Travel & Expense Policy

Professional development activities by OWU personnel may appropriately involve travel. This includes conventions, conferences, recruiting, and fundraising.

See the Travel Policy for more information.

Original receipts for expenses must be imaged and attached to the transaction in the Concur travel expense site.  The paper receipt must be retained by the employee for a period of one year from the date of the transaction. Receipts are required for all expenses except for certain miscellaneous expenses such as minor tips, bellhop fees, or baggage handlers. 

Travel expenses for University approved travel should be charged to a p-card that is issued in the name of the traveler.  If the person traveling does not have a p-card, they should contact Purchasing at ext. 3377 to determine if they can be issued a card.  See the Purchasing Web-page for more information.

Clearing of P-card charges and cash expenses after the travel occurs is done in the Concur expense website. Questions about whether an expense is reimbursable under this policy will be referred to the Controller.

All P-card charges and cash expenses must be cleared by the 10th of the month for any incurred expense in the prior month.  See the P-card Policy for more information, P-card Policy. Original receipts for the specific charges must be attached in Concur. Concur transactions are to be reviewed and approved in Concur by the person responsible for the budget account being charged. If deadlines are not met per the P-card policy, cash reimbursements will not be issued until the P-card transactions have been cleared, approved, and the card suspension has been lifted.

Instructions for the non-pcard holder requesting reimbursement through the Concur site can be found by following this link to Cash Reimbursement Information.

IRS Regulations

By clearing transactions in the Concur system, with adequate receipts attached, you will “make an adequate accounting to your employer,” as required by IRS regulations. Having done so, you need not include either travel expenses or the related reimbursements on your federal income tax return, as long as the two amounts are equal. You may deduct any non-reimbursed travel expenses, and you must report any excess reimbursement on your federal income tax return. See detailed instructions that accompany your tax return for specific reporting directions.

IRS regulations require that funds expended by an institution are not for personal use of an employee and that the expenses incurred are reasonable for the business undertaken. These criteria also are to be used by persons approving travel expenses.