International Checks

• December 8th, 2023
• in News

Did you know a UA issued check could be unusable if mailing internationally? Accounts Payable recommends wiring funds when paying international vendors. Please consider the following prior to selecting International Mail when processing your invoice in Concur. Checks can take months to arrive at an international address. Vendors often experience issues when cashing checks drawn on a US bank. Overall, wires are more efficient and allow for vendors to receive payments faster.

Travel Expense Reports – Pre-Trip and Post-Trip

• September 11th, 2023
• in News

When traveling on UA business, travelers often incur several expenses prior to the trip such as airfare reservations, conference registration, and hotel deposits.  These expenses should be reconciled and submitted according to the p-card deadlines even if this occurs prior to the trip.  When doing so, the traveler should use either the transaction date or the date that they are submitting the report as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header.  When the traveler returns from the trip, they should then use the actual travel dates as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header.  This will allow the traveler to correctly add the GSA per diems to the report using the correct dates of travel.

In-State Travel

• August 1st, 2023
• in News

For in-state travel occurring August 1 and after, there will be two options for submitting your Concur Expense report.

Option 1: In-State GSA Reimbursement 

In accordance with the Code of Alabama 36-7-21, prior approval must be obtained from the supervisor of the traveler for in-state travel seeking GSA per diem reimbursement.  A record of this approval must be retained within the department. Employees traveling within the state of Alabama may be reimbursed for their actual expenses for lodging (in accordance with Section 11.0 Lodging) and a per diem for meals (in accordance with Section 12.0 Meals) in addition to the actual expenses for transportation.   If this method is selected, the University Purchasing Card (P-Card) is the required method of payment for lodging and rental cars.  The P-Card is the preferred method of payment for conference registration fees, allowable ground transportation, and parking fees.  Personal meals and incidentals cannot be charged to the P-Card.

When completing an Expense Report in Concur, select “Domestic Overnight” as the Report Type within the Report Header when receiving GSA reimbursement.

Option 2: In-State Per Diem Reimbursement

The employee can be reimbursed on a per diem basis for expenses other than transportation. Current per diem rates are maintained on the Accounts Payable website. In-State travel expenses covered by per diem, such as lodging, meals, and gratuities, cannot be charged to the P-Card.  The P-Card is the preferred method of payment for conference registration fees, allowable ground transportation, and parking fees.

When completing an Expense Report in Concur, select “In-State Overnight (1 night)” or “In-State Overnight (2 or more nights)” as the Report Type within the Report Header when receiving per diem reimbursement.

The UA Travel Policy and Procedures has been updated to reflect these changes. If you have any questions, please reach out to concur@ua.edu.

International Travel Requests

• July 20th, 2023
• in News

Concur Request should be used to notify appropriate parties of international travel.

All UA related international travel for faculty and staff must be submitted using the Concur Request Module as an International Travel Request. The International Travel Request should be submitted prior to booking travel in order to provide notification to applicable departments on campus. With Concur Request, the University can consistently and thoroughly assess the risk and benefit of international trips in order to enhance the safety of university travelers.

Tax Tip: 60-Day Rule for Expense Reports

• July 10th, 2023
• in News

To avoid tax consequences on expense reimbursements, University employees should remember the 60-Day Rule:
Expense reports for out-of-pocket expenses must be submitted within 60 days from the date the expense was incurred (in the case of travel, within 60 days from end of trip).
Per federal tax regulations, expenses submitted after 60 days will be reported as taxable income to the employee, and applicable Federal, State, FICA and Medicare taxes will be deducted from a subsequent salary check.
Timely reporting and submission of expense reports is the responsibility of the employee being reimbursed regardless of whether the employee self-submits or has designated a delegate for expense reporting.
When combining smaller instances into one expense report, employees are encouraged to submit at least once a month. (For example, mileage logs or multiple small out-of-pocket expenses)
The 60-Day Rule is stated in the University’s spending and travel policies and is necessary to comply with the IRS safe-harbor guidelines for expense reimbursements. For more information, refer to the following website links:

• http://accountspayable.ua.edu/spending-policy/#Requests
• http://accountspayable.ua.edu/travel-policy/#Documentation
• http://taxoffice.ua.edu/fringe-benefit-taxation/#ExpenseReimb

International Airfare Booking

• June 2nd, 2023
• in News

Please remember that due to the availability of local carriers in various countries and locations, international airfare bookings are exempt from the Concur booking requirement.  These bookings must still be paid for with a UA P-Card.   Travelers do not need to reach out to Accounts Payable for prior approval of international bookings outside of the Concur system.  All domestic air travel is required to be booked through Concur or Christopherson Business Travel using a UA P-Card.

UA Gift Cards

• June 2nd, 2023
• in News

UA has partnered with Cadence Bank and Dash Solutions to provide departments with a flexible solution for purchasing and providing virtual or plastic gift cards to recipients.  These gift cards can be loaded and unloaded with any value and provided to departments for various needs.

Gift cards may be allowed in situations where it is determined that the expenditures are in the best interest of the University and promote the purposes of the University.  For example, gift cards may be provided as an incentive to encourage participation in a UA research study. The determination of whether a gift card is an allowable gift is dependent upon the selection of the recipient, the reason for the gift cards and the recipient’s affiliation to UA.

All gift card requests will be submitted through the Concur Request Module. Prior to requesting the gift cards, please review the information pertaining to the allowability of gift cards and responsibilities of custodians.

Please refer to the Gift Card Webpage for additional information and instructions.

Relocation/Moving Allowance Reminder

• May 2nd, 2023
• in News

As a reminder, if a department wishes to pay an amount towards relocation costs for a new hire, this will be paid as a taxable moving allowance.

There are two options for the timing of moving allowance payments:

1. Prior to Employment Start Date: If the moving allowance is paid in advance of the employment start date, no taxes are withheld at the time of issuance. However, applicable taxes will be withheld from one or more regular paychecks once the employee is active on Payroll. The Tax Office will notify the employee by email in advance of the taxation. The taxable moving benefit will appear as a line item on the employee’s pay stub in each period where taxation occurs. The number shown on the pay stub is the amount of benefit that is being taxed in that pay period, not the amount of taxes being deducted. The tax deduction amounts will vary depending on the employee’s individual tax bracket and filing status.
2. After Employment Start Date: If the moving allowance is paid after the employment start date, the payment is processed through Payroll. For this option, applicable taxes are withheld at the time of payment with no impact on subsequent paychecks.

For further details, refer to the following website links:

• Tax Office – Relocation/Moving Expenses: https://taxoffice.ua.edu/fringe-benefit-taxation/#RelocationMoving
• A/P – Relocation Allowances: http://accountspayable.ua.edu/relocation-allowances/
• A/P – Spending Policy – Section 9.0 Relocation/Moving Expenses: http://accountspayable.ua.edu/spending-policy/#Relocation

Travel Policy Reminders

• April 2nd, 2023
• in News

When booking travel, please remember that only domestic airfare is required to be booked through Concur or Christopherson Business Travel (CBT).  All Concur bookings must be charged to a UA P-Card.  International airfare bookings may be booked externally if necessary.  When booked externally, the UA P-Card continues to be the required method of payment.  Lodging and rental car reservations must be booked through Concur when possible.  When booked externally, the UA P-Card continues to be the required method of payment.

Domestic airfare bookings have been mandated through Concur and CBT for various reasons including the below benefits.

• Visibility and availability of unused flight credits.
• Support of UA’s travel agent 24/7.
• Duty of Care information captured.
• When booking through Concur, the traveler knows the airfare selected is within UA policies.
• Booking through Concur will lead to an easier reconciliation process as e-receipt, itinerary and card transaction (if using traveler p-card) information will be in the traveler’s profile.

Local Hotel Booking Reminder

• December 3rd, 2022
• in News

For users booking lodging for local hotels such as Hotel Capstone and Hampton Inn Tuscaloosa, please know that you can book these directly with the hotel.  These do not have to be booked through the Concur Booking Tool.  Many local hotels prefer that we continue booking directly with them so that they can obtain additional information needed for the reservation as these hotels are primarily used for UA guests.  Please contact these hotels directly to reserve and be direct billed.  The direct bill should then be paid using a UA P-Card.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Accounts Payable at acctspay@ua.edu.