Accounts Payable and Travel Accounting Update & Reminders

Sent to the AFS-Update mailing list on April 28, 2022

New Travel Accounting Team Members

Please welcome our newest team members Arnold Gutierrez and Sarah Martinez! Both joined the team in February and are in training to audit requests for travel, entertainment, moves/relos, cash advances, disbursement voucher reimbursements, and supplier payments. We're thrilled have them with us!

Book Your Travel with the Newly Renamed ConnexUC

Connexus is now called ConnexUC. While it has a new name, the UC systemwide online travel booking portal is still the preferred way for UC travelers to plan and book their business travel. Take advantage of University of California negotiated discounts and rewards with major airlines, hotel properties, car rental companies, rail, and travel agencies. ConnexUC access is only granted to current university faculty and staff. For more information, visit the ConnexUC webpage.

Entertainment Reimbursement Reminders

• Host Certification Forms & Agenda: Department processors should remember that a signed Host Certification form is always required for reimbursements related to the following activities:
  • Recruitment
  • Employee Morale Building
  • Entertainment & Prospective Donor

If an employee is the host and the payee, the applicable signed Host Certification form is still required based on UC Policy BUS-79: Expenditures for Business Meetings, Entertainment, and Other Occasions.

• Business Meeting Documentation: Make sure you include a brief agenda in your supporting documents for business meeting reimbursements. It can be uploaded with the rest of the backup documentation on the ENT eDoc Image Scanning tab.

CTS Card – Dos and Don'ts

The CTS card allows departments to book and purchase airfare tickets (coach/economy class only) and lodging (room and tax only) for others, non-employees, students, and employees who do not have a corporate credit card. If there is a cancellation when using a CTS card to book air tickets, the air credit stays in control with the department and not with the traveler. This is a cost savings as it allows the department to use the credit for future travel. Keep in mind these other important considerations when using a CTS card:

Dos - CTS cardholders may book and purchase:

• Airfare Tickets (coach/economy class only)
• Lodging (room and tax only)
• Associated agency fees

Don'ts – CTS Cardholders cannot:

• Purchase air seats, air upgrades, baggage fees
• Include lodging incidental charges such as meals, parking, internet fees, etc.
• Book ground transportation (including train tickets, car rentals, shuttles, or taxis)
• Book air or lodging for spouse or dependents for recruitment
• Book air or lodging for moves and relocations or house hunting trips
• Include personal travel days for air bookings

For more information, please visit the CTS Card page on our site. 

Corporate Credit Card – Payment & Deadline Reminders

• Due Date: The full credit card statement balance is due before the end of each billing cycle, which is the 23^rd of each month. Process your monthly expenses on a KFS Travel or Entertainment Reimbursement document in advance to clear all department approvals and pay U.S. Bank on time.
• Suspended Cards: Cardholder accounts are suspended at 60 days past due but will automatically reopen once the past due balance has been paid and posted to your account by U.S. Bank. After 90 days past due, you must contact travel-accounting@uci.edu to have your corporate card reopened once the balance on the account is $0.00.
• Paying Off Expenses: The process to pay U.S. Bank for corporate credit card expense/s is the same procedure as reimbursing an individual using their own personal credit card for business expenses – you must create a Travel or Entertainment Reimbursement eDoc in KFS.
  • Corporate credit card expenses must be imported (click on the magnifying glass icon) from KFS in an eDoc to pay U.S. Bank.
  • Personal credit card expenses are considered Actual Expenses and must be entered line by line per expense in the KFS eDoc to reimburse the employee or non-employee.
• International Travel: Using a corporate credit card is a convenience to the department initiator when traveling internationally!  It eliminates the time consuming need to convert foreign currency to U.S. dollars for each expense. Imported expenses (and expenses on statements) are automatically converted by the bank to U.S. dollars. Foreign transaction fees may be reimbursed and imported into a Travel Reimbursement eDoc.

Sponsorships, Donations, Cash Contributions: Use Payment Reason Code Q

It’s important to remember that all donations should be paid directly to the vendor from UCI and not from an individual employee. You should use reason code Q for payments directly to a charity or non-profit organization. Vendor payments may support a non-profit organization event or program such as a conference or educational/research related study or charitable event – no reimbursement to individuals allowed. For more information, see the Disbursement Voucher (DV) Payment Reason Codes page. 

Employee Awards/Gifts UC G-41 Policy – $75 Limit!

University policy limits employee non-cash awards and gifts to maximum of $75.00 each year. If the cost (or value) of the award or gift exceeds the $75 limit under I.R.C. Section 132(e), the entire amount is taxable. Please do not deliberately give a taxable gift to an employee.

• Use the corporate credit card to purchase gift cards.
• Gift cards purchased on a PALCard over $600 will result in a taxable/reportable gift. Under IRS regulations, the university will report any gift or award with a value of $600 or more provided to a non-employee on a Form 1099. For more information see the UC G-42 and UC G-41 gift policies, and please notify Accounting (tharris@uci.edu) of any gift card purchases on a PALCard over $600.

Questions About Policies, DVs, Corporate Credit Cards, or CTS Cards?  Contact Travel Accounting by sending us an email to travel-accounting@uci.edu or visit our website for more useful information at https://www.accounting.uci.edu/travel/. Missed our last reminder? Read it here.

New Accounts Payable Team Members

We are pleased to announce that we have two new members on our team.

• Lindsay Luke is our new Vendor Coordinator. She joined our team in October 2021. Lindsay manages the vendor onboarding process through the PaymentWorks Platform.
• Kimberly Peralta is our newest Administrative Assistant. She joined our team in November 2021. Kimberly manages the mail distribution, returned checks and credit memo report.

We are all very excited to have them both on our team!

Vendor Payments to Supplier and Individuals

Are you unsure whether a vendor will receive a 1099 from UCI? A payment of $600 or more made to a vendor (supplier or individual) that has provided a service will result in them receiving a 1099 from the university if the vendor is classified as an individual, partnership, estate, LLC and in some cases a corporation.

If the payment is to be excluded from 1099, it is the responsibility of the department to inform Accounts Payable by the end of the year. You can do so by contacting Tanya Harris, Accounts Payable Manager.

Fiscal Year End Reminder for Accounts Payable

Invoices for product or services provided prior to June 30, 2022, must have a valid purchase order. The purchase order must be:

• Open
• Approved
• Have available funds (enough funds to pay all open invoices through June 30, 2022)
• Amended (if needed) prior to June 30, 2022

Please notify Accounts Payable once your P.O. has been approved and finalized so we can process your invoices prior to the June 30 deadline. Send all invoices/payment inquiries to email: accounts-payable@uci.edu.

Business Hours Accounts Payable is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our team is in the office on Wednesdays at 120 Theory, Suite 200, in the UCI Research Park.