University Accounting normally pre-audits the claim within a week of receipt. The claim is then forwarded electronically to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.  If there are no problems, a check will be mailed out 2 to 3 business days after approval by University Accounting.

If the OSU Travel Section has some questions regarding the travel voucher, we will attempt to contact the preparer within a week of the submission to University Accounting.  If for some reason, the travel voucher is rejected by the Office of State Finance, the Travel Section of University Accounting will notify the person who prepared the voucher.

The three most common reasons travel vouchers are rejected are: 1) the state funding number on the voucher is incorrect, 2) the social security number for the claimant is incorrect, and 3) a document evidencing a designated lodging site does not contain the required information or is missing.

This situation is quite common, but varies considerably with each situation.  The most common scenario is that the employee chooses to drive his/her family to the conference site and remain for vacation after the conference is complete.  In this situation, the employee may be reimbursed mileage up to the cost of a round-trip coach airline ticket to the same destination.  The employee may be reimbursed only the single occupancy rate of the designated hotel while at the conference and may not claim any expenses for his/her family.  In the calculation of meals or per diem, the employee must follow the same 24 hour rule as other employees flying to the conference.  If a rental car is used for a combination of official and personal use, the cost must be appropriately prorated.

The following original receipts are required and must be submitted with the travel voucher:

Lodging receipt - the receipt must be a billing from the hotel detailing the room rate, occupancy, tax, and other charges billed to the room.  The claimant's name must appear on the hotel billing in order to receive reimbursement.

Airline ticket - the duplicate ticket or other airline receipt which includes information as to class accommodations, cost, and the name of the travel agency.

Car rental - the receipt must indicate the miles traveled, the dates the vehicle was checked in and out, and the cost.

Registration fees - the receipt must: 1) be made out to the employee or claimant, 2) show the name of the conference or association, 3) show the total amount paid, and 4) be marked paid.  If a receipt is unavailable, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services has been known to accept a cancelled check or credit card receipt indicating payment.

To determine the status of an unpaid travel voucher, call the Travel Section of University Accounting.  Be prepared with the travel requisition number (T#), claimant's name, and claimant's campus wide ID or social security number.

After the travel voucher is received and approved by University Accounting, it is forwarded electronically to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.  The voucher is then used by University Accounting to input into the OSU financial system.  If the voucher is keyed close to the end of the month, it may appear on the Accounting reports before the travel check has been processed.  If the claim is rejected by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and returned to OSU, it is not removed from the Accounting reports, but instead corrected and sent back to OMES.

www.gsa.gov

 

Effective July 1, 2001, reimbursement rates follow those of the Federal Government.  They vary by city, and may be looked up at this website.

The in-state travel voucher should be used for any travel where the meeting site, conference site, or otherwise destination is located within Oklahoma’s state borders.  The out-of-state travel voucher should be used for travel where the meeting site, conference site, or otherwise destination is located outside of Oklahoma’s borders but within the borders of the 48 contiguous United States.  The out-of-country voucher should be used for any travel where the destination is outside of United States borders, but includes Alaska and Hawaii.