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Travel & Expense Management Newsletter: Fall 2023

September 6, 2023 - 2:58pm

Welcome to the Fall 2023 Travel & Expense Management Newsletter!  

Travel & Expense Management Lunch and Learn 

Join the Purchase, Pay & Travel team via Zoom for a Travel and Expense Management Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. We will review important information and training topics related to the travel and expense management program. This session will cover frequently asked questions about payment processing, the Concur system, and travel topics, concluding with a question-and-answer period. For more information and to register, visit this page.

Travel Program Price Audit 

An independent third-party will be conducting an ongoing formal audit of prices available through Pitt’s Travel Program on a quarterly basis. This audit compares the price for airfare and car rental searches to the top destinations for Pitt travel, through the following booking platforms: 

  • Concur online booking tool that works in conjunction with Anthony Travel, Pitt’s contracted Travel Management Company
  • Direct booking through the travel provider (i.e. airline or rental agency)  
  • Consolidator sites (i.e. Expedia, Orbitz, etc.) 

Visit this page to read more about the travel program price audit, including the full methodology behind the audit and results. Review the first two audit results below:  

We will continue to conduct these quarterly audits to ensure the University has access to the best possible pricing.  

New Fare System for American Airlines 

In April, American Airlines implemented a new system, which distributes its fares to all third-party consolidators (such as Expedia and Orbitz) and all corporate travel systems (including Concur), called the New Distribution Capability (NDC). Although we expect that the NDC will become the new industry standard in an unregulated airfare system environment, this rapid change by American Airlines was not coordinated with third-party consolidators, corporate travel systems and software companies, which must now work to update their systems to align with NDC.  

As a result of American Airlines’ shift to the NDC, travelers may see fluctuations in pricing with American Airlines fares through the fall of 2023. If you want to travel with American Airlines during this time, you should contact Anthony Travel agents via phone or email for assistance, instead of booking directly through the Concur online booking tool. Anthony Travel agents will be able to assist with the best pricing during this time. As a reminder, there are no booking fees when booking through the University's travel program. For more information, visit this page.  

Get A-List Status with Southwest Airlines! 

You can earn A-List status with Southwest if you register between 10/1 - 10/31/2023. This exciting offer from Southwest comes as a thank you to the University of Pittsburgh and would provide A-List status for 90 days with the opportunity to extend it for an additional 12 months. For more information and to register, visit this page.  

Passport Wait Times 

Passport wait times are expected to remain higher than normal continuing into the rest of 2023. This additional processing time applies to both passport renewals and new passports. The Usa.gov website states the current processing times are as follows:  

  • Routine: 10 to 13 weeks (about 3 months) 
  • Expedited: 7 to 9 weeks (about 2 months) 

If your passport is going to expire or you need to obtain a first-time passport, submit your application as soon as possible to account for the extended processing times. Visit the U.S. Department of State website for information and links to renewing or obtaining your passport. If you require additional assistance with obtaining a Visa or Passport, visit the Global Operations Support website, note that a fee is attached for using these optional services. Visit this page for more information. 

Coming soon: New Non-Travel Policy in Concur! 

To improve efficiency and user experience with managing expenses in the Concur system, a new process will soon be available in Concur to reconcile non-travel expenses for OneCard purchases. Effective September 25, 2023, users will see expense report types updated to include two forms: Travel and Non-Travel. Additionally, the form for General Expenditures will be removed. The two new expense-specific reports tailor the required report fields to the types of expenses the user is submitting, eliminating any unnecessary fields.   

There will be two upcoming training sessions to discuss the new policy and address any questions. The sessions will cover the same material and will be available on the following dates: 

  • Tuesday, September 19, 2023, from 11:30am to 12:30pm.  
  • Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. 

Register here and select the training session that works best for you. Visit this page for more information. 

Expense Reminders for Purchases and Reports 

Please review the following reminders for university expenses:  

Meal Expenses 

Meal expenses should be charged onto OneCards. Receipts for meals are not required unless otherwise specified by your department or it is a group business meal which requires a receipt and an attendee list. For group business meals, users must also remove per diem for that meal.  

Miscellaneous Purchases 

When completing an expense report in Concur, the miscellaneous category should only be selected if the expense cannot fit into any other expense category provided. If the miscellaneous category is selected when the expense can be placed under a different category, reports will be returned to the report owner for the correct expense type to be for the expense and resubmitted. Please review some of the common expenses that are incorrectly placed under “miscellaneous”: 

  • Food Purchases for offices, teams or trips 
  • Trophies 
  • Conferences 
  • Express/Regular Mail 
  • Office/Scientific/Event Supplies 

Complete Your Expense Reports in a Timely Manner 

It is important to reconcile your expenses within 30 days of the purchase date or return date from your trip. Users will receive three (3) reminders to reconcile expenses at 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days. Following the 90-day deadline, the unreconciled amount may forced reconciled. If you have future travel and need to complete an expense prior to reconciling the overall report (such as airfare bought several months before the trip date), please add a comment to the expense report to dictate when the travel dates will be.  

Paying Students Through Concur 

For any payments submitted to students, you can set them up to receive ACH payments. ACH payments are payments that are directly deposited into a bank account resulting in quicker and easier payments. Alternative payment methods, such as issuing paper checks, can result in delayed payments due the time it takes to cut, issue, mail, receive and deposit a check as well as additional issues such as changes in addresses, or check issuing errors such as name or address typos. To enroll a student in ACH, follow the guidelines below: 

  • For students already in the System (Oracle/PRISM): the department should create a Salesforce Ticket that includes the following information:  
    • Student Name (Supplier) 
    • Current Remittance Address (where the check should go, current address) will need the zip code for verification purposes.  
    • Email address 
    • Phone number (contact if questions) 
  • For new students not in the System (Oracle/PRISM): the department should attach the Individual Supplier Verification Form (SVF) with the W-9 or W-8.  

Concur Training Courses 

Training courses are always available whether you are new to the system or need a refresher course. Visit this page for courses covering information such as: logging into Concur, setting up and managing your profile, booking travel, and managing expense reports.  

How To’s:  

Read below for some common “How To” questions: 

How to...Check Concur System Status:  

When the Concur system is down, you can check the status of the system to confirm it is a system-wide downtime and if/when the system is back online. To check the status of Concur, visit one of the following pages:  

How to...Retrieve a Copy of an Expense Report: 

Expense report owners (card holders/travelers), Delegates, and Approvers can all access PDF copies of submitted expense reports through Concur. If you commonly require copies of reports and are not the expense report owner or approver, it is recommended to request delegate access to the user profile you whose reports you need to review.  

To access copies of reports:  

  • If you are an approver, visit this page for a walkthrough on how to view the reports you have approved.   
  • If you are an expense owner or delegate: visit this page for a walkthrough on how to view the reports submitted on behalf of yourself or as a delegate. 

How to...Deal with Fraud Charges 

If you experience fraudulent charges made to your OneCard, you can report the charges as fraud online directly in the JP Morgan system or via telephone. Please follow the guidelines below for either option:  

  • Telephone: 
    • Call the phone number on the back of the card (800-316-6056) 
  • Online via Payment Net: 
    • Login to Payment Net using your credentials 
    • Click on “Transaction List” and select the transaction that needs disputed 
    • Click on the “Dispute” button and save the changes 

Additional reminders: 

  • Fraud charges must be reported within 60 days 
  • Fraud charges not reported within 60 days will fall to the cardholder and their department's responsibility for reconciliation. 
  • Cardholders can enroll in fraud alerts, for more information and to sign up, visit this page. 

Did you know? 

Review the following exciting travel reminders. If you didn’t know, now you do! 

Did you know...that you can book personal travel in Concur?

Simply add your personal payment method into the system and you can book hotels and flights for your personal trips in and access the discounted rates. Please note, personal rental cars cannot be booked through Concur however discounted rates for personal rentals through Enterprise/National are available through PittPerks.  

Did you know...that you can use Airbnb and VRBO for business travel?

Airbnb and VRBO’s are allowable lodging accommodations within the following guidelines:  

  • Airbnb rental must be “super host” properties 
  • VRBO rentals must be “premium host” properties. 

As Airbnb and VRBO are not available through Concur, it is recommended to search the hotel accommodations via Concur first. Concur has a variety of great room rates and a nationwide hotel discount with Wyndham. If the Airbnb/VRBO options prove a better choice, as long as the correct level of property is selected, you are welcome to rent and enjoy Airbnb and VRBO for your business trips! 

Checks for Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands 

Payment Processing is always working diligently to bring the latest methods to Pitt. Effective immediately, checks can be issued for suppliers in Puerto Rico as well as the Virgin Islands.