UNCW TRAVEL GUIDELINES

NEW! GIFT CARD GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES (Click HERE)

Gift cards are a convenient method of providing a gift to an employee, student or non-employee.  Most often they are used to

• encourage participation in research and surveys
• acknowledge an employee’s service or retirement
• say “thank you” to a conference participant or volunteer
• award a prize to a student in a campus competition

 No matter the reason for a gift card, the IRS considers gift cards to be cash equivalents and therefore may be taxable to the recipient.  For that reason, there must be a clear audit trail of the purchase and distribution of the gift cards.    Please contact Joanne Ferguson fergusonj@uncw.edu if you have questions about the guidelines or procedures. 

Mileage Rate Change

Effective Monday, January 9th, the Chrome River Travel module will be updated to reflect the 2023 IRS mileage rate of 65.5 cents per mile (up from 62.5 cents per mile).  Expense reports created prior to January 9th will reflect the old rate and reports created on January 9th and forward will reflect the new rate.  If you have questions, please contact Debbie Jewell, Travel and Direct Pay Manager.

UNCW Travel Card Campaign

University employees that travel at least twice a year or spend over $500 per trip are expected to have and use an UNCW issued Visa Travel card.  The use of the Travel card is a standard business practice designed to ease expense tracking and remove financial liability for individual employees.  Sign up today for the Required Visa Travel Card Training - ACT204 on Percipio (formerly Skillport) and complete your UNCW Visa Travel card application

Some advantages of using a UNCW Visa Travel card are as follows:

• Easy to apply for a UNCW Visa Travel card
• Convenient training course ACT204 offered in Skillport
• Reduction of out-of-pocket expenses for the traveler
• Separation of personal and business travel expenses
• Allows you to register and pay online for in person conferences
• No more waiting until after the trip ends for card transactions to post to your departmental fund (important at year end)
• Other than food, most travel expenses can be charged to the card
• Reduces risk to traveler for fraudulent activity
• Minimum monthly card limit of $10,000 (can be increased for student group travel)
• UNCW is tax exempt so lodging establishments should not charge sales tax (savings to the department’s fund)
• Card transactions post into the Chrome River eWallet making the completion of expense reports easier
• Travelers can take pictures of receipts while traveling and upload them into Chrome River reducing the risk of losing receipts while traveling
• No personal financial liability – and no waiting for reimbursements until after travel occurs

EFFECTIVE October 10, 2022

DBO APPROVALS FOR NON-TRAVEL EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTS:

• All non-travel employee reimbursement requests must have a written DBO approval and be included with the Chrome River Direct Pay invoice.    
• Any reimbursement requests that do not have the written approval will be returned to the preparer for correction.
• Current DBO approvers are:
  • Academic Affairs – Nathan Holtsclaw holtsclawn@uncw.edu
  • Advancement – Ariel Dunlap Cosimo  dunlapa@uncw.edu
  • Athletics – Mark Wagner  wagnerm@uncw.edu
  • Business Affairs and the Chancellor’s Office – Kristy Nance  nancek@uncw.edu
  • Student Affairs – Myra Blow blowm@uncw.edu

NEW FORMS!

Direct Pay Vendor Maintenance Form

Travel Vendor Maintenance Form 

Updated Meal and Lodging Per Diem Rates Effective July 1, 2021

OSBM updated their per diem meal rates effective July 1, 2021.  In accordance with OSBM guidance, UNCW is using the US General Services Administration (GSA) lodging per diem of $96. Lodging in excess of this per diem rate will continue to route to the travelers' supervisor and budget authority for approval.

*Please continue to visit the Department of State website for the most current foreign travel per diem rates.*

Any Chrome River pre-approval or expense reports submitted after July 2, 2021 will calculate at the new rates.

Registration Fees for Virtual Conferences and Webinars

(Revised 9/1/2020)

Due to the effects of COVID-19, many event organizers have moved their conferences to a virtual or webinar format.  By attending an event online, employees are not in travel status and do not need to submit a pre-approval in Chrome River Travel.  Not being in travel status also means the Visa Travel Card cannot be used to pay the registration fees for online/virtual conferences or webinars.

Please use one of the following methods to pay registration fees for virtual conferences or webinars using account code 928530 Registration Fees-Non Travel Status: 

• Use a departmental p-card to prepay the registration fee to the event organizer.  Be sure to comply with approvals required by your Divisional Budget Officers (DBO) and/or Business Officers.  Transactions are reconciled in WORKS using account code 928530 Registration Fees-Non Travel Status.
• Submit an invoice/check request in Chrome River Direct Pay to prepay the registration fee to the event organizer.  Support documentation includes the registration confirmation. Use account code 928530 Registration Fees-Non Travel Status located under the Services tile in Chrome River.
• Pay by personal credit card and request reimbursement by submitting an invoice/check request in Chrome River Direct Pay after the event has taken place.  Support documentation includes the registration confirmation and approval email from the applicable DBO.  Use account code 928530 Registration Fees-Non Travel Status located under the Services tile in Chrome River.

EXPENDITURE CHEAT SHEET

In an effort to help campus determine what is submitted in uShop and what is submitted in Chrome River, we have created an Expenditure Cheat Sheet.  We have also included information about inter-agency transfers and wires for those transactions that require that payment method.   

Maupin Travel 

Real ID

• In 2005, The REAL ID Act was passed by Congress to set the standards for the minimum security standards for the issuance of identification, such as a driver’s license. Beginning on May 3, 2023, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, state-issued enhanced driver's license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.  REAL ID-compliant cards are marked with a star at the top of the card.  If you're not sure, contact your state driver's license agency on how to obtain a REAL ID compliant card.  If a traveler does not have a REAL-ID, please encourage them to complete the process quickly, as the lines at DMV’s are expected to grow as the date approaches. The TSA Website provides additional details regarding the REAL-ID.

Basic Economy

• As a reminder, Basic Economy flights can only be booked directly with our team of advisors versus through the online booking tool. As Basic Economy flights are not business travel friendly due to their restrictions on changes, cancellations, and seat assignments, our team prohibits these fares from appearing on the online booking tool so that a traveler does not accidentally book without knowing their restrictions. Should a traveler wish to book a Basic Economy fare, our team is happy to assist with the reservation.

Enterprise Vehicle Pick Up

We are pleased to announce some changes and clarification to our Enterprise Vehicle Program!

• When university business travel begins before normal business hours (i.e. prior to 8am), travelers can pick up their rental vehicles from Enterprise the night before.
• Vehicle rental period begins when the key and/or the vehicle are picked up from Enterprise. Be aware that depending on when you pick up and return the key and/or vehicle determines how many days Enterprise will charge for the rental.
• Damage Waiver and Liability Protections are effective when the traveler takes possession of the key and/or rental vehicle. 

Please contact the Travel Office at travel@uncw.edu if you have any questions.  

Insurance Coverage for International Business Travel

All faculty/staff traveling on international university business have the option of purchasing international travel insurance before the trip.  Contact the Institutional Risk Management Office at extension 2-5974 and they can explain to you the differences between the regular state plan and th special coverage for international travel.  U.S. Citizens traveling abroad should register their travel through the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.  In addition to receiving updates on travel alerts and warnings, you can receive assistance in situations ranging from replacement of lost passports to evacuation during natural disasters.

Important Chrome River Information

When entering the Report Name in the Pre Approvals and the Expense Reports, please enter only letters and numbers.  Banner has difficulty recognizing characters other that the letters and numbers.  Please if you have any questions regarding this contact the Travel Office at travel@uncw.edu.

Chrome River Enhancements

Chrome River Welcome Page has a new section which should be viewed daily for any system updates or important information.

The Delegates will start receiving an email notification for Unused Firm Paid Items (credit card charges in the eWallet).  In the past only the Expense Owner received this notification.

All Date Fields on the Pre-Approval and Expense Reports will need to be manually filled in.  One exception is on the Pre-Approval Header page where the current date is still being populated.  Please change to the correct travel dates.  Also, a reminder that when entering Invoices in an AP Check Request please use the date of the invoice.

Report ID and Status are now displayed on Draft, Returned, and Submitted Dashboards.

Email Receipt to Another User’s eWallet

Users now have the ability to email receipts to the eWallet of another user by entering his or her email address as the subject of the email. The sender will receive an email confirmation that details who the image was sent to. For example, if User A snaps a photo of a taxi receipt on behalf of User B, User A simply forwards it to receipt@chromefile.com with User B’s email address as the subject line. User B will then see the receipt in their eWallet the next time they log into Chrome River. Note that the receipt must be sent from a user’s primary or alternate email address stored in Chrome River, and the subject line must contain an address that is the other user’s primary or alternate email address in Chrome River. And both users must work for the same Chrome River customer.

The New EHI Direct

Enterprise Rental Car Agency has launched a new booking tool called EHI Direct. The link to the booking tool can be found on the Chrome River homepage.

• University employees wishing to rent a vehicle are required to create a user profile through EHIDirect by contacting Kellie Smith smithkr@uncw.edu.
• Do not register for free online.
• The EHIDirect email will include a link to continue setting up your profile and password
• Once you have a profile established under UNCW, you are ready to book reservations through EHIDirect. 

Please note, the EHIDirect system is to be used for vehicle rental reservations only; employees who are traveling for University business purposes should not utilize the flight or hotel reservation functions in EHIDirect.

For questions or assistance with using EHIDirect, please contact one of the following:

• Kellie Smith at smithkr@uncw.edu or 27086 
• The EHI Direct Help Desk at 855-573-0012 or EHIDirectSupport@ehi.com

Change in Third Party Lodging

There has been a change in Third Party Lodging. OSBM now considers all campgrounds and campsites including National and State Parks as Third Party Lodging, regardless if under the state rate. Airbnb is also considered Third Party Lodging by OSBM. Third Party Lodging refers to establishments that are being rented out by a third party or an establishment treated as an apartment building by state or local law. Third Party Lodging Requests must be submitted and approved before the trip begins. If submitted after the fact, there is a risk that the Third Party Lodging Request would not be approved by OSBM, therefore we would not be able to reimburse for that lodging.

Chrome River and Direct Pay Training

Chrome River (ACT 206) and Direct Pay (ACT 207) training dates can be found by visiting the Finance Training website.
 

Travel Card Training

To learn about your responsibilities for a Visa Travel Card, please complete the ACT204 Visa Travel Card Training found on Percipio (formerly SkillPort).  All Card Holders and delegates must complete the Visa Travel Card Training before the card will be issued.

If you have any further questions upon completion of the training, please contact Kellie Smith at smithkr@uncw.edu

 

Important Dates

Chrome River Guides

Chrome River Resources

Resources