How to fill out a tber form 2019

Columbia University tber guidelines Grab your cup of coffee and we will all get through this together!

Supplemental Approval Quick Summary Receipts Supplemental Approval Case Study

Supplemental Approval Quick Summary Receipts Supplemental Approval Case Study

Quick Summary of Filling out a TBER Form Check off either the Travel Expense or Business Expense box Enter in the first and last date of expense Enter in your name and address Sign your name and the today’s date Enter in your departure and arrival Points Fill out all expenses made in US Dollars (either at home or abroad) in the section titled “Itemized Expense Descriptions”. List expenses under column “Unsegregated Expenses A” At the bottom of the page, enter in the chartstring At the bottom of the screen, change the page to “Avg_Rate” Please go to https://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ and print out a copy of the exchange rate on the first date of expense and the last date of expense. Enter in your name, the currency being converted into US Dollars, the exchange rate on the first day of expense, and the exchange rate on the last day of expense. The form will automatically produce an average of the two rates. Fill out all expenses made in the foreign currency (fill out in the “Total Foreign Currency Amount” column). The foreign currency amounts will automatically be converted into US Dollars and will be displayed on the first page along with the US Dollar expenses. Now you’re done!

TBER GUIDELINES What is the TBER? Columbia University faculty, staff, and students routinely incur business and/or travel expenses on behalf of the University or in support of sponsored research activities. The University reimburses legitimate expenses that conform to federal and state law and the restrictions placed upon sponsored projects. In order to provide this reimbursement, the University requires University employees to complete and submit an approved TBER that documents the business purpose of the expenses incurred. Travel Expense (TE): Overnight stay outside of New York City Business Expense (PE): Business expense incurred on behalf of the university excluding overnight travel Responsibilities of the Traveler Obtaining all proper documentation for each expense. (Typically, this documentation will be a receipt that itemizes the expense and reflects proof of payment of the expense). Documenting the business purpose or justification for each expense. This helps to document why the expense is eligible for reimbursement and should not be considered as taxable income. Traveler should request reimbursement within 10 business days of the trip and must request reimbursement no later than 120 days after date of the expenditure. Completing the Travel and Business Expense report in accordance with University policy and procedures. Sign the Travel and Business Expense form and retain a copy for their records. Business Purpose: A legitimate business purpose must be included on the form (who travelled or attended the event, what type of event was attended or purchase was made, when the event took place, where the event took place, and how it relates to Columbia University Please also include a flyer or formal invitation for the event

TBER GUIDELINES Receipts The traveler is expected to obtain original receipts for all expenses for which they plan to have reimbursed.  An original receipt may take many forms (i.e. cash register receipt, copy of an order form, web receipt or confirmation) A receipt must identify the date of purchase, vendor name, itemized list and unit price of the purchased items, and the total amount If the traveler is unable to obtain an original receipt that contains all the required information, documentation should be submitted to demonstrate as many of the required items as possible.  A copy of the traveler’s credit or debit card statement identifying the date, location and amount of the expense, or a rental agreement, may be submitted along with a description of the purchase, identifying the amount of any expenses to be segregated (i.e. alcohol). Proof of Payment The traveler is expected to obtain proof of payment for all expenses for which they plan to have reimbursed.  Proof of payment may take many forms but must demonstrate that payment was tendered and must identify the means by which payment was tendered by the traveler.  This is often part of the original receipt Segregated Costs The Federal Government will not reimburse certain expenses, termed “unallowables” and has set forth guidelines prohibiting these costs from being charged to Federal grants and contracts, either directly or indirectly.  These include expenditures for alcohol, entertainment, flowers or gifts or excessive costs, such as first or business class travel and lodging or meals over the designated University thresholds. To make sure that the University does not inadvertently charge any of these expenses to grants and contracts, “unallowable” expenses have been assigned to the appropriate account.    The terms “unallowable” or “segregated” do not mean that the expenses are not reimbursable, rather that they must be charged to a segregated account. Other Guidelines One TBER must be completed per trip. Please do not combine multiple trips, or non-related business expenses on the same TBER For meal attendees of 10 or less, the names must be provided. For large groups (10+ or more) please provide the number of attendees

Supplemental Approval Quick Summary Receipts Supplemental Approval Case Study

Example of a model receipt sheet When submitting your TBER for reimbursement, please tape all receipts individually onto an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper. Please also label the receipts sequentially to match the line items listed on the TBER. Make sure to number your receipts and place them in an orderly fashion. Please also keep the receipt sheet(s) one sided (they will be scanned)

Please cross out personal items 👍 👍 👎 👎 👍

Missing receipts If you lose any receipts and there are no bank/credit card statements backing up these purchases, you must complete and sign the missing receipt form. For example, if you paid for an item in cash and you lose the receipt for this purchase, then you must fill out the missing receipt form.

Supplemental Approval Quick Summary Receipts Supplemental Approval Case Study

Supplemental approval necessary if… First or business class travel by air (flights in excess of 5 hours or medical need).  First or business class travel by rail/bus (not including Amtrak's Acela train).  Lodging greater than $350 per night domestic and $400 (US dollars) per night international by no more than 50%.  Appreciation given for lodging in a private residence.  Short-term rental accommodations.  Reimbursed travel extended beyond the minimum days required for business purposes Required travel by an employee's spouse, significant other and/or dependent. (Note: may be taxable)  Meals exceeding the per meal thresholds ($25 breakfast, $35 lunch, $75 dinner) by no more than 50%.  Use of per diems on non-grant accounts. . (Only in instances of international travel to destinations where local custom or culture makes it difficult to obtain receipts).  Meals that require attendance by an employee's spouse, significant other, and/or dependent. Purchase of emergency supplies/equipment in excess of $500.  Issuance of a second travel advance before the first one has been reconciled  Reimbursements submitted more than 120 days after the date of the expense Missing receipt for expenses of $75 or more ($25 for meals), all lodging https://finance.columbia.edu/files/gateway/forms/SupplementalApproverManualForm_1.pdf

Procedures for business class airfare Please remember when booking business class flights, you must give a quote of the price of the same flight but in economy prices. This is because the difference between the two prices must be segregated.

When he first bought airline tickets, Justin searched for the price of his business class tickets. He made sure to save any documentation related to it (flight searches and receipts) so it can be compared to the economy class tickets.

After searching for the business class ticket that he will purchase, he searches for the price of the economy class seat on the same flight. He scrolls up the page of the booking website and switches the search from results showing business class tickets to those showing economy class tickets.

He finds the price of an economy class ticket on the same flight and saves it for submission with his TBER.

Attach event flyer Make sure to attach flyers or descriptions of the event attended or the business/travel purpose

Supplemental Approval Quick Summary Receipts Supplemental Approval Case Study

Case study Justin is a law school professor at Columbia University who just came back from a business trip to Asia. He attended two conferences, one in Japan and one in China. Now that he’s back home he must fill out the TBER form in order to be reimbursed for business expenses incurred abroad.

Fill out personal information Check off either the travel expense or business expense box Enter in the first and last date of expense Enter in your name and address Sign your name and today’s date Enter in your departure and arrival points Document the business purpose

X 1 2 3 5 4 6

Fill out expenses made in usd 6. Fill out all expenses made in US Dollars (either at home or abroad) in the section titled “Itemized Expense Descriptions” (please see 9 for expenses in a foreign currency). Please note there is an “Extra_Page” tab to itemize additional U.S. dollar expenses. 7. List the expenses under column “Unsegregated Expenses A” . Alcohol or any other expenses requiring supplemental approval must be segregated in column B. 8. At the bottom of the page, enter in the chart string

Identifying segregated expenses He makes sure to segregate expenses where required. He looks at his receipts for the hotels he booked on his trip and discovers that he went above the nightly-rate threshold for hotels abroad ($400). He identifies the amount not covered by the nightly limit and puts it under the “segregated expenses column”. He also remembers to get supplemental approval for the overage. He then moves on to his airline tickets. Justin bought business class airline tickets, therefore he must find the price of an economy seat on his original flight and compare it to the price of the business class seat. He puts the price of the economy seat under “unsegregated expenses” and the price of the business class seat minus the price of the economy seat under “segregated expenses”. He also makes sure to get supplemental approval for the business class seat.

1 2 3 4 1 2 4 3

Oanda currency conversion At the bottom of the screen, change the page to “Avg_Rate” Please go to Oanda and print out a copy of the exchange tab on the first date of expense and the last day of expense

Search oanda.com in your search engine. Oanda currency conversion Search oanda.com in your search engine.

Select the tab named “currency converter” Oanda currency conversion Select the tab named “currency converter”

Clicking the tab will bring you to this page Oanda currency conversion Clicking the tab will bring you to this page

Oanda currency conversion Press the arrows in the middle to switch the direction of the conversion

Oanda currency conversion Select the first date of expenses incurred in that currency. Then print out or save this page.

Oanda currency conversion Select the last date of expenses incurred in that currency. Then print out or save this page.

Filling out expenses made in foreign currencies Enter in your name, the currency being converted in US Dollars, the exchange rate on the first day of expense, and the exchange rate on the last day of expense. The form will automatically produce an average of the two rates. Fill out all expenses made in foreign currency (fill out in the “Total Foreign Currency Amount” column). The foreign currency amounts will automatically be converted into US Dollars and will be displayed on the first page along with the US Dollar expenses.

1 2 3 1 2 3

Multiple foreign currencies If you have multiple foreign currencies then you must create a new average currency rate tab and input the information in the same manner as the first foreign currency tab Once you have inputted all foreign currencies into the TBER form please re-check the document to make sure all necessary information is included

Make sure to list all guests When outlining the business purpose of a meal, please list all the guests that attended the meal

Things to be aware of Make sure that the names of your guests are clearly stated in the description boxes Make sure that any missing receipts are backed up by credit card statements If you lost a receipt of a purchase made in cash then make sure to fill out a missing receipt form If you purchased any alcohol make sure to segregate it from the other expenses Familiarize yourself with what purchases require supplemental approval Make sure to cross out any personal, non-business related items purchased (toothpaste, medicine, etc.) Make sure to attach flyers or descriptions of the event attended or the business/travel purpose Only one trip is allowed per TBER form. If you have multiple trips, there must be multiple TBER forms If you have 10 or under attendees the you must list their names If you have over 10 attendees then you only need to list the number of attendees

Case TBER Form: TBER CASE.xls Model Receipt Sheet: ModelReceipt.pdf Tber case and receipt form Case TBER Form: TBER CASE.xls Model Receipt Sheet: ModelReceipt.pdf Blank TBER Form: TBER_FORM.xls Now Let’s Do One Together!