Financial Services Drop-in Session 10/23/24

    ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

    A check request was approved and submitted to A/P for processing on August 20th. When checking for status, the only response I receive is that it's in review. Would you please provide the process and turnaround timeframe?

    The processing time for check requests is typically about 10 business days upon receipt, provided that all necessary documentation is submitted correctly. If the invoice is submitted incorrectly or lacks backup documentation, it can delay the process. For questions on what to include in your submission, please contact us at [email protected].

    I am wondering if you could tell me how to change my account number regarding all university payments and add to so that I get reimbursed via direct deposit? I am currently receiving direct deposit for salary and travel and for some but not all reimbursements.

    Since you have already filled out the necessary forms for electronic payment from Accounts Payable (AP), you should be receiving all reimbursements via direct deposit. If you are not, please reach out to [email protected] so we can further investigate.

    CONCUR

    I have a travel request (FEB 2019 Atlanta 3C3R) that I and the owner are unable to delete/close/cancel. It is not linked to any reports. How do I get rid of it? I have an approved TR in Concur, but now I need to change my date. Do I need to submit another TR and get approval every time, or do I wait, in case changes happen and my travel dates change again?

    Here are screen steps to Closing Requests. This should not be happening, please be sure to reach out to [email protected] so we can look further into this issue.

    I have an approved TR in Concur, but now I need to change my date. Do I need to submit another TR and get approval every time, or do I wait, in case changes happen and my travel dates change again?

    If the travel has not occurred, you can go into the Travel Request, recall it and make adjustments. Once the first day of the trip has arrived, you will no longer be able to make changes to it, and any changes would need to be made in the form of a separate, Amended Travel Request.

    Here are screen steps to Amended Travel Request.

    HOSPITALITY

    I am preparing Hospitality Justification Form (D11) for the Forensics Team. I am filing D11 for each event for each P-card holders. For example, I am filing a D11 under an event organization (Conner) for $1000. But he cannot pick up food at Costco so asking another member (Emily) who has a p-card to go pick up the food. She, however, didn't file the D11 for the event. Do we need to file another D11 for Emily so that she can reconciliate her p-card? Can we have the Team D11 so that we don't need to file multiple D11s? Also, the approvers think the team is spending so much money with the same amount in multiple D11. That is not the case but I don't know how to explain that. If we can file one Hospitality form with a few member's name for each event, that will make less confusion and reduce some paperwork.

    When preparing the Hospitality Justification Form (D11) for the Forensics Team, it is indeed possible to streamline the process. Instead of filing multiple D11 forms for each P-card holder, you can file a single Team D11 form that includes the names of all members involved in each event. This approach will help reduce confusion and paperwork.

    For the specific scenario you mentioned, where Conner is organizing the event but Emily is picking up the food with her P-card, you do not need to file a separate D11 for Emily. Instead, ensure that the Team D11 form includes both Conner and Emily's names and details of their roles. This way, Emily can reconcile her P-card expenses without needing an additional D11 form.

    To address the approvers' concerns about the perceived high spending, you can explain that the team is not spending more money but rather consolidating expenses under a single form for clarity and efficiency. Providing a detailed breakdown of expenses and the rationale behind using a Team D11 form can help clarify the situation

    When eBusiness is reviewing our P-Card expense reports, they are sending them back to use because they want to see the P-Card holder name on each of the Hospitality Justification Forms.

    It sounds like eBusiness is requesting that the P-Card holder's name be included on each of the Hospitality Justification Forms to ensure proper reconciliation. To address this, you should make sure that the P-Card holder's name is clearly listed on each form before submitting the expense reports. This will help avoid any delays or returns from eBusiness.

    If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out to [email protected].

    There are four candidates coming for interviews, and I need to submit a D11 form. Should I fill out a separate D11 for each candidate, or can I submit just one D11 for all of them?

    For the interviews of the four candidates, you can streamline the process by submitting a single Hospitality Justification Form (D11) that includes all of their names and details. This approach will help reduce paperwork and make the process more efficient. Just ensure that all relevant information for each candidate is clearly listed on the form.

    However, please note that the final decision is up to your approver. They may prefer to have separate forms for each candidate, but a single form could be acceptable if all candidates are visiting on the same day or at a similar time.

    Can you please clarify if pre-approval for hospitality expenses is mandatory or just recommended as best practice? What are the risks if pre-approval is not obtained?

    It's recommended as a best practice, the risk you run is the budget becomes unavailable or authorization cannot be obtained later which could mean the cardholder would need to repay the funds if P-card or reimbursement will not be processed.

    When do I need a Hospitality Justification Form (D11)?

    You need a Hospitality Form (D11) when incurring expenses directly related to, or associated with, the active conduct of official CSUF Business. The business purpose must align with the university mission. In addition to the purpose, expenses must be necessary, appropriate for the occasion, and reasonable in amount. There are multiple times when a D11 would be needed, for example, if meals are being provided as part of a meeting or snacks at an outreach event.

    What specific expenses count under the two drop downs on the new hospitality form, "Entertainment Services" and "Recreational, Sporting, and Entertainment Events"? Do we need to include facilities or space rental for business events on this form? or is it only for non-business-related events? What about tickets to justified business events in the community? Or tickets for student activities related to class, such as a movie or live theater production?

    The new hospitality form includes specific categories for expenses under "Entertainment Services" and "Recreational, Sporting, and Entertainment Events."

    Here’s a breakdown of what counts under each category:

    • Entertainment Services: Reasonable expenses as part of a public purpose event, including but not limited to equipment and venue rental, decor, music, and performers.

    • Recreational, Sporting, and Entertainment Events/Activities: Pertain to university and non-university events/activities for which a fee is required for entrance or participation. You should include any and all expenses expected to be incurred by the department so your approver can get a complete picture of the necessary anticipated budget requirements.

    For more detailed definitions, you can refer to the Hospitality policy located https://financialservices.fullerton.edu/controller/ap_travel/documents/policies/hospitality-policy.pdf.

    Regarding your other questions:

    • Facilities or Space Rental for Business Events: Yes, these should be included on the hospitality form if they are part of the event's expenses.

    • Tickets to Justified Business Events in the Community: These can be included on the hospitality form if they are related to the business purpose and align with the university's mission.

    • Tickets for Student Activities Related to Class: Such as a movie or live theater production, these should also be included on the hospitality form if they are part of the educational experience and align with the university's mission.

    Is food delivery permitted?

    Yes, food delivery is permitted on campus at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). However, there are specific guidelines and policies that need to be followed. According to the CSUF Procurement Card Program Policy, purchases should be shipped or delivered only to CSUF campuses and official sites. This means that food deliveries should be directed to official university locations.

    Please reach out to [email protected] for additional questions.

    TRAVEL

    When using the Department P-Card to cover conference fees for faculty members attending different conferences at different times, and the fees are paid in advance (for example, if the conference fee is paid in October for a conference in January and the other in February), should I create separate State Travel reports for each faculty member, or is it sufficient to submit just one report corresponding to the monthly billing cycle (October)? Additionally, I would appreciate guidance on what start and end dates should be entered when resubmitting the expenses in the State Travel report.

    Check out our P-Card Paid for/by Others Expense Report screen steps will cover how to reconcile P-Card transactions made by you for another traveler. A P-Card Travel Expense Report will be required if travel expenses are paid on your P-Card for other travelers. You would be able to add the transaction incurred within the same billing cycle under a state P-Card Travel Expense Report. The Travelers who are Adding Expense on a P-Card Paid by Others can follow these screen steps to show how a traveler can add their portion of a group registration expense to their report when someone else paid for that group registration.

    Travel expense reports should be submitted within 60 days from the return of travel.

    eBusiness will be hosting a separate Drop-in Session on October 24, 2024, from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. This is a great opportunity to get your questions answered and learn about the latest updates on P-Card Policy, Q# requests, IT Authorizations, and so much more. Register here.

    When providing an agenda for a travel report, if the conference name/organizer is not listed (i.e. a screenshot is submitted) would that be acceptable?

    Attachments have limitations. We recommend booking an open labs session for further assistance (https://calendly.com/csuf-concur/openlabs).

    Please note the key information needed on your attachments:

    1. Travel Requests need to include registration rate, event location, event dates.

    2. Travel Expense Claims need to include a copy of the agenda, which includes event location, event dates and meals provided.

    The agenda can be uploaded as a .pdf, screen shot image, and or email attachment. Please be sure to include in the comments section of the Travel Expense Report an explanation of the file being attached. This will help the reviewer have a clear understanding of the attachment. Please do not create an agenda or edit the document, as this may cause a delay in approving your expense travel.

    When a Business Meeting Meal is hosted while a team is at a conference with a Directive 11, should this be reflected on the calculation for the meal and incidentals per diem count? Should we check the box that the meal was provided?

    When a Business Meeting Meal is hosted while a team is at a conference under Directive 11, it should indeed be reflected in the calculation for the meal and incidentals per diem count. You should check the box indicating that the meal was provided.

    This can be seen as a provided meal for the traveler, as long as the proper hospitality form is submitted by the hospitality host with the expense reconciliation if they are associated with the University. Additionally, a comment on the traveler's expense report that the meal was provided by a third party will be helpful for us when processing the traveler's expense report. If this is not done, the employees will have received a double benefit, once from the per diem and once from the hospitality meal.

    I took 10 students to Washington DC on a trip. The flight was paid for using my p-card. Now when I try to create an expense report for the trip, I am unable to add that card transaction to my expense report. There simply is no check box allowing me to select it and add it. What am I doing wrong?

    We recommend booking a Concur Open Lab session (https://calendly.com/csuf-concur/openlabs). Our Concur team can help walk you through these steps and if needed troubleshoot the issue.

    I lead a study abroad program every June. When I fill out the travel request, I am able to add a daily per diem based on the location to where I am traveling. However, when I go to do the expense report, those per-diem rates have changed. This means that my expense report is such that I am asking for more money than I had originally requested. This causes massive headaches and a lot of back and forth with travel. And I don't believe there is any way to override the per diems. What am I supposed to do?

    The meal per diem is part of our CSU Policy. Concur automatically calculates 75% for the first and last day for you. The meal per diem is prioritized and you can choose to reduce or omit other expenses to remain within the college/department given limit.

    I submitted a request for a conference to Stanford, CA. I had anticipated parking on campus every day. But just before the conference, I was told I could take a bus. This would be much cheaper and more pleasant than driving there. But when I tried to create the expense report, I was told by Travel that I could not get reimbursed for the bus and must take the original parking reimbursement - or fill out a whole new request. This seems unnecessarily cumbersome. Why must I do this?

    An amended travel request will be needed. Our travel team has reached out to you to assist you with your question. Please reach out to travel team to assist you with these changes [email protected].

    What is the travel procedure for university guests, specifically donors and alumni, who travel with staff to meetings and conferences? Will a paper travel request and travel expense claim be used for reimbursements? It is my understanding that meals should not be charged to a P-Card and should be claimed via reimbursement. If a donor and a staff were to travel together and a hospitality meal (ex: donor lunch) were to occur while on travel, can it then be charged on a P-Card? Or would both travelers need to file this expense on a travel expense claim + D11 attached?

    The use of P-Card for meals with University Guests is allowable per Section 6.f of the P-Card Policy. The hospitality form (D11) should be included in the P-Card Expense report.

    If the department is agreeing to reimburse the guest's travel expenses, the Travel Expense Claim form for non-concur users only (student, on-campus candidate, moving and relocation and AUX ORG travel) should be submitted with accompanying receipts. Please note that no business trip upgrades will be reimbursed. A 204 form may be need if the guest has not been previously reimbursed. A Vendor add request form should be submitted to have the 204 sent to the guest payee.