Travel Advances

Travel Advance Guidelines

• A Travel Cash Advance is money given to an eligible traveler in advance of a business-related trip to pay for anticipated expenses.

• The University offers a Travel & Hospitality (T&H) card to faculty and staff and should be considered before requesting a cash advance. 

• Faculty and staff should only request a cash advance to cover travel-related expenses when the use of a T&H card is not available or practical. 

Travel Advance Eligibility

An individual traveler may request a travel advance to defray costs a traveler may incur while traveling on official UNI business.

A travel advance may not be used to pay for an employee’s per diem in advance unless the trip qualifies for one of the exceptions below.

• Faculty and staff members who are on domestic travel extending at least 14 consecutive days. 

• Faculty and staff members traveling to a foreign country. 

• Non-Employees (students and non-university guests) are not eligible to request travel advances.

When faculty or staff members are traveling with groups of students, they may obtain a travel advance to cover per diem for the traveling students if there would otherwise be a financial hardship.

• A travel advance is allowed for student group travel per diem only when a T&H card is not a feasible payment option.

• The faculty or staff member receiving the travel advance will be required to give a business justification for why it is not feasible to purchase the student’s meals with a T&H card.

• Travel advances for student group travel may not include the faculty or staff members per diem.

• Signatures are required for each student acknowledging they received the per diem.

Requesting Travel Advances

• The traveler is required to select direct deposit as their expense payment election before requesting a travel advance. In requesting an advance, the traveler and the funding approver acknowledge responsibility for its reconciliation.

• Travel advances must be requested through the Service Hub Travel Request at a minimum of two weeks prior to travel. Requests not received within this time frame are subject to denial.

• An itemized estimate of expenses must be provided on the advance request.

• Travel advances will dispense 10 days prior to the trip start date.

• The Office of Business Operations may grant exceptions for travel advances.

Returning Remaining Travel Advance Funds

• Remaining funds from a travel advance must be returned to the cashier's office in Gilchrist Hall. 

• Documentation is required with the spend authorization number and the name of the person who received the travel advance disbursement.

• The returning funds can be a check (made out to UNI) or in cash. (a cash count sheet must accompany the cash being returned).

• Please download the cash count sheet below.