Procedure 20335v: Travel and Meal Expense Voucher

Introduction

The Travel and Meal Expense Voucher is the correct form to use for reimbursement of:

Business travel expenses
Meal Expenses for entertaining university visitors
Recruiting business meal expenses, and
Moving and relocation expenditures.

The Travel and Meal Expense Voucher is available on the Controller’s Office web site (www.co.vt.edu) and is the version that must be used. A voucher which is produced by a laser printer on white paper is acceptable. A copy of the signed voucher should be retained by the department and the traveler. After the voucher has been signed by the traveler, a supervisor or department head, and the person with authority to disburse funds for the department, the ORIGINAL signed voucher should be sent to the Controller's Office for payment.

Expenses for each day must be listed separately. No payment will be made for unspecified costs. The voucher must show all facts necessary to support the amount of the claim and to fully justify its payment. A brief explanation must be made of any unusual expense. Submit invoices or receipts whenever required to support expenses. Receipts are necessary when expenses are for recruiting new employees or entertaining university visitors in the Blacksburg area or official station.

If invoices are in foreign currency, the rate of dollar exchange and the amount of U.S. dollars must be entered on each invoice.

The voucher should be presented for payment by the employee to his/her supervisor within thirty (30) working days after completion of the trip, where overnight travel is involved, or in case if continuous travel, within thirty (30) working days of the last day of travel for which reimbursement is requested. For all travel vouchers, the traveler's supervisor must approve the voucher and submit the voucher to the agency's fiscal office for processing within three (3) working days of receipt from employee. In the case of a non-state employee, the Agency Head must approve the voucher and submit the voucher within three (3) working days of receipt from non-state employee. Upon receipt of all vouchers, the agency's fiscal office must date stamp the voucher and submit it to the Controller's Office for processing within five (5) working days. The above processing includes time for mailing. If travel reimbursements are not claimed within the prescribed schedule, the Controller's Office may require an explanation for the delay.

The expenses will be paid by direct deposit usually within 7-10 days after being submitted to the Controller's Office.

Detailed Instructions

Detailed instructions for preparing and submitting the Travel and Meal Expense Voucher follow.

Department Name: The name of the department in which traveler is employed or for whom the travel was performed.
Tech ID: The individual's Banner ID number is required.
Name and Address: The name of the traveler should appear on the first line of this block. The name should appear as it is to be written on the check. The complete address where the check is to be sent must appear in the second and third line, including ZIP code.
Traveler Certification and Authorized Approval: Enter the date and indicate whether or not the traveler is a State employee. The traveler should sign his or her name in ink as it appears on Name line, on each copy. The traveler should put the date signed to the right of their signature. A signature stamp cannot be used. His or her title should be typed or printed in ink on the next line. The reimbursement voucher must be signed and dated by a supervisor and/or a department head to authorize expenditures against the account. The department head (or his or her designee) signature is needed when the voucher includes reimbursements for such items as travel more than 100 miles outside the state boundary and/or the rental of an automobile. In addition, if the individual who authorizes payment is also the recipient of the travel reimbursement, the next higher level of supervision must sign the voucher as indication that the expenses have been reviewed. (See Policy 3205 for more information about approvals.)
Date: Each day's expenses must be shown separately. Indicate the year in which the expenses were incurred at the head of the column. Enter the month and day in the space provided on each line describing each day's expenses.
Description: This column is to be used for a description of the expense items and the location at which they were incurred. All allowable miscellaneous business expenses, such as telephone, telegraph, and postage, must be itemized in this column.
Miles Traveled: The miles traveled between each point visited must be stated whenever claim is made for reimbursement for mileage.

All travel must be over the most direct route unless it is necessary to go another way. Whenever it is necessary to go by any route other than the most direct, the travel voucher must show clearly the actual route taken. The reason for the longer trip should be given along with the statement which explains the purpose of the trip.
Mileage claimed over any route should be by actual odometer readings and not estimated.
It may be necessary to travel in and about a given location, stopping at individual residences or scattered points of business within an area. It is obviously impractical in these cases to show all the points between which the travel was performed. In these cases, the voucher should read: "Travel in and about ___(location)___ Virginia, __(number)__ miles."

Mileage or Fares: Show in this column the dollar amount claimed for mileage, bus, air, or railroad fares.

Railroad fares reported in this column cover only the actual transportation costs. Pullman charges (berth or seat) must be itemized separately and the amount shown in the "Lodging" column.
Tolls and parking fees must be itemized and the amount claimed in the column headed "Other." Toll facilities must be named.
Receipts for bus, air, and train travel must be attached to the voucher for audit.
Boarding passes are required for all air and rail reimbursements made directly to the employee.
Receipts for toll and parking expenses must be attached in accordance with Procedure 20335d, "Automobile Travel".

Meals and Incidental Expense (M&IE): For each day, make one entry for the M&IE per diem corresponding to the location of the related overnight lodging. The maximum M&IE rate can be claimed for a full day or a lower M&IE rate based on actual expenditures can be authorized by the department. M&IE cannot exceed the allowance set forth in Procedure 20335c and must be paid directly to the traveler. Each traveler must submit his/her own travel reimbursement voucher.

When meals are provided at no cost in conjunction with travel events, the applicable M&IE per diem must be reduced by the dollar amount shown for the applicable meal in the M&IE Rate Table. When meals are included with registration or lodging expense as part of a package plan, record the number and type of meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) on the travel voucher.

On a departure or return day, 75% of the total Meal per diem (plus $3 Incidental Expenses) is allowed based upon where the night was spent as follows: (See Procedure 20335c for more detail.)

Departure Day: Where you spend the night.
Return Day: Where you spend the night before returning home.

When meals are provided at no cost in conjunction with travel events on a travel departure or return day, the full Meals per diem reimbursement rate is reduced by the full amount of the appropriate meal(s) followed by a 75% prorating of the balance (plus $3 Incidental Expenses).

In cases where the traveler returns to his official station on the same day as he leaves, no reimbursement will be made for meals except when on overtime or official* documented business. The voucher must state the time of departure and return to the official station. Traveler must leave before 6:30 a.m. and arrive after 7:30 p.m. to qualify for breakfast and dinner respectively.

To be eligible for reimbursement or payment, business meals must:

be essential to the University mission;
be a business necessity;
involve substantive and bona fide business discussions; and
be approved by the Department Head; and
be supported with an ITEMIZED receipt for the expenditure.

Lodging: Report in this column all expenditures for lodging. Attach the original itemized bill or the itemized receipt to support amount claimed. Enter name of hotel or the word “lodging” in description column.

Some hotels/motels will give a commercial discount to state employees traveling on official business of the Commonwealth. The traveler should inquire about any deductions and take advantage of the lower rates whenever offered.

Other: Charge in this column all expense items that have not been covered in the preceding columns. A description of each item must be given in the space provided in the second column on the sheet.
Totals: Each line must be totaled at the bottom, and the total of all columns must equal the sum of the totals of the individual lines.
Recapitulation of Sheet Totals: The total amount claimed on each additional sheet must be carried forward to the recap provided in the lower right-hand corner.
Amount Certified for Payment: The grand total of the sheet totals must be computed and entered on the bottom line of the recapitulation.
Purpose of Trip: Check appropriate listing or add purpose in this space.
Organization Number: Enter traveler's organization (department) number in front of the fund code.
Fund Code: The proper University fund code should be listed in the appropriate columns.
Account Code: Use the correct account code to properly classify the type of travel expense. The full description of travel account codes are found the procedure 60108b (Description of Account Codes for other than Personal Services.) The following link takes you directly to the travel account descriptions http://www.co.vt.edu/procedures/Account_Descriptions_000701.pdf.

Return to Procedures Listing