Frequently Asked Questions

MyTravel Implementation

When will MyTravel be available to departments?
What training is available?
What preparations should departments start making for joining MyTravel?

Using MyTravel

What is MyTravel used for?
Who can prepare the expense report in the system?
What is a delegate and how is one created?
When I’m already in the MyTravel system, why do I sometimes have to log in again?
When processing a MyTravel transaction, what do the different flags mean? What do the different colors represent?
How do cash advances appear in MyTravel? How are they reconciled?
How do Corporate Card, CTS, and YCAL transactions appear in MyTravel? How are they reconciled?
How can I change the approving department for a transaction?
I'm processing an OCONUS expense report for Hawaii, Alaska, or the Virgin Islands. How are OCONUS travel reports processed?
If a travel report is returned for correction, will the same routing occur when it is resubmitted?
What happens if a travel report is deleted before it has been submitted?
I need to file an additional expense report for a travel report that has already been submitted. Are there any special instructions for completing a supplemental report?
How do I process a corporate card pre-payment in MyTravel?
How should start and end times be entered in MyTravel?
How do non-employees sign their reports?
Can reports be ad hoc routed in MyTravel?
How can I delete a report that's in routing?
How can I check the status of reports?
How can I find out who approves my department's reports?
How can I assign accounts?
If an account manager or department head is not available, what should we do to get a report approved?
If a person has both travel and entertainment expenses during their trip, can the expenses be submitted on the same report?

Receipt Handling

How do I submit my receipts when I use MyTravel?
Where can I purchase the document cover sheet to image non-standard documents like receipts?
How long should I keep the original receipts?
What if I forgot to fax a receipt or other supporting documentation for a report I’ve submitted? What do I do?

Miscellaneous/Other

What are the advantages of using a corporate card?
What are the guidelines for ledger review of MyTravel transactions?
How is a pre-trip payment processed?
Are there any special considerations for firewalls related to MyTravel?

MyTravel Implementation

Q: When will MyTravel be available to the departments?
A: The MyTravel pilot began on July 17th, 2006. At that time the system was rolled out to selected departments on a staggered basis. Implementation plans to the rest of campus will be determined following the pilot period.

Q: What training is available?
A: Before a department starts using MyTravel, a demonstration of the MyTravel system is provided by the Accounts Payable department. In addition, there are online resources available within the MyTravel system. Users can also enroll in a MyTravel hands-on class.

Q: What preparations should departments start making for joining MyTravel?
A: Before implementing MyTravel, departments should do the following:

Ensure that their UCD employee travelers have UCD login IDs and Kerberos passwords (for instructions, see the Computing Accounts Web site).
Request their employees to sign up for Direct Deposit. The Direct Deposit Service allows UC Davis to deposit expense reimbursements (as opposed to payroll) to the designated personal bank account.
Encourage their travelers to get a Corporate Card. Although not required to use MyTravel, the Corporate Card makes reporting expenses efficient because charges are downloaded daily and are easily added to expense reports.
Ensure their CTS card and billing ID information is set up correctly in DaFIS.
Verify any delegation letters for travel and entertainment authorized approvers are current and on file per PPM 330-10.

Using MyTravel

Q: What is MyTravel used for?
A: MyTravel is a system used to reimburse users for their travel and entertainment expenses, and to pay U.S. Bank for Corporate Card transactions.

Q: Who can prepare the expense report in the system?
A: UCD employees can prepare their own expense reports. They can also create delegates who can prepare expense reports on their behalf; however, the employee still has to submit the report. Expense reports for non-UCD employees must be prepared and submitted by a UCD employee. The delegate(s) for the non-employee is set up at the time the non-employee is created.

Q: What is a delegate and how is one created?
A: A delegate is someone who can prepare and/or approve expense reports on behalf of someone else. UCD employees create delegates using the My Info section in MyTravel.

A delegate for preparation can create a report on the employee's behalf, but the employee must still log in and submit the completed report. This delegation exists until it is revoked by the employee.

Delegation for approval can be indefinite, or for a specified period of time. The approval delegate can approve all reports that route to the person granting them the delegation.

For non-UCD employees, the delegate is the person setting up the traveler ID, and anyone else specified at that time. It's recommended that when the non-UCD employee ID is created, more than one delegate is added.

Q: When I’m already in the MyTravel system, why do I sometimes have to log in again?
A: You will be required to log in again if your MyTravel session remains idle for 30 consecutive minutes or more.

Q: When processing a MyTravel transaction, what do the different flags mean? What do the different colors represent?
A: There are several flags you may see when getting ready to approve a MyTravel transaction:

A yellow flag is a warning; it will not stop the processor from submitting the transaction. A yellow flag occurs in situations where additional information/justification is needed, such as meal reimbursements that are above the established dollar limits. A comment will be required, and the yellow flag will display for other approvers.
A red flag prevents the traveler from submitting the report until the condition in the message is met. A red flag occurs in situations where required data is missing (such as an account number) or some of the entered data is not consistent with policy. Once the item is corrected, the red flag will remain; however, the report can be submitted. When the report is submitted, the red flag will not appear. Note: If a delegate prepares a report and that report has red flags, the flags may not display until the employee tries to submit the report.

Q: How do cash advances appear in MyTravel? How are they reconciled?
A: Cash advances are automatically imported to MyTravel and are available under the cash advance link to be used while creating a report. Select the appropriate transactions and assign them to the chosen report. Reconcile unused money from a pre-trip payment cash advance by creating a cash advance return expense type to zero out the cash advance amount. A copy of the Statement of Cash Collections is required to be imaged with the other receipts. The employee can reconcile unused money from a Corporate Card cash advance by sending a check to the Corporate Card vendor directly. Additional information regarding how to handle cash advances is available here.

Q: How do Corporate Card, CTS, and YCAL transactions appear in MyTravel? How are they reconciled?
A: Corporate card charges, CTS, and YCAL charges will be imported into MyTravel under the imported expense link to be used while creating the report. Select the appropriate charges and assign them to the chosen report. Most of the information for the imported expenses will populate but some will not. You will need to open the expense type and complete any missing information.

Q: How can I change the approving department for a transaction?
A: The default approving department is your payroll home department. If your home department is different than the department approving your request or report, you can revise it on a per-report basis. Before you submit your report, go to the Report Header. There are 3 fields toward the bottom that you will need to modify.

Click in the field Approving Dean/VC, then go to the right side helper pane and click No Selection
At the confirmation prompt, click OK.
In the helper pane, type in the Dean/VC department you wish to select.
Click on the new department title and it will populate back on the report.
Use the helper pane to find the Approving Department and Sub Department.

The above steps will only revise the current report.

Q: I'm processing an OCONUS expense report for Hawaii, Alaska, or the Virgin Islands. How are OCONUS travel reports processed?
A: These reports should be processed as Report Type Travel Less Than 30 Days & Trip Destination Out of State. The Report Type should not be indicated as Foreign. You can create a per diem itinerary and attach it to the report or use the actual expenses based on receipts submitted.

Q: If a travel report is returned for correction, will the same routing occur when it is resubmitted?
A: Yes; the routing for a MyTravel report is the same whether the report is first being submitted, or if it has been returned for correction and resubmitted. The traveler, account manager, and department head approver will be able to ad hoc route one time for another's approval, if needed.

Q: What happens if a travel report is deleted before it has been submitted?
A: There will be no notifications sent to the account manager, other department approvers, or Accounts Payable. No payments will be issued and there will be no record of it in MyTravel.

Q: I need to file an additional expense report for a travel report that has already been submitted. Are there any special instructions for completing a supplemental report?
A: When submitting additional expenses for a report already filed, reference the previous Report Key# in the Related Expense Report Key field for auditing purposes. This applies to a report filed when a corporate card pre-payment has been made or if there were additional expenses that need to be attached to a previous report.

Q: How do I process a corporate card pre-payment in MyTravel?
A: Choose Corporate Card Pre-Payment as the Report Type to pay for card charges that must be paid prior to the event date.

Q: How should start and end times be entered in MyTravel?
A: Start and end times should be entered with AM or PM following the time designation or in Military Time format. If the time is not formatted correctly, the report will not calculate expenses correctly.

Q: How do non-employees sign their reports?
A: Non-employees cannot access MyTravel. Instead, delegates complete their reports and send the Non-Employee Certification Form to the non-employees. One way to do this is to print the form as a PDF and then e-mail that PDF as an attachment to the non-employees. Non-employees review the form, sign it, then fax it to 866-206-1996. Access the Non-Employee Certification Form by doing the following:

Open the report.
Click on View or Print Report.
Click on Non-Employee Certification Form.
Click on View Report.
Click on Print.

Q: Can reports be ad hoc routed in MyTravel?
A: Yes. The traveler, account manager, and department head approver can ad hoc route a report to one other person by opening the report pending their approval and clicking on Submit and Ad-Hoc.

Q: How can I delete a report that's in routing?
A: Contact the person who still needs to approve it. Ask them to return the report for correction. When it is in the employee's MyTravel queue, the employee or delegate can open it and click on Delete.

Q: How can I check the status of reports?
A: Report status can be checked in the following ways:

Employees can log into MyTravel. On the MyTravel Center screen, look on the right side, under My Status List. The employee's reports will be listed there, with the status (unless the employee or delegate removed it from that list).
Delegates can check the status of reports for employees or non-employees by logging into MyTravel. On the MyTravel Center screen, click on Act as a Delegate. Click on the person's name to go to the Expense Report List screen and view the Approval Status and/or Payment Status columns for the report.
In DaFIS Decision Support (DS), use T&E Expense Report Detail (316), if you have the T&E report key. If you don't have the report key, or if you want to check on many reports at the same time, use DS query T&E Report Lookup (319). Enter the search criteria on the input screen and in the search results, click on the column headings to sort the report to your liking.

Q: How can I find out who approves my department's reports?
A: In DaFIS Decision Support (DS), query T&E Department Approvers (318) provides this information. Search for one employee by using the Traveler/Submitter ID field. Search for all employees in a department or in a school/college by using the Approving Dean/VC Office and/or the Approving Department field.

Q: How can I assign accounts?
A: You can assign accounts as you enter each expense type or after you have entered all of the expenses. You can assign accounts based on dollar amount or by percentage. A tutorial showing how to assign accounts is available on our Help Resources page.

Q: If an account manager or department head is not available, what should we do to get a report approved?
A: If possible, wait until the account manager or department head is available. As long as they have internet access they can log into MyTravel to approve the report and/or set up delegates so someone else can approve. If they will not be available anytime soon, send an e-mail to mytravel@ucdavis.edu. Include the names of the approver and the person you want to be the interim approver.

Q: If a person has both travel and entertainment expenses during their trip, can the expenses be submitted on the same report?
A: No, two different reports are required -- one for the travel expenses and one for the entertainment expenses. On the Report Header screen, enter the report number for the other report in the Related Expense Report Key field.

Receipt Handling

Q: How do I submit my receipts when I use MyTravel?
A: Receipts are routed electronically in MyTravel. If receipts are required, print the fax cover sheet and fax it, along with your receipts, to the number provided in the cover sheet instructions. The fax cover sheet should be first, followed by the receipts. This must be done before the report is submitted. The server at the fax number will image the receipts, and read the bar code on your cover sheet. That bar code will be used to attach the imaged receipts to your report. Anyone in the approval chain will be able to see your receipts just by clicking on the View Receipts link. Note: When faxing reports, fax each one separately. In other words, dial the fax number, and send the fax cover page and supporting receipts. If you have additional reports, dial the fax number again and send the next report.

Q: Where can I purchase the document cover sheet to image non-standard documents like receipts?
A: A 10-pack of the fax document carriers can be purchased through UCD Buy. The OfficeMax catalog number is L5099DC.

Q: How long should I keep the original receipts?
A: Once the receipts have been imaged in MyTravel and all payments for the associated expense report have been made, the hard copy receipts are no longer needed and should be destroyed. The imaged receipts become the official record.

Q: What if I forgot to fax a receipt or other supporting documentation for a report I’ve submitted. What do I do?
A: Print the travel receipt fax cover page, and fax it along with the additional receipt or other supporting documentation to the same number you faxed the original information. The bar code on the cover page will associate the newly faxed information with the previously submitted report.

Miscellaneous/Other

Q: What are the advantages of using a Corporate Card?
A: MyTravel interfaces with U.S. Bank to automatically download Corporate Card charges into the system. Employees can import the expenses to their reports, reducing data entry. When Accounts Payable approves the reports, U.S. Bank will be paid.

Q: What are the guidelines for ledger review of MyTravel transactions?
A: Expense reports entered through MyTravel are available for review through the General Ledger (GL) Review system. All MyTravel expense report details such as the expense types, accounting lines, comments and approvals are available as drill-down reports from the Transaction listing (2) report used in GL Review.

The ledger reviewers do not need to review the receipts, as they have been verified by the account manager as well as the department head approvers.

While MyTravel transactions meet the requirements for GL Review auto-annotation, this functionality is not currently available. This feature is expected to be implemented for MyTravel transaction in the future. To learn more about GL Review, start with the project page.

Q: How is a pre-trip payment processed?
A: Pre-trip payments are processed by:

completing the Make a Pre-Trip Payment section in MyTravel, and
submitting applicable supporting documentation to Accounts Payable - Travel. If an attachment should be sent with the payment, please include an additional copy with your supporting documents.

The Pre-Trip Payment will route to your account manager and Accounts Payable for approval. It will not route to your department approver.

All pre-trip payments appear within the Imported Expense link and the employee will select which expenses to pull into the report.

Q: Are there any special considerations for firewalls related to MyTravel?
A: Departments who have implemented egress filtering on their VLAN firewall will likely need to add rules to allow traffic from the VLAN to the MyTravel web servers.

When you login to MyTravel, after authentication, your web browser will be redirected to https://mytravel.ucdavis.edu:8443/concur/expense/.

There are two MyTravel Web servers:

oak.ucdavis.edu 169.237.59.6
teak.ucdavis.edu 169.237.59.7

Open TCP port 8443 from your VLAN to those servers.

Q: What are acceptable methods of obtaining the host's signature for entertainment expense reports?
A: Do one of the following to obtain the host's signature:

Ad hoc route the report to the host, for electronic approval
Print the Host Certification Form in MyTravel, have the host sign it, and then fax it

« Back to MyTravel main page

The MyTravel system and Travel@UCDavis Web site are a service of the UC Davis Accounting & Financial Services department.
Questions or comments should be directed to mytravel@ucdavis.edu.