Reimbursement of ExpensesPolicies & Procedures

February 12, 2008

Presented by:Lea Archambault, Senior Manager - General Accounting & Accounts PayableMavis Smith, Supervisor – Accounts PayableAntoinette Sama, Assistant Supervisor – Accounts Payable-Travel

Reimbursements of Expenses

Today’s Topics Accountable Advances Expense Reimbursement Claims

General Documentation Requirement Alcohol for campus events Non Travel related items Visitors Expenses Approvals and Responsibilities Checklist for claim preparation List of Travel related forms and reports Statistics

Reimbursement of Expenses - Advances

Types of expenses eligible for travel advances: Cash advances to McGill employees and students

only Third party payments related to McGill employees,

students and visitors issued to: Travel agencies Hotels Conferences

All advances paid to a third party must be cleared with an expense report

Original receipts should be kept and submitted with the expense report

Reimbursement of Expenses –Requesting an Advance Submit no more than 30 days before the start date of

the trip Request must be received by the Travel Desk at least

10 business days prior to the start date of the trip Cash advances for “out of pocket” expenses will be

granted with proof of payment (e.g. plane ticket purchased 3 months prior to departure date is eligible since expense was personally incurred)

No additional advances or reimbursements will be made if a prior advance is overdue (30 days past the return date indicated on the advance request)

Advances over $5,000 must be supported by a breakdown of expected expenses

Reimbursement of Expenses – General Documentation

All expenses must be reported on one comprehensive expense report per trip

General documentation requirements Original receipts/proof of payment

A memo is required for missing receipts authorized by the approver of the ER

Details of expenditure receipts Purpose of the trip Full name of conference, elaborate acronyms Reference to any accountable advance related to

the trip

Reimbursement of Expenses – Receipts

Special requirements Defacing receipts

Original receipt must be reviewed by the TD Electronic receipts

Acceptable with following information: Identification of the vendor, GST/QST if applicable Identification of the buyer Full description of purchase Amount paid and proof of payment

Reimbursement of Expenses – Airline Tickets

E-Ticket or travel agency invoice must include the following information: Passenger name Airline and flight number Date of flight Origin and destination Proof of payment

Boarding pass not required Business class not allowed requires Dean

or Vice Principal approval

Detailed restaurant bill will be required if covered by a research grant or contract (2F & 2M fund types). The following information is needed. Restaurant name Date of bill Items consumed Amounts paid, including tips Proof of payment: credit card slip or cash register receipt

When charging an operating fund, the credit card chit and name of person(s) will be sufficient.

For university related entertainment, names of all participants must be indicated. Note: if the normal approver is one of the attendees, the expense must be approved by that person’s supervisor

Reimbursement of Expenses – Meals

Per diems Higher rates allowed by some granting

agencies Cannot be claimed if:

included in transportation charges, conference registration fees or hotel bills

For meals where receipts are claimed

Alcoholic beverages Prohibited by several granting agencies

Reimbursement of Expenses – Per diems & Alcohol

Title of each book, magazine subscription Subject fees/Living Allowances (if advance

otherwise will be a Payment Request): Subject fees should not exceed $100/day/person Require recipient name, amount paid and

signature from subject. If research is confidential, explanation from FFM required.

Reimbursement of Expenses – Publications, Subject Fees & Living Allowances

Foreign currency receipts must be entered in original currency

Must indicate exchange rate used based on the receipt date or credit card statement or derived from Bank of Canada website

Should encourage wire transfer, not bank drafts especially for claims outside of North America

Reimbursement of Expenses – Receipts if Foreign Currency

Receipts in a foreign language must be explained in English or French on the claim or receipt.

Translation of each word not required

Reimbursement of Expenses – Receipts in Foreign Language

Most 3rd party payments are set up as accountable advances: Conference registration Travel agency

Payments on behalf of visitors or students where no other expenses will be claimed e.g. hotels, airfare

Reimbursement of Expenses – Payment to Third Parties

Receptions/Special Events: MOPRA advance - if paid to individual

responsible to organize event (this s/b discouraged)

PO - if request paid to 3rd party (more appropriate): Catering services McGill hosting conferences or special events Retreats involving a McGill unit or department Rental of space

Reimbursement of Expenses – Entertainment

Purchases of Alcohol for Campus Events Must be purchased from the Alcohol

Permits Administration Office – Ancillary Services:www.mcgill.ca/adminhandbook/policies/alcohol/

Cannot be reimbursed via request for reimbursement

Reimbursement of Expenses – Alcohol for Campus events

Purchases on non- travel related goods or services having a value greater than $2500 will not be reimbursed on an expense report. These items should be requisitioned prior

to ordering, using the Purchase Requisition process

Reimbursement of Expenses – Non- Travel related items

Travel expenses incurred by visitors should be processed via reimbursement of expenses (e.g. taxis, meals)

Visitor’s signature is required.

Reimbursement of Expenses – Visitor Expenses

Reimbursement requires the signature of the Claimant

Must be approved by the FFM When the claimant is the FFM, their

immediate supervisor must approve

Reimbursement of Expenses – Approvals

Reimbursement of Expenses – Signing authority Delegation Written notification required, s/b attached to request to

avoid unnecessary delays; forms available on Accounting website.

Should include: Specimen of signatures Period for which signature is valid (start/end dates)

Advances < $2500, renewable every fiscal year, i.e. June 1

Expense Reports temporary absences only: Acting capacity includes only academic appointments For research grants, a peer or superior named by the PI.

Central - Fund administration Ensures:

Advance or claim is appropriate per fund restriction (if any)

Validates purpose Sufficient balance in FOAPAL charged

Reimbursement of Expenses – Responsibilities

Central Travel Desk: Ensures adherence of the reimbursement

of policy/guidelines Communicates to Claimant or FFM of non

compliance of policy/guidelines Call Centre for any functional questions

related to policy/guidelines and questions related to a specific claim

Follows up on overdue advances

Reimbursement of Expenses – Responsibilities

Reimbursement of Expenses – MOPRA Checklist

Reimbursement of Expenses – Signature Page

Forms: Temporary delegation of signing authority

http://www.mcgill.ca/accounting/forms/delegation/ MOPRA review authorization

http://www.mcgill.ca/accounting/forms/moprareview/ Student request for expense reimbursement

http://www.mcgill.ca/accounting/forms/serf/ Visitor claimant signature form

http://www.mcgill.ca/accounting/forms/visitor/ Delegation for travel advances < $2500

http://www.mcgill.ca/accounting/forms/advdelegate/ Travel request with Uniglobe

http://www.mcgill.ca/accounting/forms/uniglobe/

Reimbursement of Expenses – Information

Financial Services website: www.mcgill.ca/accounting/forms/

Web reports and crystal report templates:

End-User (Accounting Department site) - http://www.mcgill.ca/accounting/reporting/moprarep

Reimbursement of Expenses – MOPRA Reports

Reimbursement of Expenses - MOPRA Reports

MOPRA ReportsMOPRA Reports should be used to retrieve all transactions from the McGill Online Payment of Reimbursementsand Advances (MOPRA) application. The template types available are Web Report Templates, Crystal Report Templates.

MOPRA Report WEB Report Templates

Crystal Reports software is not required to run the web report templates.

Last Modified Web Report Name2005-07-28 Advances & Expense Reports by Fund2005-07-28 Advances & Expense Reports by Responsible ID2005-07-28 Outstanding Advances by Org2005-07-28 Outstanding Advances by Responsible ID2005-07-28 Petty Cash Replenishment by Fund2005-07-28 MOPRA Transactions Reference Number Search

MOPRA Report Templates

Crystal Reports software is required to run the report templates.

Last Modified Crystal Report Name2005-07-28 Advances & Expense Reports by Fund2005-07-28 Advances & Expense Reports by Responsible ID2005-07-28 Outstanding Advances by Org2005-07-28 Outstanding Advances by Responsible ID2005-07-28 Petty Cash Replenishment by Fund2005-07-28 MOPRA Transactions Reference Number Search

ER processed for Faculty of Arts: June 06 – May 07

Total processed 3,882 - $4.8M From total processed 1,150 - $2.1M returned

June 07 – January 08 Total processed 2,784 - $3.7M From total processed 767 - $1.5M returned

Top 3 reasons for returns: Original receipts missing Proof of payment missing Missing signatures

Reimbursement of Expenses – Statistics

Need help? For questions related to the Travel

policy/guidelines and process:

Travel Desk Call Centre Email: traveldeskhelp.acct@mcgill.ca Phone: 398-3180

Need help? For fund specific assistance:

Contact: Fund administrator Their supervisor or manager

For MOPRA/Banner/Minerva system support Contact Finance helpdesk

Email: FISHELP.acct@mcgill.ca Phone: 398-4400, ext 04596 or 04597 Web: www.mcgill.ca/accounting

Reimbursement of expenses

Questions?