Travel at State

Travel at State



Travel Expense Reports: Step by Step Instructions

  1. Complete Travel Expense Report reporting all trip related expenses
    1. Section A requires direct billing information if airfare/rail was purchased through a MSU Preferred Travel Agency and charged to MSU.
    2. Section B must include transportation into/out of destination and any transportation while in travel status.
    3. Section C should contain any additional information to support travel expenses claimed on the Travel Expense Report.
    4. Section D (Optional) is where travel expenses are assigned to the MSU accounting string. Data in this section is to be entered on the eDoc in the Finance System.
    5. The total claim (or limit) in Section E must match the total claim on the eDoc in the Finance System.
  2. Initiate appropriate document in MSU Finance System:
    1. If a travel advance was not received: Travel Expense Reports are processed via the Disbursement Voucher (DV) electronic document (eDoc).
    2. If a travel advance was received: Travel Expense Reports are processed via the Distribution of Income and Expense (DI) electronic document (eDoc).
    3. Attach Travel Expense Report, itemized receipts, and Pre-Trip Authorization
      1. Documents must be attached and should follow MSU procedures for imaging: http://archives.msu.edu/records/scanning.php?records_scanning opens new tab
    4. The amount reported on the eDoc must reflect the amount of total travel expenses incurred or limit (if applicable) and applicable accounting string information.
      1. Once submitted, the amount reported on the eDoc cannot be modified
  3. Routing:
    1. Ad hoc route travelers who are MSU employees, as the traveler must “approve” the DV for reimbursement.
    2. If the MSU employee traveler is the eDoc initiator, this approval is completed upon submission of the eDoc. If not, the initiator must ad hoc route the eDoc to the employee and the employee must approve the eDoc before further routing will continue.
    3. No ad hoc routing of the eDoc is necessary for non-employees, students, and temporary employees.
      1. It is highly recommended that all non-MSU employees review and approve their Travel Expense Reports and sign their agreement with reported expenses. This may be accomplished via e-mail.
  4. If the Travel Expense Report or the eDoc are incorrect, the eDoc will be disapproved by Accounting. A new eDoc must be created with all required attachments and submitted through the required workflow process.
  5. Disbursement Voucher (DV) - No Travel Advance
    1. When processing a travel reimbursement (non-Travel Advance), select payment reason code “O” on the Disbursement Voucher (DV).
    2. If the payee is not an MSU employee and is not already an established vendor, the payee must be added to the Vendor system, as a Special Payment vendor type prior to creation of the DV.
    3. Reimbursement: MSU employees with payroll Direct Deposit will be reimbursed via Direct Deposit only.
  6. Distribution of Income & Expense (DI) – Travel Advance
    1. The Advance Number, Name in which the Travel Advance was issued, and the Traveler’s Name (if different) must be documented on the DI
    2. Within the DI, the Accounting Line “From” is used to relieve the Controller’s Office account of the travel advance expense. The Total from the Report must be recorded with the following account information:
      1. Account Number: XZ052171
      2. Object Code: 6173
      3. Amount: Total from Travel Expense Report
    3. Special Routing: For accounts beginning with “RC” (grant accounts), Contract and Grant Administration must approve the DI. Therefore, the DI initiator must ad hoc route the DI for approval to the group: ”CGA Processor Level 1”.
    4. Three outcomes are possible when reconciling travel advances:
      1. The traveler spends exactly the amount of the advance. In this case, the Report and receipts are attached to the DI and submitted through the required workflow as outlined above. There will be no traveler reimbursement or refund to MSU.
      2. The traveler owes MSU money because the entirety of the travel advance was not spent. In this case, the traveler writes a check to MSU which is deposited by the traveler (referencing the Advance Number) in the Cashier’s Office, 110 Administration Building. The Report and receipts are attached to the DI and submitted through workflow as outlined above.
      3. The traveler is owed money because the travel expenses were greater than the travel advance. In this case, the Report and receipts are attached to the DI and submitted as outlined above. Once Accounting approves the Report and DI, Accounting will process a reiumbursement for the balance due the traveler.


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