2016 Operational Handbook Topics covered: Onboarding Process ProgramWire Certify Workers Compensation Expense Guidelines Payment Procedures
Company Details Contact Information Main Office 500 N Dearborn Street, #1028 Chicago, IL, 60654 Accounting Department 400 W 7 th Street, #223 Bloomington, IN, 47404 Management Kim Korhonen, General Manager kim@traveldirectors.com ext. 223 Ashley Herrnreiter, Senior Account Manager ashley@traveldirectors.com ext. 224 Debbie Tarasievich, Senior Account Manager debbie@traveldirectors.com ext. 221 Maureen Mulvaney, Marketing & Operations Manager maureen@traveldirectors.com ext. 225 1
Working as an Independent Contractor Executive Travel Directors (ETD) exclusively contracts work with Travel Directors (TDs) who work as independent contractors. Independent Travel Directors work on a program-to-program basis to provide onsite meeting and incentive support services. Executive Travel Directors will serve as your point of contact for receiving program assignments. An ETD Account Manager will contact you to fill our clients needs as they arise for onsite support on upcoming programs. As an independent Travel Director, you decide when you work based on when you accept or decline programs offered to you. It is important to remember that, as a freelancer, you are not guaranteed a certain number of work days. That being said, it is in the TD s best interest to keep ETD informed of his or her availability and skills. See ProgramWire (see p. 3). If you are not already self-employed as an independent contractor, you must file as your own business with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In doing so, you will receive an Employee Identification Number (EIN), which is required for all independent TDs working through ETD. As an independent contractor, you will pay your own taxes each quarter. A 1099 is provided by ETD to TDs at the end of the year. 1
Registering with ETD What we will need from you: Background screening consent form & check payment Business Card Completed Online Application Direct Deposit Information Employee Identification Number (EIN) (see p. 1) Independent Contractor Statement Professional business headshot photo (guidelines here) Resume Signed policies W-9 (completed with EIN only, NOT Social Security Number) Worker s Compensation Policy (see p. 6-7) What you will receive from us: Via Email: o Certify log-in o ProgramWire log-in Via Mail: o Comdata Card with information packet 2
Step 1: Create a ProgramWire Account ProgramWire ProgramWire is an online Travel Director (TD) portal used by all active Executive Travel Directors (ETD) Travel Directors (TDs). ProgramWire serves as a single platform through which Travel Directors in the ETD database can manage their schedules, view details of upcoming and past programs, search invoices by program name and date, and access common independent Travel Director FAQs. Any changes made by TDs in ProgramWire are reflected in our internal records. Log into ProgramWire by using the username (the email you provided in your initial application, which will not change) and password provided in the email from donotreply@traveldirectors.com. Upon logging in, you will be prompted to create a new password. A video tutorial on operating within ProgramWire is available here. 3
Step 2: Send in the Proper Documents During the onboarding process, an ETD Account Manager will send you the following documents to complete and return via fax, email, or post: Background screening consent form Company & client policies W-9 (completed with EIN only, NOT Social Security Number) Independent Contractor Statement In addition to returning the documents listed above, you will need to submit the following: Mailed payment for background screening fee in the form of a check Business Card Proof of Worker s Compensation coverage (see p. 6-7) to workerscompensation@traveldirectors.com 4
Step 3: Set Up the Accounting Basics COMDATA During the onboarding process, you will receive a Comdata card and information packet in the mail. Call the number on the back of the Comdata card. You will be prompted to select a pin number within 24 hours to activate your Comdata account. If that period of time passes, please let us ETD know so we can reset the card. The Comdata card functions like a debit card, giving holders the ability to withdraw funds or make purchases. It can be used at any ATM or vendor that accepts electronic payment. Please be aware there are fees associated with each Comdata transaction. For that reason, we recommend Travel Directors set up Direct Deposit (see below). More information regarding Comdata fees can be found in the Comdata information packet provided with the card. Please be sure to read this carefully. Direct Deposit Travel Director Per Diem and pay are also available through Direct Deposit. If you would like to take advantage of this service, you can fill out the Direct Deposit form and submit via email or fax to Executive Travel Directors. You will need a voided check. Once we receive your completed form, Direct Deposit will become activated after 10 banking days. Please hold onto your Comdata card as backup. Should any circumstances involving your personal account (identity theft, bank change, etc.) prevent us from depositing funds, we need an alternate method of issuing timely payment. If your banking information changes, please notify ETD immediately to reconfigure your Direct Deposit. Certify Certify is a user-friendly expense management software that streamlines the expense reporting process. By using Certify, Travel Directors can scan & upload receipts, track mileage, and generate and submit IRs within their mobile devices or web browsers. No email attachments required! After being on-boarded with ETD, be on the lookout for a personal welcome email that will include your Certify log-in information. In the meantime, learn more about Certify by viewing their website or downloading the Certify mobile app. 5
Step 4: Provide Proof of Workers Compensation Policy Travel Directors contracted through Executive Travel Directors (ETD) must provide proof of valid workers compensation insurance coverage in order to be considered for program assignments. This is not only our company policy, but also the requirement of our clients. You may purchase your own policy from a private vendor, or receive ETD s coverage for a daily fee. Both coverage options are tax- deductible business expenses. Please see below for details. Getting a Policy on your Own Speak with your current insurance provider and/or financial advisor to see if this option is right for you. While workers compensation is largely a commodity product, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and Travel Directors do not have a specific insurance classification. It is important to offer your insurance agent as much information about the nature of your work as a Travel Director as possible. This will help your agent find a classification that best matches the risk associated with Travel Director duties. Below are items to consider during this conversation: Setting: Where are you working? TDs typically work in a controlled, indoor environment, such as a conference center or hotel. Please note, Transportation Travel Directors may answer this question differently. Nature of work: What do you do on the job? TD work is generally administrative or clerical in nature. However, if you are doing heavy lifting, you should certainly mention that among any other physically strenuous tasks. Frequency: How many days do you work per year? How many hours? Risk: Have you ever been injured on a program? Travel Directors must purchase a policy with a $1,000,000 limit. Once a certificate of insurance is obtained from your insurance carrier, a copy should be emailed to workerscompensation@traveldirectors.com. ETD will document your coverage and will not charge you for the worker s compensation daily fee as long as your policy is in effect. When a policy is renewed, please send a copy of the updated certificate to the email listed above. Opting for ETD s Coverage (for a daily fee) ETD has its own workers compensation policy that can be extended to Travel Directors who do not submit a certificate of insurance. Extending ETD s coverage to you will cost a few dollars per day*, 6
charged only for, and in effect only for, the days that you are contracted on an ETD program. This option is the default, should you choose to not provide ETD with a certificate of insurance, but still want to work ETD programs. This option is also probably most suitable for Travel Directors who work only a few programs each year. *Rates fluctuate. Ask your Account Manager for the current daily fee. Why Workers Compensation Coverage is Important in our Industry Increased healthcare risk and injury exposure have led our clients to now require that each Travel Director have valid workers compensation coverage in order to work onsite. All contractors and businesses are required by law to maintain workers compensation coverage to protect themselves, and their employees, from medical and other associated costs should they be injured while working. The continued growth and maturing of the Travel Director industry is now requiring the same of Travel Directors. Contractually with us, as an independent Travel Director, you have already agreed to obtain the business insurances that are required by law and to comply with workers compensation laws. 7
Expensing Guidelines Deadlines Invoice Reports (IRs) are due no later than 3 business days after program completion. They must be submitted using Certify. If there are circumstances preventing you from adhering to this policy, please contact Executive Travel Directors immediately. If an IR is not received within 10 days of program completion, expenses will not be reimbursed. Certify Video Tutorial Please refer to this video tutorial to learn how to create an ETD Invoice Report using Certify for all programs. Certify Invoice Report Checklist Below you will find a checklist for items you must complete in order to correctly create an Invoice Report for an ETD program using Certify. CREATE A NEW EXPENSE REPORT o Program Name o Billable to Client - Leave UNCHECKED o Dates o Description - leave blank o Program Number REQUIRED (can be found in ProgramWire) ADD EXPENSES CALCULATE TD PAY o Date: Day entering expense o Department: Travel Director Services o Category: Travel Director Daily Rate (Total charges for all days including all bonuses) o Amount: [Enter total pay for all days] o Program Number: Should already be populated o Vendor: Your Name (You are the Vendor billing ETD) o Location: Location of program (City, ST + Country if INTL) o Reason: Number of Days x Total Daily Rate including any bonuses o Reimbursable: I paid for this, please reimburse me o Billable: Leave UNCHECKED o SAVE 8
INCLUDE WORKERS COMP (if not covered independently) o Department: Travel Director Services o Category: Workers Compensation o Program Number: Should already be populated o Dates of program o Reason: Total Number of Program Days o Reimbursable: I paid for this, please reimburse me o Billable: Leave UNCHECKED o SAVE (Amount is automatically calculated) ENTER PER DIEM Certify Support o Date: Day entering expense o Department: Per Diem o Category: Select appropriate Company/Client/Circumstance o Program Number: Should already be populated o Dates of program o Reason: Total Number of Program Days o Reimbursable: I paid for this, please reimburse me o Billable: Leave UNCHECKED o SAVE (Amount is automatically calculated) User support can be found underneath the 'Support' tab upon logging into your Certify account. You may speak with a Certify representative via web-chat or telephone from there. Additional resources are located underneath the 'Support' tab, where you will find the Certify Training Camp. This area of the site provides users tutorial videos as well as live webinars on how to use the software. 9
Payment Procedures Per Diem Per Diem is an allowance paid to independent Travel Directors for meals and incidental expenses incurred while travelling. Per Diem is provided 24-48 hours prior to a program. The actual per diem amount varies by client and will be specified when independent Travel Directors are contracted on each program. Please also note that the expenses per diem covers varies by client as well. IR Turnaround Invoice reports received by the 5th of the month will be paid on the 15th of the month. Invoice reports received by the 20th of the month will be paid on the last day of the month. If the 5th or 15th falls on a weekend, the IR must be received on the business day prior to that weekend. 10