Douglas College Expense Claim Guidelines. Accounts Payable Payment Documentation- Revised November 2014

Transcription

1 Douglas College Expense Claim Guidelines Accounts Payable Payment Documentation- Revised November 2014

2 Contents GENERAL GUIDELINES... 1 Submitting a Claim... 1 Foreign exchange... 1 Unsupported Amounts & Exceptions... 1 Lost/Missing Cheques... 2 Douglas College MasterCards... 2 Petty Cash Expenses... 2 Forms and Guidelines... 2 TRAVEL... 3 Travel Status... 3 Booking Your Trip... 3 Automobile Rentals... 4 Automobiles Private... 4 Accommodation... 4 Meal Per Diems... 4 Communications... 5 Incidentals... 5 Insurance... 5 ADVANCES... 6 Travel... 6 Submitting an Advance... 6 General... 6 HOSPITALITY... 7 Business Entertainment... 7 Catering... 7 Tokens of Appreciation... 7 MEAL ALLOWANCES... 8 BCGEU - Overtime Meal Allowance... 8 Faculty - Extended Day Per-Diem... 8 AUTOMOBILE EXPENSES... 9 General... 9

3 Mileage... 9 Other Expenses... 9 Mileage Calculations Faculty (per DCFA Collective Agreement) NON-ALLOWABLE EXPENSES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (PD) General Professional Development DCFA Professional Development Excluded TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT General Education & Training BCGEU APPENDIX A - Forms Finance Professional Development/Training and Development (HR) APPENDIX B Guidelines and Collective Agreements/Working Conditions Guidelines Collective Agreements/Working Conditions (HR)... 14

4 GENERAL GUIDELINES The Expense Claim Guidelines apply to all Douglas College employees and the College Board for all funds administered by the College. Douglas College will reimburse employees for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred while on authorized College business in accordance with these guidelines. The Finance department is responsible for the administration of these guidelines and is authorized to question any claim and obtain further clarification when necessary. Submitting a Claim Expense claims should be submitted on a monthly basis. All items should be listed separately on the expense claim form in chronological order. Original receipts should be stapled to the back of the expense claim form in the order in which they appear on the claim. Photocopies are not acceptable. All expenses must be adequately described or itemized in the description column. Grouping of items is not permissible unless a supplemental breakdown is attached. All claims must be signed by the employee and approved by the appropriate administrator even if there is no refund claimed (such as a reconciliation of an advance where the total refund is $0). The employee or administrator must indicate the cost center on the claim. The College s fiscal year end is March 31. All expense claims relating to that fiscal year must be received by the year end cut-off date. Foreign exchange If the employee has proof of the exchange rate, this can be used when submitting the original claim. Otherwise, the College uses the current rate of exchange as provided by the College s bank. This rate is checked on a monthly basis. If the employee used their personal credit card for payment and the exchange rate used by the College was not sufficient to cover the charge by the credit card company, this additional expense can be submitted. If the employee is submitting a claim with different currencies, please group the expenses by currency. In circumstances where it is a large claim, separate expense claim forms should be used indicating the type of currency that is related to each claim. Unsupported Amounts & Exceptions The employee will be contacted when items need clarification other than for clerical errors and unsupported amounts. When expense claim amounts are not properly supported or adequately explained, Accounts Payable deducts the amount in question when paying the claim so that payment of the remaining supported expenses is not delayed. The employee is informed of the discrepancy and the expense item can be resubmitted on another expense claim when the matter is resolved. A memo is attached to reimbursements by accounts payable staff explaining any adjustments that would alter an expense claim by $15 or more. Page 1

5 In instances where the employee was unable to obtain a receipt, submission of the expense can be made using an approved Missing Original Receipt form from the Finance web page. Expense claims over two years old will not be processed. Any exceptions to these regulations must have the written approval of the Director of Finance or the Controller. Lost/Missing Cheques If a cheque issued by the Finance Department has been lost or misplaced, please fill out a Declaration of Loss form from the Finance web page and bring it to Finance. It takes up to 2 weeks to re-issue a new cheque. Douglas College MasterCards The Expense Claim Guidelines apply to all transactions processed by holders of a Douglas College Corporate MasterCard. Petty Cash Expenses The Expense Claim Guidelines apply to all transactions processed by holders of a Douglas College Petty Cash Account. Forms and Guidelines All forms can be found on the Finance website: or see Appendix A for a complete list. See Appendix B for all other guidelines and collective agreements of the College. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact the Finance Department at local Page 2

6 TRAVEL Travel Status An employee is considered to be on travel status when performing College business outside of the Lower Mainland. Booking Your Trip Employees have the two options for booking air travel and accommodation: A. Using the College s travel agent, or B. Booking online A. Using the College s Travel Agent The College has an authorized travel agent that can make air/hotel travel arrangements on behalf of the employee. The travel agent will bill the College directly for these services. Employees using a travel agent must use the College s authorized agent. Please refer to the College Finance web page, Business Travel Guidelines. B. Booking Online When booking online, employees are expected to take advantage of advanced purchase excursion fares and seat sales. Airlines offer multiple fare options for the same flight and employees are expected to book their flight at the lowest cost available. For example, within economy class the following airlines offer these choices: Fare Options (lowest to highest price) #1 #2 #3 Air Canada Tango Flex Latitude WestJet Econo Flex Plus Therefore, the fare option to choose when booking with Air Canada is Tango, and with WestJet is Econo as these are the lowest priced fares available. All original documentation must be attached to the expense claim (eg. tickets, e-tickets, passenger itinerary/receipt). Additional airfare for stopovers and other costs that are not related to College business, or do not result in cost savings to the College, are considered to be personal expenses and are not reimbursable. The College will not reimburse an employee for personal travel reward points that are used to purchase business travel. Personal travel rewards earned by an employee booking business travel may be retained by the employee provided all of the above guidelines are followed. Excess personal baggage charges are not normally a reimbursable expense but may be reimbursed under certain circumstances (eg. International trips of longer duration). Page 3

7 Automobile Rentals In most circumstances, car rentals are not necessary. Car rentals should only be used whenever this method of transportation is both economical and practical. Rates should be requested at the time air travel is booked. Car rentals are reimbursed for the actual rental, fuel and insurance costs. Vehicles are rented at the lowest rates possible, from economy to mid-size, as required. Rental of luxury vehicles is not permitted. Automobiles Private If an employee is on travel status (i.e. performing College business outside of the Lower Mainland) the College will reimburse mileage to and from the employee s home to the travel destination. Where the use of a private automobile for a trip by an individual outside the Lower Mainland is selected by personal preference, and it is not the most economical mode, then reimbursement will be on the basis of the cost of the most direct route and the most economical mode (e.g. air travel in lieu of automobile). Only one person may claim mileage on any one business trip. If two or more people are travelling together, it may be more economical to use a personal or rented vehicle and claim the mileage or rental costs. Passengers may not claim mileage or equivalent costs. Accommodation When travelling on College business, reimbursement for hotels and motels should be limited to reasonable amounts and cannot exceed the single occupancy rate. College employees are eligible for government rates; this rate is to be requested upon booking accommodations. Hotel and motel official receipts are required for reimbursement as credit card slips do not provide sufficient information. Where one or more employees have shared accommodation, receipts should be clearly denoted for shared costs. Expenses of a spouse, partner or family member who accompanies an employee are not reimbursable expenses. Meal Per Diems All College employees on travel status shall be entitled to a per diem meal allowance for the time spent away from the College. The College provides per diem reimbursements for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The current rates can be found on the Finance website. No receipts are required to claim daily per diems. Employees should claim only for those meals for the period that they are away from the College and for what has not otherwise been provided. For travel outside Canada, daily per diems are in US Dollars at the exchange rate as at the date incurred based on the rates provided by the College s bank. Page 4

8 Communications Incidentals Insurance An employee can claim a reasonable amount to cover personal long-distance telephone and cell phone calls while away on College business depending on the length of travel, family situation, etc. Where applicable, the original receipts and/or hotel bills identifying such charges are to be submitted with the expense claim. Employees are expected to be aware of voice and data roaming charges when international travel is required. Every effort must be made to minimize the use of cell phones for and internet use. Employees can disable the roaming function through the cell phone settings. If it is necessary to use the internet or , connect to WiFi through either a laptop or cell phone. When travelling outside of Canada, please contact the Purchasing Department for further information and if necessary, to request a roaming plan for your device(s). An incidental expense allowance of $10.00/overnight stay can be claimed for personal expenses with no requirement for receipts. This incidental expense allowance is intended to cover laundry and dry cleaning, local business telephone calls and other personal expenses which would not normally be reimbursed. The College does not, as an institution, purchase flight cancellation insurance. The College is selfinsuring for flight cancellation. If flight cancellation insurance is purchased, it is the employee s responsibility to reimburse the College for the full cost of the insurance. When travelling outside of Canada, additional medical insurance coverage is required. For those who are required to travel frequently, an annual policy may be more cost effective. Page 5

9 ADVANCES Travel Advances can be issued when requested on a per trip basis when the estimate of expenses is more than $300. Advances are only issued in Canadian dollars. The College s authorized travel agent can make air/hotel travel arrangements, or employees have the option of booking airfare and accommodations online. Since the College has an authorized travel agent, travel advances are not given for airfare purchased by employees online. Submitting an Advance General To receive an advance, submit an approved Request for Travel Advance form to Finance three weeks before the advance is required. Finance will issue the advance no sooner than one week before the advance is required. To clear an advance, an expense claim must be submitted to Finance within one month of travel completion. If the employee was given an advance in excess of expenses claimed, the employee must reimburse the College at the time the expense claim is submitted. The remaining funds cannot be carried forward to a future expense claim. Once an approved expense claim has been processed by the Finance department, appropriate cost centers are charged. Advances are issued at the discretion of the Finance department. Finance will review all advance requests for reasonableness before issuing a cheque. If a previous advance has not been accounted for by submission of the appropriate expense claim, no further monies for expense claims and advances will be issued. Should an advance remain outstanding for a period greater than 60 days, the advance will be deducted from any subsequent expense claims that are submitted for reimbursement. Under extreme circumstances, and after all other options have been exercised, action will be taken as required. Page 6

10 HOSPITALITY Business Entertainment Catering Business entertainment expenses for conducting College business with external parties are allowed only with President, VP, AVP or Dean/Director approval. Expenses are restricted to meals and refreshments. Gratuities are reimbursable and should not exceed 15% of the amount for food and refreshments. Include on the expense claim the name(s) of the people attending (title and organization, if applicable) and the nature of the expense. Itemized receipts that show actual meal and beverage amounts must be submitted with the expense claim for meal expenses. Credit card transaction receipts are not acceptable as they do not provide the details of the expense. No claim for alcoholic beverages is generally allowed with the exception of special protocol/external functions that have the written approval of the appropriate AVP, VP or the President. Expenses of a spouse, partner or family member who accompanies an employee to a meal are not reimbursable expenses. For catering events held at the College, approval must be obtained from the President, VP, AVP or Dean/Director, and coordinated with the College s service provider, Chartwells. Under no circumstances are service providers other than Chartwells to be used on College campuses. Catering events outside of College facilities must follow the College s Purchasing Requisition Procedures and Accounting Guidelines - Payments. Tokens of Appreciation Recognition of employee(s) in the form of modest tokens of appreciation that are reasonable and appropriate for the circumstance may be reimbursed. The reimbursable amount is not to exceed $25 per employee. The occasion and employee(s) names are to be included on the expense claim submission. These expenses require prior approval from the responsible VP/AVP. Note: The College does not generally reimburse for meals when a College employee is hosting another employee or group of employees. Costs related to departmental social entertainment are the responsibility of the employees attending the event. Page 7

11 MEAL ALLOWANCES BCGEU - Overtime Meal Allowance Where a BCGEU member is required to work overtime, a meal allowance may be claimed according to the current collective agreement. Where a BCGEU member is required to travel outside the College Region on College business defined as the region encompassing New Westminster, Burnaby, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge a meal allowance may be claimed according to the current collective agreement for the time spent away from the College. Faculty - Extended Day Per-Diem Faculty members may claim a meal allowance according to the current collective agreement when they are scheduled to teach for a span of more than eight hours. When an extended day is created by an Administrator due to the scheduling of a divisional/departmental meeting, then the extended day per diem will apply. If the extended day has been initiated by the faculty member, the extended day per diem amount will not apply. Any discretionary time on campus (ie. office hours) is excluded from the extended day calculation. The extended day per diem is to be claimed on the Weekly Timetable for Intercampus Mileage and Extended Day Per Diem form. Faculty are encouraged to submit this form at the end of each semester. Should the form be submitted prior to semester end, it is the employee s responsibility to reimburse the College for any variations from the regular schedule. Page 8

12 AUTOMOBILE EXPENSES General Mileage Employees that use their private automobiles for College business are entitled to reimbursement of expenses and mileage compensation at the rate established by the College. Mileage and other transportation costs incurred in travelling to and from the employee s home and the normal place of work are not reimbursable expenses. The College maintains a list of standard mileage between campuses and frequently travelled destinations. Employees should use these rates when submitting expense claims. The Standardized Mileage Between Campuses & Agencies can be found on the Finance website. For locations not listed on the Standardized Mileage Between Campuses & Agencies form, employees must provide: the starting campus location the name and address of the location(s) travelled the amount of kilometers claimed. Odometer readings or online map queries are tools that may be used to help in mileage calculations. Finance uses these tools to confirm the reasonableness of the mileage claims.. Other Expenses Parking expenses are reimbursable. Original receipts are submitted to the Finance department or a Missing Original Receipt form can be submitted if originals are unavailable. An employee may claim reimbursement for street meter parking without a receipt. In such cases, a note explaining the use of street meter parking on the expense claim is required. Bridge toll expenses are reimbursable when travelling on College business. A printout of the bridge toll statement (which shows the name/owner of the vehicle) must be submitted with the expense claim. The dates of travel should be highlighted and mileage should be claimed at the same time as the toll expenses. Incremental business insurance vehicle premium costs will be paid by the College for employees who are required to travel in excess of six days in any calendar month. The difference in rate class (ie. Pleasure/Commuting vs. Business) must be obtained from an insurance broker, as well as a copy of your ICBC receipt/invoice showing that insurance has been purchased at the Business rate class premium. Such reimbursement shall be limited to one vehicle per employee. Page 9

13 Mileage Calculations Faculty (per DCFA Collective Agreement) Inter-Campus Mileage A Faculty member with multi-campus instructional schedules is entitled to reimbursement of standard mileage for regularly scheduled inter-campus mileage. Mileage is claimed on the Weekly Timetable for Inter-Campus Mileage & Extended Day per Diem form. Mileage should be calculated as follows: a) The first campus reported to each day is the home campus for that day and inter-campus mileage accumulates from that location. b) No mileage claim is allowed for travel from the last campus to home. c) Faculty are encouraged to submit this form at the end of each semester. d) Should the form be submitted prior to semester end, it is the employee s responsibility to reimburse the College for any variations from the regular schedule. Non-Campus Mileage for Other Work Sites Faculty authorized to travel to other assigned (non-campus) work sites will have their mileage calculated as follows: a) a home campus will be established for each faculty member based on the primary location of the instructional responsibilities of their program or on the campus location where the faculty member has the majority of their instructional duties. b) where authorized travel from home to an assigned (non-campus) work site is greater than travel from home to the home campus, the additional mileage traveled will be compensated both ways. c) Faculty are expected to submit the mileage claims on a monthly or semesterly basis. Page 10

14 NON-ALLOWABLE EXPENSES The College will not reimburse for the following*: Alcohol or alcoholic beverages Child care expenses Employee parking passes for College parking Excess personal baggage Expenses relating to a spouse, partner or family member who accompanies an employee on College business Gifts or gift cards for employees for holidays/special occasions Hotel pay-for-view movies House cleaning expenses for entertainment events in employees' home Interest/finance charges on outstanding credit card balances Laundry/dry cleaning expenses Meals/accommodation for attendance at meetings and conferences within the Lower Mainland Office & computer equipment (see Purchasing Guidelines) Note: with the exception of items approved for purchase with PD funds Passports Payments to individuals covered by other guidelines/policies (i.e. Honorarium, Contract to Purchase Service) Reimbursement for use of airline reward points or other reward programs Supplies over $1000 (see Purchasing Policy, Requisition Procedures and Accounting Guidelines Payments) Tickets to College events including employee farewell dinners Traffic violations, parking offence tickets, towing charges, automobile repairs or insurance deductions related to accidents *There may be circumstances for which exceptions may apply. Page 11

15 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (PD) General Prior approval of PD expenses is required before they are incurred. After expenses are incurred, an expense claim must be submitted to Finance with a copy of the authorized approval form All expenses/advances are subject to the Douglas College Expense Claim Guidelines. Professional Development DCFA The maximum reimbursement for PD expenses is the amount approved by the PD Committee. If an advance is required, please indicate the amount in the advance area of the Request for Professional Development Funds form. Requests for advances must be received three weeks before the advance is required. Finance will issue the advance no sooner than one week before the advance is required. The required authorizations are as follows: 1) The Request for Professional Development Funds form for the Douglas College Faculty Association (DCFA) must be signed by: The Chair of the PD Committee; AND The Dean of the department. 2) When submitting an expense claim for PD expenses, the form must be signed by: The Dean of the department. Professional Development Excluded The maximum reimbursement for PD expenses is the amount approved by the PD Committee. If an advance is required, please indicate the amount in the advance requested area of the Professional Development Application (Excluded Personnel) form. Requests for advances must be received three weeks before the advance is required. Finance will issue the advance no sooner than one week before the advance is required. The required authorizations are as follows: 1) The Professional Development Application (Excluded Personnel) form must be signed by: The Chair of the PD Committee; AND The President, VP, AVP or Dean/Director. 2) When submitting an expense claim for PD expenses, the form must be signed by: The President, VP, AVP or Dean/Director. Page 12

16 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT General Prior approval of expenses is required before they are incurred. After expenses are incurred, an expense claim must be submitted to Finance with a copy of the authorized approval form All expenses are subject to the Douglas College Expense Claim Guidelines. Education & Training BCGEU Staff Training and Development funds for British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU) personnel must be approved by the Education and Training Committee. The Staff Training and Development form (Article 21) must be submitted to and be authorized by the Education and Training Committee The maximum reimbursement under this section is the amount approved by the Education and Training Committee. Page 13

17 APPENDIX A - Forms Finance Expense Claim Cheque Requisition Missing Original Receipt Declaration of Loss Request for Travel Advance Expense Claim Petty Cash Weekly Timetable for Intercampus Mileage & Extended Day Per Diem Professional Development/Training and Development (HR) Faculty Request for Professional Development funds Excluded Professional Development Application BCGEU Staff Training and Development Article 21 APPENDIX B Guidelines and Collective Agreements/Working Conditions Douglas College Accounting Guidelines Business Travel Guidelines Standardized Mileage Between Campuses & Agencies Gift Cards Honorariums Payments Travel Per Diems Purchasing Policy & Requisition Procedures Spending Authority & Commitment Levels Collective Agreements/Working Conditions (HR) British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU) Douglas College Faculty Association (DCFA) Excluded Administration Employees Working Conditions Page 14