Division of Business Services

3025.2 Cash Advance Approval Process and Reconciliation

Procedure # 3025.2; Rev.: 2 (Effective July 1, 2025)
Related Policy: UW-3025 Cash Advance Policy
Functional Owner: Accounting Services, Business Services
Contact: Expense Reimbursement Program Manager – Allie Watters, expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu, (608) 263-3525

Contents

  1. Procedure statement
  2. Who is affected by this procedure
  3. Procedure
  4. Contact roles and responsibilities
  5. Definitions
  6. Related references
  7. Revisions

I. Procedure statement

Spend Authorizations for Cash Advance requests are submitted via Workday Expenses. Cash Advance requests are approved by a Driver Worktag Manager and an Expense Advance Repayment Specialist. Employee travelers must fully reconcile Cash Advances within 30 days of the end of the trip.

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II. Who is affected by this procedure

  • Driver Worktag Managers who review and approve Cash Advances
  • Expense Advance Repayment Specialists who approve Cash Advances and reconcile outstanding Cash Advances balances

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III. Procedure

  1. Cash Advance Approval: Cash advances are approved by a Driver Worktag Manager and an Expense Advance Repayment Specialist.
    1. The Driver Worktag Manager must ensure the funding for a cash advance is appropriate and that sufficient budget exists to support a cash advance payment.
    2. The Expense Advance Repayment Specialist will review the business purpose and confirm estimated expenses are policy-compliant, reasonable, and properly justified by supporting documentation.
  2. Reconciliation: Cash advances must be fully reconciled within 30 days of the end of the trip. The Expense Advance Repayment Specialist monitors outstanding cash advance balances, follows up with employees regarding repayment, records repayments, and reconciles the cash advance general ledger account on a monthly basis.

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IV. Contact roles and responsibilities

  • Employee Traveler – Employee travelers are responsible for requesting cash advances via a Spend Authorization, reconciling cash advances within 30 days of the end of the trip, and refunding any unused portion of the cash advance.
  • Driver Worktag Manager – Upon submission, cash advance requests are first reviewed by the Driver Worktag Manager for budget and appropriateness of funding.
  • Expense Advance Repayment Specialist – Expense Advance Repayment Specialists are responsible for reviewing cash advances for policy compliance and for reconciling refunded payments related to cash advances.

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V. Definitions

  • Cash Advance – Funds disbursed to an employee in advance of UW business travel to offset expenses expected to be incurred out of pocket during the course of travel.
  • Expense Report – A report submitted by a cash advance recipient to account for use of advanced funds.  The cash advance balance must be applied against expenses in the expense report to reconcile the original cash advance.
  • Spend Authorization – A request submitted in Workday Expenses that can be used to obtain approval for a cash advance.
  • Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.

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VI. Related references

 

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VII. Revisions

Procedure Number 3025.2
Date Approved October 1, 2018
Revision Dates July 23, 2019 – Updated instructions for depositing refund checks
Jan. 19, 2021 – Updated Procedure Number to 3025.2 from 321.2
July 1, 2025 – Updated to reflect Workday procedures

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