services, etc. including tip.
    1. Description – indicate the type of transportation used, the originating location and destination and a business purpose for the trip.
    2. Account codes 2820, 2821, and 2822.
  23. Train/Bus/Other Long Distance – long-distance transportation charges (non-airfare) such as a bus, train, etc. including tip.
    1. Description – indicate the type of transportation used, the originating location and destination and a business purpose for the trip.
    2. Account codes 2820, 2821, and 2822.
  24. Training/Dev-Job –reimbursements to employees for costs related to job-related training not classified as tuition.
    1. Description – indicate the name of the course taken.
    2. Non-Preferred Merchant – enter the name of the merchant.
    3. Account code 2184.
  25. Travel Agency Service Fee – for use by Athletics only.
  26. Travel miscellaneous – allowable travel-related expenses not identified by our specific expense type or included as part of M&IE per diem (tolls, internet, visa fees, currency conversion fees, etc.)
    1. Description – provide a description of the expense and a UW-Madison business purpose.
    2. Account codes 2870, 2871, and 2872.
  27. Travel reduction – reduces the amount of the expense report to a fixed dollar/budget amount for an expense line. Travel reductions cannot be entered by travelers/Alternates; they must be entered by Approvers.
  28. Tuition/Training-Career – tuition and training fees related to taking a class or course, on a UW campus or other accredited University for the purpose of meeting the minimal educational requirements for a job or will qualify the employee for a new trade or business.
    1. Description – indicate the name of the course taken and whether the course is for graduate or undergraduate credit.
    2. Non-Preferred Merchant – enter the name of the merchant.
    3. Account code 2180.
  29. Vehicle rental – cost of renting a vehicle to conduct UW business.
    1. Description – enter a business purpose for the use of a rental vehicle. Provide a justification if a non-preferred vendor was used.
    2. Merchant – select the merchant from the preferred drop-down menu or enter the merchant name in the non-preferred field.
    3. Account codes 2810, 2811, and 2812.

VII. Related references

VIII. Revisions

Procedure Number	3024.1
Date Approved	July 1, 2019
Revision Dates	Feb. 26, 2020 – added E-Re Estimated Withholding Expense Type. Jan. 19, 2021 – Updated Procedure Number to 3024.1 from 320.1. Oct. 4, 2023 – Added Lodging – Student section. Removed Relocation – Direct Moving Costs and Relocation – Temporary Lodging sections. March 15, 2024 – Clarification added that justification note must indicate any personal time added, to validate only business expenses are being claimed.

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