Cash Advances

What is a cash advance?

A cash advance is money obtained by the traveler before the trip is completed. This includes reimbursement for out of pocket expenses made before a trip occurs (e.g., person uses a personal credit card and wants to be reimbursed before the trip occurs).

How do I get a cash advance?

There are two ways to get a cash advance:
  • Travelers can use their corporate card to withdraw cash from an ATM.
  • Departments can complete a request for cash by using the Pre-trip Payment System. After the request is processed by Accounts Payable, the traveler will receive a check or have the money deposited into their bank account (based on the method of payment indicated on the request).

How do cash advances appear in MyTravel?

Travelers who have an unreconciled cash advance will see a link called View Cash Advances on their MyTravel Center screen. When they click on the link, they'll see a Cash Advance List screen which shows their unreconciled cash advances. The Cash Advance List screen looks similar to the Imported Expenses screen.

How do I reconcile an advance?

If the traveler received a cash advance and spent it all:

  • Create an expense report
  • Click on Cash Advances
  • Click on Associate Available Cash Advances
  • Checkmark the cash advances you'd like to associate with the report and click OK
  • Click Done
  • Add the expenses for which the cash advance was used
  • Add any remaining transactions pertaining to the trip/event
The report totals page will reflect the cash advances used on the report.

If the traveler received a pre-trip payment cash advance but did not spend it all:

  • The traveler must write a check payable to UC Regents for the unspent portion of the cash advance
  • The department must complete a DaFIS Statement of Cash Collections (SCC) document. Reference the MyTravel expense report key (available in MyTravel by opening the expense report and clicking on the Report Header link)
  • The following steps must be completed in MyTravel:
    • Create an expense report
    • Click on Cash Advances
    • Click on Associate Available Cash Advances
    • Checkmark the cash advances you'd like to associate with the report and click OK
    • Click Done
    • Add the expenses for which the cash advance was used
    • Add any remaining transactions pertaining to the trip/event
    • Click on Add Expense
    • Under Expense Types, click on Cash Advance Return Pre-trip Only
    • List the cash amount being returned
    • Complete the expense report
    • Fax a copy of the DaFIS SCC along with any travel receipts needed for the expense report
The report totals page will reflect the cash advances used on the report.

If the traveler received a corporate card cash advance but did not spend it all:

  • Create an expense report
  • Click on Cash Advances
  • Click on Associate Available Cash Advances
  • Checkmark the cash advances you'd like to associate with the report and click OK
  • Click Done
  • Add the expenses for which the cash advance was used
  • Add any remaining transactions pertaining to the trip/event
  • Complete and submit the report
  • Send a check to US Bank for the personal (i.e., unused) amount of the cash advance
The report totals page will reflect the cash advances used on the report as well as the portion you must pay to the bank.

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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.