Purchases while on student group travel have complicated rules. As a trip leader or field assistant, it's your responsibility to be familiar with the rules detailed on this page. Always ask questions when something is unclear.
Only the group leader, not the assistant, may pay for group expenses, since the system only allows us to reimburse the group leader for those expenses.
We prepay as many expenses as possible, but often there are foreseeable expenses that must be paid in person (for example, tips and museum entrances). In order to avoid placing the burden on the trip leader to pay up front and wait for reimbursement for these expenses, we can request a cash advance in the trip leader’s name.
Group leaders for international trips may be eligible for a cash advance. Cash advances are not available for domestic trips.
If you are eligible to receive a cash advance, the student services program coordinator will contact you about one month before your trip to confirm a cash advance budget that lists amounts and descriptions for all items you plan to pay for in cash.
These requests must be specific, and you will be responsible for providing documentation of all spending and reimbursing any unspent amount. It takes approximately three weeks for the request to be approved and a check to be produced. The check will be in the name of the trip leader.
The travel credit card (i.e., group meeting card) is to be used for group travel expenses.
The travel card may only be used for transportation, lodging, excursions and meal expenses. If other emergency items are needed, such as batteries, SD cards, etc., the group leader should pay for these with personal funds and then submit an original, itemized receipt for reimbursement for these out-of- pocket expenses.
On long trips (particularly during summer), the group leader must keep good records and monitor transactions online with US Bank, since we only have 60 days to dispute a fraudulent charge.
You must get an itemized receipt that shows proof of payment for every transaction, regardless of whether you are paying with the travel card or submitting for reimbursement.
Before your trip, the student services program coordinator will give you a plastic zippered envelope to keep receipts in and a spreadsheet for recording transactions, so you will have a record of your expenses.
You should have a corresponding receipt for each expense. If it is not possible to get a receipt (such as for a tour guide's tip), please fill out one of the blank receipt pages included in your travel binder and have the person receiving payment sign the receipt. This will be the documentation of that expense.
At restaurants, you must obtain an itemized receipt in addition to the proof of payment.
Only the main faculty/staff sponsor of the trip will be reimbursed for any expenses for the students while on the trip. If a chaperone spends money for students, he or she will need to seek reimbursement from the faculty/staff sponsor, who will then submit the cost to the university upon return.
If the assistant incurs out-of-pocket individual (not group) expenses, he or she should pay them personally and then submit itemized receipts that show proof of payment for reimbursement upon return.
Determining whether an expense is a group expense or the leader/assistant’s trip expense is important, but can be tricky.
Examples of group expenses that may be charged to the travel credit card or paid for with the cash advance include:
Examples of expenses that are considered the trip leader/assistant’s expense are:
You may not use IU funds to pay for:
You may not put these expenses on travel credit cards, and if you pay for them out of pocket, you will not be reimbursed.
IU pays per diem for faculty and staff meals and incidentals. The rate is set by the U.S. General Services Administration.
Learn more about IU's per diem policiesWhile traveling, you must request a document from each hotel or accommodation that lists your name, the date(s) of your stay and the location of the hotel. This document may come in the form of a receipt, an invoice or a hotel folio.
Some hotels in foreign countries have difficulty accommodating or understanding a request for a folio.
In this case, it is a sufficient alternative to prepare a simple document that lists all the required information and ask a hotel representative to sign the document, confirming the information. If this scenario is foreseeable given your destination, you may ask the student services program coordinator to pre-emptively prepare these documents for you and include them in your travel binder.
If you received an advance, you'll reconcile your expenses against the amount you received. Actual expenditures and receipts will determine whether you will receive additional reimbursement or if you will need to pay back a portion of the cash advance.
Learn how to reconcile your expensesContact Katie Higgins.
