Category: News

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:

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.

International Checks

  • February 3rd, 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.

New Mileage Rate for 2023

  • January 11th, 2023
  • in News

In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS has announced an increase in the standard mileage rate for 2023.  Effective January 1, 2023, the mileage rate paid to persons traveling in privately owned vehicles on official business for the state will be 65.5 cents per mile (up 3 cents from the mid-year rate effective on July 1, 2022). The updated mileage rate is available in Concur and on the Accounts Payable Mileage Rates webpage.  When entering mileage in your Concur Expense Report, please ensure you are including the correct Transaction Date in the Mileage Form. For example, if travel occurred in December 2022, please ensure you have entered the correct transaction date in December 2022 in order to properly calculate the mileage.

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.

Tax Tip: 60-Day Rule for Expense Reports

  • November 3rd, 2022
  • 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:

Pre-Trip Approval Form

  • October 4th, 2022
  • in News

The Pre-Trip Approval Form for out-of-state overnight travel will no longer be required for trips departing on or after October 1, 2022.  You will need to continue to provide the forms when reconciling or requesting reimbursements for trips that occurred prior to this date.  However, for trips departing on or after October 1, 2022, you will no longer need to submit or provide the form.

Fiscal Year-End 2022 Reminder

  • September 6th, 2022
  • in News

With FY2022 ending in a few short weeks, it is important to note the below dates to ensure that Procurement Services can process all orders and post all transactions to Banner within the Financial Accounting deadlines:

  • New bids should have been requested by Wednesday, August 31, 2022, at 5 p.m.
  • buyBama Purchase Orders must be created and approved by Monday, September 19, 2022, at 5 p.m.
  • Concur PO Invoices that have been assigned to users need to be submitted and approved as soon as possible for purchase orders where the product has been delivered.  For questions regarding Concur PO Invoices, contact Accounts Payable.
  • Concur Invoices must be submitted, approved by all approvers, and to Accounts Payable for processing by Thursday, October 6, 2022, at 5:00 p.m.
  • Concur Expense Reports must be submitted, approved by all approvers, and to Accounts Payable and P-Card for processing by Thursday, October 6, 2022, at 5:00 p.m.
  • Banner Encumbrances will roll forward on Monday, October 17, 2022