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Travel and Conference Policy

Finances

Policy

In addition to your department’s regular approval process, faculty and staff who are required to (or wish to) travel for SJC business or expend funds to attend conferences must also adhere to the following procedures before any travel/conference expenses are incurred. This policy refers to travel which is discretionary, i.e. not required within the scope of an employee’s regular job duties. This procedure is in effect until further notice. Reminder: the preferred method of payment for SJC-related business travel is the SJC credit card.

Approvals for discretionary travel from both the Department’s Manager and the department’s Leadership Team (LT) member must be obtained. After LT member approval is obtained, approval must then be obtained by the Chief Financial Officer, by emailing the appropriate documentation (see Process, below) to vpcfo@sjcme.edu.

Requests for travel approvals must contain all pertinent information, including known/anticipated costs, estimated ancillary costs (if any) and a detailed description and explanation of the anticipated benefits to the College.

Discretionary Travel Expenses relate to travel that is not essential to the employee’s regular work duties, i.e. travel expenses for SJC-business-related conferences, training and workshops. Unlike travel that is performed as part of regular job duties, discretionary travel requires pre-approval, as described below.

Process

Discretionary Travel and Conferences – After the appropriate Department Manager and appropriate Leadership Team member have approved the trip, he/she will email the information to vpcfo@sjcme.edu for the Chief Financial Officer’s review and approval. Within two business days after the CFO receives the request, a response will be emailed to the requester and to his/her approving LT member. At that time, the requester should send the fully-approved request and supporting documentation to the Treasurer’s Office.

Employees must retain documentation of approvals for travel and conference-related expenses, as this will need to be produced for credit card reporting and/or expense reimbursements.

General Comments

Travel Expense Receipts

  • Original itemized receipts are required to substantiate all College purchases, including those for travel, credit card purchases, lodging, restaurants, reimbursements and cash advances.
  • In the event of a lost receipt, please complete and submit an Affidavit of Lost Receipt Form.
  • If a receipt (or Affidavit of Lost Receipt) is not submitted, the employee will be responsible for the amount of the charge if a College credit card was used, and will not be reimbursed for the expense if submitted on a Travel & Expense Reimbursement Report form.
  • Note that items of a personal nature (movie rentals, personal items from a hotel gift shop, general incidentals, etc.) are not considered to be College expenses and any such expenses incurred are deemed the responsibility of the employee. (See Tools and Forms for current Expense Report.)

Lodging

Certain lodging and meal expenses incurred while traveling on SJC business may be exempt from state sales tax in some states. If you plan to incur lodging or meals expenses when traveling on SJC business, please check the list of Sales Tax Exemptions per state, and produce the appropriate certificate to the vendor prior to making your reservation and/or purchase.

  • Itemized lodging receipts are required; a credit card receipt alone will not be accepted.
  • In order to obtain these exemptions, meals and lodging must be purchased directly by SJC, i.e. via an SJC credit card. The sales tax exemption will not apply if a traveler makes the payment using his/her own cash or a personal credit card.

Meals

  • Meals while traveling on College business are also covered under this policy.
  • Itemized restaurant or food vendor receipts are required for meals while traveling on College business and must include the names of the individuals present, their business relationship, and the business purpose. A credit card receipt alone will not be accepted. Alcohol purchased during meals while traveling is generally not considered a business expense, unless a business purpose has previously been properly documented, reviewed and approved as stated below.

Alcohol

  • Alcohol is generally not considered a business expense, unless a business purpose has previously been properly documented, reviewed and pre-approved by the appropriate Leadership Team member.
  • Any alcohol that is purchased for staff or faculty consumption must be also pre-approved by the appropriate Leadership Team member.
  • Any non-approved alcohol costs incurred by a staff or faculty member will be the responsibility of that employee.

Vehicle Rental

Policy

  1. All employees renting a vehicle for College business must select Enterprise (National) Car Rental as the first option, since the College has a contractual agreement with this vendor.
    1. Renters will need to open an Emerald Club account at nationalcar.com. Once assigned a nine-digit Emerald Club loyalty number, send that number to Ann Rosenfield, Executive Assistant and Database Mgr  (arosenfield@sjcme.edu), who will then submit your account to be setup for direct billing to SJC. Note that this may take a couple days to activate. (*) If renting a car and Enterprise Car Rental is not available, all employees renting a vehicle for College business must use the College credit card.
  2. Do not purchase insurance through the car rental company for domestic (in the United States) car rentals. Contact Ann Rosenfield for a copy of the College’s current auto insurance identification card prior to using any rental vehicle for College business. This ID card should be kept with the rental vehicle paperwork.

Please note that this Policy does not apply to car rentals abroad; it is required that all employees renting vehicles abroad purchase liability insurance at the time of the rental.

Mileage Reimbursement

Employees who use their own cars when traveling for College business will be reimbursed at the current mileage rate up to 100 miles. Any mileage over 100 miles will be reimbursed at the IRS Rate for Variable Expenses in effect at the time of travel. (The Employee Reimbursement Report under Tools and Forms will calculate the correct reimbursement value.)

Policy Review completed 5-24-2019.

Forms

Expense Reimbursement Report – 1/18/2022

Affidavit of Lost Receipt Form

State of Maine Tax Exempt Letter

List of Sales Tax Exemptions Per State

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