Faculty/Staff Travel

The Basics

All employee travel is now handled through Concur. Travelers should create their own requests and expense reports (with a few exceptions).
Full-time permanent employees may apply for a Travel and Expense card. This is a corporate Visa card that can only be used for travel and business entertainment.

Before the Trip

If the trip involves airfare and/or lodging, the traveler MUST file a travel request through Concur. The request must be approved before they can book anything or pay registration.
Once the request is approved:
- The traveler can book airfare, lodging, and rental cars through Concur. They will need their request number.
  - Airfare: Must be booked through Concur or by calling/emailing World Travel. UNC will pay the expense directly.
  - Lodging: Requires a T&E or personal credit card. Conference rates for hotels are unlikely to be available through Concur bookings. In that case, it is permissible to book outside of Concur.
  - Rental car:
    - Booking online through Concur: requires a T&E or personal credit card.
    - Booking by calling/emailing World Travel: UNC can pay directly, but only if is an Enterprise rental car. This will incur a $10 booking fee that the traveler must pay. (They can get reimbursed, but UNC will not pay the fee directly.)
- You can pay registration and abstract fees via the pcard. Make sure to include a copy of the approved request with the pcard documentation.
Please read the Maximum Rates for Travel for information about mileage, hotel rates, and meals.
NOTICE RE: AIRBNB – If the traveler plans to use Airbnb, they must fill out the Third-Party Lodging Request Form and include it in the request documentation.
NOTICE RE: HOTEL COST – If the hotel bill is estimated to be greater than $300/night, they will need to fill out the Excess Lodging Justification form and include it in the request documentation.

Pre-trip Options

International Travel – Extra steps required for international travel

Advances are loans from the travel department meant to cover meals, lodging, and select other expenses such as visas. They are only available for international travel. By default, the option is turned off in Concur; the traveler will have to apply to have it turned on.

They cannot be used for transportation costs (airfare, taxis).

Travel advances are not meant for expenses such as supplies or services such as interpreters; those funds must be requested as a cash advance through the account manager.

IMPORTANT: UNC will only reimburse economy airfare. The few exceptions are listed at the UNC Policy on Transportation Expenses.

Airfare can be booked via Concur or by calling World Travel to arrange a flight. No other travel agencies are authorized.

Special Considerations

Timing

Some tickets must be purchased within 24 hours of booking, so it is not advisable to start on a Friday afternoon.

International travelers

If they are traveling on funds from a federal agency, they must enter and exit the country on a US-owned airline.

Special Seating

Any seating other than coach must be justified.

FAQ

Q: What if they want to pay for it themselves?
A: They can use the T&E card if they have one. If they use personal funds, they won’t be reimbursed until after the trip is over.

Q: Can they get reimbursed for seat selection fees?
A: No.

Q: Can they get reimbursed for flight insurance?
A: No.

Q: Can they get reimbursed for baggage fees?
A: Yes, as long as they have a receipt and the bags were for university business.

Q: What if they want to choose a specific route for personal reasons?
A: They will need to establish the difference between their preferred route and the cheapest route. They will have to pay the difference directly to the travel agency at the time of booking.

Rental Car

Note: Only people on UNC Payroll can rent a car.

Travelers can book a rental vehicle through Concur (after having their request approved.)

For trucks, cargo vans, etc., see the section on Truck Rental at the UNC Motorpool site.

UNC Risk Management recommends that we avoid using 15-passenger vans for insurance reasons.

The traveler can claim gas receipts in their expense report, but they must have actual receipts from the pump. Travel will not accept credit card statements!

Zipcar

For short local trips, people can sign up for Zipcar. As with rental cars, they can file for gas reimbursement if you need to.

Note: The procedure is the same for online conferences.

If this trip involves airfare or an overnight stay, they must first have an approved travel request via Concur.
We can only use the card for registration for the main conference and additional workshops. We cannot pay for hotel bookings, banquets, or any other extras the conference offers.
If the traveler uses their own funds to pay, they cannot be reimbursed until after the conference. They can use their T&E card.

After the Trip

The expense report must be filed within 30 days of the end of the trip.

All receipts should have the traveler’s name and show that the bill has been paid. A credit card or bank statement by itself is not sufficient documentation for anything.

Some expenses (on-site copying, multiple-entry visas) may need to be reimbursed via a different mechanism, but they will still be reimbursed.

Personal Vehicle

The traveler can take their personal car and be reimbursed for mileage for any trips over 20 miles (round trip).

Concur automatically calculates the mileage rates.

They can claim mileage to the airport, but UNC only allows 18 miles each way (36 round trip). If their spouse/partner/mom/whoever dropped them off and picked them up, they can claim round trip for both occasions.

Taxis, Trains, Buses, Shuttles

Commercial ground transportation can be reimbursed if they have a receipt. It’s best to get receipts for all trips possible, but if it’s less than $20 we can work without it. Please note that we need the origin and destination for each trip (this does not have to be exact addresses but we need the basic idea – an example would be “airport to hotel”).

Resources

Concur Training
UNC Policy on Travel Expenses
UNC Policy on Transportation Expenses
UNC Travel website
Third Party Lodging Request Form
Excess Lodging Justification