Travel Office Hours Summary (Jan - May 2023)

schmidt.243@osu.edu | May 4, 2023

Summary of Travel Office Hours (January - May 2023):

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May 2023 - Office Hours Summary

Updates:

  • Travel Office Hours - Offered 1st Tuesday of each month from 10-11:30 a.m. with summary posted at Travel Website (under News). 
  • New! Travel Cost Comparison Guide – This document can be found on Travel’s website under the Policies and Forms button. It is a supplemental guide to the Travel Comparison Worksheet.
  • New Travel Training; Business Travel Life Cycle – Live and Interactive
    • Next Session: May 25th 8:30am – 4:00pm
    • Live and Interactive with Demos, Exercises, and Q&A; bring laptop.
    • Register in BuckeyeLearn
  • Deadline Noon; FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist – The checklist contains suggested procedures for year-end process surrounding finance and supply chain activities to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the financial information within a unit. This checklist is located on Controller’s website and was announced in 3/20/2023 NewsLink. Approval deadline is before noon on June 30, 2023.
  • FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist (Airfare Transactions):
    • Ensure that CTP airfare transactions submitted (by the Travel Office) on an Expense Report by June 16, 2023, are approved by June 30, 2023 noon.
    • Ensure that Anthony Travel and ScholarTrip airfare transactions that load into Workday by June 16, 2023, are processed (by the unit) with an approved Expense Report by June 30, 2023 noon.
      • Run Reporting in Workday to identify transactions to be processed or with unapproved Expense Reports.
      • Credit Card Transactions – OSU (to identify transactions not established on an expense report and those in ‘draft’ or ‘in progress’ status).
      • Find Expense Reports Summary – OSU (to identify Expense Reports that ‘in progress’ status).
      • Advise Travelers (or their EDES support), Service Center roles and Cost Center Managers of their processing responsibilities.
  • FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist (Spend Authorizations):
    • Run Find Spend Authorization Summary – OSU in Workday to identify unapproved Spend Authorizations.
      • Submit and/or approve SAs that are appropriate (e.g., DRAFT or IN PROGRESS status).
      • Cancel SAs that were started but should not be submitted (e.g., DRAFT status) or submitted but should not be approved (e.g., IN PROGRESS status).
      • Close SAs (APPROVED status) that are not or will not be fully liquidated by an approved Expense Report (no roll forward).
    • If a Spend Authorization and any corresponding Expense Report crosses fiscal years, this will incorrectly reflect your pre-encumbrances/commitments (over or understated).
    • Reconcile any Cash Advance associated with an SA within 30 days of return date.
  • FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist (Expense Reports – Travel and Non-Travel):
    • Run Find Expense Reports Summary – OSU to identify unapproved Expense Reports
      • Submit and/or approve ERs that are appropriate (e.g., DRAFT or IN PROGRESS status)
      • Cancel ERs that were started but should not be submitted (e.g., DRAFT status) or submitted but should not be approved (e.g., IN PROGRESS status)
      • Approval deadline is before noon on June 30, 2023.

Reminders:

  • July Travel Office Hours Session – Moved to July 11th (10:00am – 11:30am)
    • Rescheduled due to July 4th – University Holiday
    • ADA Coordinator’s Office – Guest speaker on travel accommodations
  • Fiscal Year End Support: Travel Working Sessions – The Travel Office is offering two open working sessions to assist with year-end responsibilities to ensure Expense Reports are completed and Spend Authorizations are cancelled and/or closed by the end of the Fiscal Year (June 30, 2023). See Fiscal Year-End Support: Travel Working Session news article for more details.
    • Wednesday, May 17 (9-10:30 a.m.)
    • Thursday, June 1 (2-3:30 p.m.)
    • See Travel Website (NEWS) for Meeting Links
    • This is a first come - first serve format.  Join a session at any time, the Travel Office will be online for the entire duration of the session.
    • Ensure required documentation (e.g., transaction receipt) is accessible during the session.
    • These sessions will only focus on year-end activities.
  • Airfare Reminders:
    • Do NOT buy airfare without approved Spend Authorization!
    • If you take Spend Authorization out of workflow after approved, traveler must ensure it gets approved again so Expense Reports can be processed.
    • Prepaid Airfare Expense Reports for individual travel are processed by Travel Office
      • Do not “send back” or cancel the Expense Report
      • Do make modifications if needed (Svc Center/CCM)
      • Time gap between airfare assignment and ER creation. You are welcome to incorporate the credit card charge into an Expense Report if you choose.
    • Spend Authorization should include all estimated expenses (even airfare) regardless of payment
  • Group Travel – 10+ travelers with same itinerary; Contracted Agency = ScholarTrip
    • Two more full-service agents hired.
    • Group is different than Individual Travel
      • Travel Policy – Use of contracted supplier for Airfare
      • Be aware of deadlines and required email acknowledgments.
      • Itemized receipts may not be available
    • Group External Committee Member and Spend Authorization
    • Group Extended Travel (GET) PCard (PCard website)
      • Application for Employee Trip Advisor for specific trip
      • Plan in advance to receive BEFORE departure. 
      • ATM use (if applicable)

April 2023 - Office Hours Summary

Updates:

  • Travel Office Hours - Offered 1st Tuesday of each month from 10-11:30 a.m. with summary posted at Travel Website (under News). 
  • FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist – The checklist contains suggested procedures for year-end process surrounding finance and supply chain activities to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the financial information within a unit. This checklist is located on Controller’s website and was announced in 3/20/2023 NewsLink.
  • FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist (Airfare Transactions):
    • Ensure that CTP airfare transactions submitted (by the Travel Office) on an Expense Report by June 16, 2023, are approved by June 30, 2023.
    • Ensure that Anthony Travel and ScholarTrip airfare transactions that load into Workday by June 16, 2023, are processed (by the unit) with an approved Expense Report by June 30, 2023.
      • Run Reporting in Workday to identify transactions to be processed or with unapproved Expense Reports.
      • Credit Card Transactions – OSU (to identify transactions not established on an expense report and those in ‘draft’ or ‘in progress’ status).
      • Find Expense Reports Summary – OSU (to identify Expense Reports that ‘in progress’ status).
      • Advise Travelers (or their EDES support), Service Center roles and Cost Center Managers of their processing responsibilities.
  • FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist (Spend Authorizations):
    • Run Find Spend Authorization Summary – OSU in Workday to identify unapproved Spend Authorizations.
      • Submit and/or approve SAs that are appropriate (e.g., DRAFT or IN PROGRESS status).
      • Cancel SAs that were started but should not be submitted (e.g., DRAFT status) or submitted but should not be approved (e.g., IN PROGRESS status).
      • Close SAs (APPROVED status) that are not or will not be fully liquidated by an approved Expense Report (no roll forward).
    • If a Spend Authorization and any corresponding Expense Report crosses fiscal years, this will incorrectly reflect your pre-encumbrances/commitments (over or understated).
    • Reconcile any Cash Advance associated with an SA within 30 days of return date.
  • FY2023 Year-End Close Review Checklist (Expense Reports – Travel and Non-Travel):
    • Run Find Expense Reports Summary – OSU to identify unapproved Expense Reports
      • Submit and/or approve ERs that are appropriate (e.g., DRAFT or IN PROGRESS status)
      • Cancel ERs that were started but should not be submitted (e.g., DRAFT status) or submitted but should not be approved (e.g., IN PROGRESS status)
  • New Travel Training; Business Travel Life Cycle – Live and Interactive
    • Introduction to Business Travel (10 min) – at BuckeyeLearn - High Level Overview
    • Business Travel Life Cycle Training:
      • Online - Available Now in BuckeyeLearn
        • Online (1.5 hrs.) - 4 Modules at BuckeyeLearn
        • Pre-Recorded/Self-Led
      • Live and Interactive - Available Now for Registration in BuckeyeLearn.
        • Virtual-Teams Meeting (All Day) - Live and Interactive with Demos and Q&A
        • In-Person - Classroom (All Day) – Live and Interactive with Demos and Q&A; bring laptop.

Reminders:

  • Fiscal Year End Support: Travel Working Sessions – The Travel Office is offering two open working sessions to assist with year-end responsibilities to ensure Expense Reports are completed and Spend Authorizations are cancelled and/or closed by the end of the Fiscal Year (June 30, 2023). See Fiscal Year-End Support: Travel Working Session news article for more details.
    • Wednesday, May 17 (9-10:30 a.m.)
    • Thursday, June 1 (2-3:30 p.m.)
    • See Travel Website (NEWS) for Meeting Links
    • This is a first come - first serve format.  Join a session at any time, the Travel Office will be online for the entire duration of the session.
    • Ensure required documentation (e.g., transaction receipt) is accessible during the session.
    • These sessions will only focus on year-end activities.
  • Contact a Travel Agent
    • Phone – hold times may vary with inclement weather; if not urgent use call back feature
    • Dedicated email address
    • After Hours – nights/weekends/holidays
    • Concur (Individual and Athletic Travel) – Optional Online Booking Tool
  • Airfare Reminders:
    • Do NOT buy airfare without approved Spend Authorization!
    • If you take Spend Authorization out of workflow after approved, traveler must ensure it gets approved again so Expense Reports can be processed.
    • Prepaid Airfare Expense Reports for individual travel are processed by Travel Office
      • Do not “send back” or cancel the Expense Report
      • Do make modifications if needed (Svc Center/CCM)
      • Time gap between airfare assignment and ER creation. You are welcome to incorporate the credit card charge into an Expense Report if you choose.
    • Group Prepaid Airfare – These airfare charges are assigned to the Group ECM and the Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) role who created the Spend Authorization will receive an email reminder to create the Expense Report.  Only prepaid airfare for individual travel is process by the Travel Office.
  • Approving Airfare for Reimbursement:
    • Caution - Expense Reports being approved for reimbursement when the university has already prepaid this expense.
      • Most errors are caught by Travel Office during airfare compliance review in the business approval process.
      • Health System company doesn’t have Service Center role; Cost Center Manager role must review airfare receipt.
      • Travel Office does not review External Committee Members expense reports.
    • University Airfare Credit Card (VISA thru PNC)
      • CTP – 1329
      • CTP – 8156 (cancelled; only credits)
      • ScholarTrip - 5919

 

March 2023 - Office Hours Summary

Updates:

  • Travel Office Hours - Offered 1st Tuesday of each month from 10-11:30 a.m. with summary posted at Travel Website (under News). 
  • Workday Release – Workday has two major releases of enhancements and new functionality annually. The next release is scheduled for Saturday, March 11 – no changes/updates for travel at this time.
  • Business Travel Life Cycle Live Training – We are announcing a soft launch training session for immediate feedback on the format and content.  If you are available on March 22nd (8:30am – 4:00pm) and would like a sneak peak of the training, send an email to the Travel mailbox at travel@osu.edu.
  • Fiscal Year End Support: Travel Working Sessions – The Travel Office is offering two open working sessions to assist with year-end responsibilities to ensure Expense Reports are completed and Spend Authorizations are cancelled and/or closed by the end of the Fiscal Year (June 30, 2023). See Fiscal Year-End Support: Travel Working Session news article for more details.
  • July Travel Office Hour Session – Since the first Tuesday of July conflicts with a university holiday, this session has been rescheduled for Tuesday, July 11th (10:00am – 11:30sam).  See Travel – Office Hours (monthly) news article for the meeting link and other session details.
  • Business Leave Job Aid – See the updated job aid at the Administrative Resource Center (ARC); The Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) role can now enter this transaction in Workday on behalf of traveler. This is not a university required process and does not replace other HR or Finance related processes (e.g., leave request or spend authorization).  Please confirm with the Senior Fiscal Officer of your unit before submitting an initial business leave request to ensure your unit is using the business leave process.
  • Using the Workday Training Tenant Job Aid - See the updated job aid at the Administrative Resource Center (ARC); A link was added at the bottom of the job aid to the Workday training tenant.
  • Concur Booking Tool Job Aids – See the updated job aids at the Travel Office website. Please direct all questions to the Travel Office at travel@osu.edu.

Reminders:

  • No Roll Forward of Pre-Encumbrances/Commitments with Spend Authorizations
    • Enter Blankets (in-state mileage) in July for FY24
    • When possible, enter SAs and ERs in the same FY to minimize accounting impact – do NOT create 2 SA#’s as a workaround.
    • If a spend authorization and corresponding expense report(s) cross fiscal years the SA is still usable, but this will incorrectly reflect your pre-encumbrances/commitments (over or understated) in the General Ledger.
    • ONLY 1 Spend Authorization number per trip!!
  • Fiscal Year End Clean Up – don’t wait, start clean-up tasks now! Run reports to identify any transaction that requires next step:
    • Submit and/or approve Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports that are appropriate.
    • Cancel Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports that were started and should not be submitted (DRAFT status) or submitted but should not be approved (IN PROGRESS status)
    • Close Spend Authorizations (APPROVED status) that are not or will not be fully liquidated by an approved Expense Report (no roll forward)
  • Business Travel with Added Personal Time – the Spend Authorization departure/return dates should reflect the business dates only.  Any personal time can be documented in the Justification, Comments and/or Memo fields.
  • Airfare Reminders:
    • Do NOT buy airfare without approved Spend Authorization!
    • If you take Spend Authorization out of workflow after approved, traveler must ensure it gets approved again so Expense Reports can be processed.
    • Prepaid Airfare Expense Reports for individual travel are processed by Travel Office
      • Do not “send back” or cancel the Expense Report
      • Do make modifications if needed (Svc Center/CCM)
      • Time gap between airfare assignment and ER creation. You are welcome to incorporate the credit card charge into an Expense Report if you choose.
    • Group Prepaid Airfare – These airfare charges are assigned to the Group ECM and the Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) role who created the Spend Authorization will receive an email reminder to create the Expense Report.  Only prepaid airfare for individual travel is process by the Travel Office.
  • Car Rental Reminders:
    • Demand is very high. Plan ahead and make reservations well in advance.
    • Make sure to use the leisure code at Buckeye Nation Rewards for Spring break/personal travel.  This website is not monitored by Travel Office.
    • If a trip is canceled be sure to cancel your rental car reservation.
    • If plans change and you will not be on time for the pickup, call to change your reservation. If you are late to pick up that car could be rented out to someone else.
    • Be sure you are reserving the correct type of car for what you want to be driving (within policy).
    • If you are traveling somewhere where there is a good chance there will be snow/icy roads, be sure to choose vehicle type accordingly.

February 2023 - Office Hours Summary

Updates:

  • Travel Office Hours - Offered 1st Tuesday of each month from 10-11:30 a.m. with summary posted at Travel Website (under News). 
  • Spend Authorization Summary – OSU Report Enhancement – Additional fields were added to this report to assist in managing the required system step for travelers to submit an International Acknowledgment of Understanding Questionnaire for international travel. 
  • Athletics Concur (Anthony Travel) – Effective January 18, 2023, full-time employees of the Athletics cost center area will be able to use Concur to book individual domestic travel via Anthony Travel.  The same policy, procedures and access entry apply.
  • New Corporate Travel Planners (CTP) Agents for International Travel – Contact a full-service agent with international travel expertise for consultation, quotes or to book travel services.  OSU validation and SA# required for purchase. The international team phone is 855-261-7786 or when calling internationally 210-293-8659 Monday – Friday 8am-6:30pm EST
    • Kris VanDover
    • Pam Gereau
    • Marie Lewis
  • Workday – Payment Issues with Reimbursement Expense Reports from OSUHP Company – The Ohio State University Health Plan (OSUHP) company has not been set-up with a paying bank which is causing an issue with Expense Reports being entered for reimbursement.  Expense Reports that are entered to expense prepayments are not affected. A validation will soon be added to Workday to advise you to enter the OSU Health System company at the header of the Spend Authorization but continue to utilize the OSUHP company at the line level.  More information is forthcoming.

Reminders:

  • Pay Attention to all Alert/Error Messages in Workday – All alert/error messages in Workday will be reviewed for necessary edits and/or rewording by the Travel Office.  One alert to be aware of is the Duplicate Transaction alert associated with an Expense Report that reads: “There appears to be a duplicate charge. There is another charge within the past 90 days with the same expense item, date and amount.” If you encounter this alert, take appropriate action.
  • Comment Fields in Workday – avoid using the “Exception Reason – Svc Center Use Only” field in the Expense Item Detail section for general comments. Instead, there several places in the Expense Report (white cloud icon next to free form field) where you can enter your general comments.
  • Monitor Spend Authorizations – Run the “Find Spend Authorization Summary – OSU” Report to manage the following types of transactions: 
    • INTL AOU Questionnaire - Submission of International Acknowledgement of Understanding (AOU) Questionnaire – required step and will not move forward in workflow for approval until completed by the traveler - see full article released via NewsLink on 11/30/22.
    • Cash Advances - Reconciliation of a cash advance within the 30-day policy deadline.
  • Fiscal Year 2024 – FY24 is only 5 months away – don’t wait, start clean-up tasks now! Run reports to identify any transaction that requires next step:
    • Submit and/or approve Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports that are appropriate
    • Cancel Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports that were started and should not be submitted (DRAFT status) or submitted but should not be approved (IN PROGRESS status)
    • Close Spend Authorizations (APPROVED status) that are not or will not be fully liquidated by an approved Expense Report (no roll forward)
  • Spend Authorizations with Personal Time – Enter only the business dates in the Spend Authorization header for departure and/or return dates.  Documentation of personal time can be entered in either the Justification field, comments field, and/or memo fields.  Remember to upload the appropriate cost comparison documentation to the Attachment tab.
  • Airfare:
    • Do NOT buy airfare without an approved Spend Authorization!
    • If you take Spend Authorization out of workflow after approved, traveler must ensure it gets approved again so Expense Reports can be processed.
    • Prepaid Airfare Expense Reports are processed by Travel Office
      • Do not “send back” or cancel the Expense Report
      • Do make modifications if needed (Svc Center/CCM)
      • Time gap between airfare assignment and ER creation. You are welcome to incorporate the credit card charge into an Expense Report if you choose.
  • Car Rentals:
    • Demand is very high. Plan ahead and make reservations well in advance.
    • Make sure to use the leisure code at Buckeye Nation Rewards for Spring break/personal travel.  This website is not monitored by Travel Office.
    • If a trip is canceled be sure to cancel your rental car reservation.
    • If plans change and you will not be on time for the pickup, call to change your reservation. If you are late to pick up that car could be rented out to someone else.
    • Be sure you are reserving the correct type of car for what you want to be driving (within policy).
    • If you are traveling somewhere where there is a good chance there will be snow/icy roads, be sure to choose vehicle type accordingly.

January 2023 - Office Hours Summary

Updates:

  • Travel Office Hours - Offered 1st Tuesday of each month from 10-11:30 a.m. with summary posted at Travel Website (under News). 
  • Mileage Reimbursement Rate Update –   Effective January 1, 2023, the mileage reimbursement rate will increase from 62.5 cents per mile to 65.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from January 1, 2023 through Dec. 31, 2023.
  • Workday – Business Purpose List Update – Effective December 16th, the business purpose field selection list was condensed to support analytical review of the travel or expense transaction.
    • You will see the selections are grouped by type with a prefix of PCard, Reimbursement (Non-Travel) or Travel. 
    • Selections marked “inactive” (after 12/16th) will not permit submission with new entry of Spend Authorization or Expense Report. If selection is already in-progress status, an alert will prompt for a change to proceed with approval.
  • Workday - International Travel – Required Step – Effective December 16th, the Acknowledgement of Understanding (AOU) Questionnaire will replace the DocuSign version for Traveler (Faculty or Staff) on the Travel website.
    • The AOU was made required with the Travel Guidelines released in June 2021, following the university’s suspension due to COVID-19.
    • Traveler must complete step or Spend Authorization does not advance in workflow for approval.
    • The Traveler will be notified by an onscreen prompt, reminders in Workday inbox, home screen prompts under “awaiting action” and by email.
    • Spend Authorizations submitted by an Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) will also notify the traveler by similar methods.
    • Questionnaire is triggered by destination field being international location (e.g., airfare, lodging) and the validation of an employee name on the Spend Authorization header.
    • EXCEPTION! If the Spend Authorization lines are not inclusive of a destination field or the employee traveler is part of a group Spend Authorization (set up with a Group ECM name), the traveler must revert to the DocuSign version and upload it to the Spend Authorization.
  • Workday – Expense Item Updates – Attribute fields and instructional text associated with Expense Items have been updated.

Reminders:

  • Car Rental Reservations – all reservations should be completed online from the Travel Office website.  There is no longer a need for a discount code.
  • Cash Advance Process Job Aid – There is a job aid for the cash advance process posted at the Administrative Resource Center. 
  • Group Travel Overview Session with ScholarTrip – January 11th; if this topic interests you or is relevant to your position, read our news article at the Travel website titled, Group Business Travel Overview and Discussion for more details.
  • Fiscal Year 2024 – FY24 is only 6 months away – don’t wait, start end of year tasks now!

 

Tags: 
Travel