1. Policy
   
   
   1. Travel advances are not available for individual travel. It is expected that employees traveling on University business will use their personal credit card or corporate credit card for expenses associated with such travel. NOT HAVING A CREDIT CARD, EITHER PERSONAL OR CORPORATE, IS AN UNACCEPTABLE REASON FOR REQUESTING AN ADVANCE. Applications for corporate cards are available from the Controller’s Office. For policies and procedures relating to corporate cards refer to Procedure 3-2.
   
   
   
   2. Travel advances are available for group travel by athletic teams and for students participating in events where travel is supported by University funds. The minimum travel advance for group travel is $200.00 of actual cash requirements. Cash requirements are defined as those travel expenses that could not reasonable by charged to a corporate card.
   
   
   
   3. The advance requires approval of the Department Head or Fund Advisor. Advances in excess of $1,000.00 require approval by the Dean or Division Head.
   
   
   
   4. The University reserves the right to refuse to issue an advance to anyone if a previous advance is past due. Past due is defined as an advance that has not been completely settled within thirty days from the return date of travel.
   
   
   
   5. The Request for Travel Advance must be received by the Accounting Office at least five business days prior to the date the check is to be picked up or mailed.
   
   
   
   6. Travel advances will not be issued more than five business days prior to departure.
   
   
   
   7. Settlement of the advance must be made as soon as possible after travel has been completed, preferably within 30 days. If settlement does not occur within sixty days from the month of travel, the University reserves the right to deduct the full amount of the advance from the employee’s paycheck. If payroll deduction becomes necessary, the employee will not be granted any further travel advances for one year from the date of the payroll deduction.
   
   
   
2. Preparation of Request for Travel Advance
   
   
   1. Form. The travel advance should be completed by use of the form on the Accounting Office home page.<http://www.finfacil.niu.edu/Accounting/AccountingOffice.htm>
   
   
   
   2. Routing. Forward the completed request to the Department Head for approval. (The traveler should retain a copy.) If the request exceeds $1,000.00, the Department Head will forward the request to the Dean or Division Head for further approval. The approved request should be forwarded to the Accounting Office.


3. Repayment of Advance
   
   If actual expenses exceed the advance, a check for the difference will be mailed to the traveler. If expenses are less than the advance, the traveler must attach a personal check to the travel voucher for the difference.

A travel voucher is always required to account for travel expenses to clear the advance.