Faculty & Staff

Each expense must be necessary and reasonable to be reimbursable, meaning that it must have a clear business purpose and not be excessive.

Employees are required to use the Travel and Business Expense Report form to obtain reimbursement for travel-related expenses. Since TBERs may be used as well for non-travel expenses, it is important to check the “Travel Expenses” box at the top of the form as opposed to the “Business Expenses” box.

The TBER form and instructions for completion may be found on the University site, and further details may be found in the full text of Columbia University’s Travel Expense Policy.

Select from one of the following topics in the pulldown menu to learn more about the processes involved in expense reporting.

Documentation

Documentation required for travel is as follows:

• Tickets: The traveler must attach the original airline ticket receipt or print-out of the electronic ticket statement, proof of payment in cases where the traveler him/herself paid for the ticket, and boarding passes (copies or originals). The original passenger ticket or e-ticket statement must include the dates and points of departure and arrival, the travel “class,” and the total cost of the ticket. If a U.S. carrier was not used and expenses will be charged to a USG grant or contract, the traveler must attach the required documentation (see Air Travel).
• Lodging: The traveler must submit the official lodging receipts.
• Other Expenses: For reimbursement of other expenses, the traveler should include them only if they are travel-related. If the expenses are not for travel, but for business, e.g., supplies and materials, these must be reported on a separate TBER, at the top of which the traveler has checked the “Business Expenses” box instead of the “Travel Expenses” box.
• Meeting/Workshop Expenses: The traveler must attach documentation about the meeting/workshop (purpose, agenda, and list of attendees with individual signatures acknowledging receipt of funds).

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Business Purposes

The description of the overall business purpose of the travel and the business purpose of each expense reported must have a certain level of detail to meet auditing requirements. For example, a description such as “working lunch” or “conference attendance” is inadequate. The level of detail required is shown in the following examples:

• Business lunch in Stamford, CT, to discuss with Foundation XX the possibility of their funding an expansion of our Maternal Health Project from Bangladesh into Nepal. Attendees: XX of Mailman School, XX of Mailman School, XX of Foundation XX, and XX of potential Partner Organization XX.
• Attendance at the annual American Public Health Association conference on “Public Health without Borders,” held in Boston, MA, from October 25-29, 2008 (see attached brochure). Paper presented on maternal health care in Nepal.

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Lost Proof of Payment and Exception Policy

If a request for reimbursement does not conform to stated Columbia University policies, or if a receipt is lost or proof of payment is otherwise not clearly documented, the traveler must submit a Policy Exception or Adjustment Request. The memo should clearly explain why this exception is warranted and, for missing proof of payment, provide the date of the expense, specific details of the expense (for example, the name and address of the hotel), and the amount. The PI or his/her supervisor must approve the exception.

See the relevant Accounts Payable policies.

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Conversion Rates

The TBER instructions allow for handling currency conversion by using an average daily rate for the travel time period or by using an actual rate for each line-item expense. The instructions cover how to do the calculations using rates from www.oanda.com and apply them in reporting travel expenses.

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Travel Advances

Travel advances are cleared through the submission of the TBER, with the traveler submitting a personal check for any advanced funds that were not used.

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Reimbursement Submission Time Limit

• Employees should submit the TBER within 10 business days of a trip (for travel) or bi-monthly/monthly (for business expenses).
• Employees must submit requests for reimbursement to their department within 120 days from the date the expenses were incurred, or the end of the University’s fiscal year on June 30th, whichever comes first.

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