Employee Travel & Reimbursement Updates

As we continue to work through business process changes to support the new policies and our partners who are working remotely, we have included some miscellaneous updates below. All other business processes remain unchanged.

Corporate Card Charges

As a reminder, all electronic processes remain in place for both the SAP Travel and Expense tool as well as the Concur tool. Departments should continue to clear any outstanding corporate card charges. There are a number of unassigned transactions that must be incorporated into an expense report. Also, there are a number of assigned expense reports requiring approval. Please take this opportunity to run the Workflow Status Reports using Duke@Work to determine the current owner for expense reports in SAP. Business Managers and the corresponding delegates can run the Status Reports to determine status of expense reports.

Airfare Charges

1. In the event a Duke employee must cancel airfare associated with a business trip, the credit voucher provided by the airline should be used at a later date/time for Duke business. Departments should monitor for compliance with this guidance.
2. Generally airfare is purchased on a Duke corporate card and should be cleared to the appropriate cost object based on departmental/sponsor guidelines. The original corporate card charge for the airfare will remain; therefore, you will need to include the charge in an expense report. Include a note in the comments section to confirm a credit has been issued and will be used for future Duke business travel. In the event the airfare was purchased with personal funds, we generally do not reimburse until the credit is used towards another Duke trip. Management center approval is required for any exceptions.
3. For non-Duke employees/students, the same procedure would apply wherever possible. The airfare credit voucher should be used towards the rescheduled visit if possible. Typically, credit vouchers are available to use within 8 to 12 months.
4. In some cases, credit vouchers are transferrable. Please double check with the specific airline to confirm whether or not this is permissible. If so, the department should manage to whom the credit is transferred for Duke business.

Hotel and Conference Registration Fees

1. In the event a Duke employee must cancel a trip, the hotel should cancel the reservation and Duke would incur no charges. If the hotel required a deposit, any prepaid hotel charges should be refunded. If the hotel does not refund the prepaid charges, you should receive a credit voucher which can be used for a later time.
2. Conference Registration Fees are refunded as a general practice. In some cases, the conference host may elect to reserve a credit for a later scheduled event. In this case, the department should monitor for attendance.
3. Please include a note in the comments section of the expense report to provide supporting documentation for the expense.

Reimbursements to Students who are not active on the Duke Payroll

Reimbursements to students who are not active on the Duke payroll are processed on paper forms. In support of our partners who are working remotely, please use the guidelines below to submit the forms electronically.

1. Forms will be accepted only from official Duke E-mail addresses from designated departmental approvers.
2. The email subject line should include the form type and the department name.
   • Example: Student Reimbursement – Student Affairs
3. All documents should be typed and must be legible.
4. The document preparer and approver must be two different people.
5. When submitting documents, a list of all students whose documents are being submitted should be included in the cover email. Preparer completes the Travel Expense or Miscellaneous Reimbursement Form. The form must be typed and the preparer’s name should be included in “Prepared by Name” section.
6. Since students are offsite, please reflect the student address as the location where the student is currently residing. The check will be mailed to that address.
7. If you are unable to obtain the student’s signature as the “Payee signature”, email the payee attestation from the Travel Expense or Miscellaneous Reimbursement Form to the student for email authorization. Include this email as supporting documentation for the reimbursement.
8. Preparer emails Travel Expense or Miscellaneous Reimbursement Form to approver.
9. Approver reviews, provides the “Approver Name”, prints, signs, and scans document.*
10. Approver submits document to employeetravel@duke.edu

*In the event, a printer with scanning options is not available, the departmental representative may have authorized access to Adobe Sign. The department should coordinate with OIT/DHTS prior to using the software.

We hope these updates will assist you with your transactions during this unusual time. We appreciate your continued partnership and support. Please feel free to contact our team via email at employeetravel@duke.edu or phone at 919-668-3877.