Frequently Asked Questions

Prepaid lodging receipts may state the prepaid date, payment method, amount paid, etc. The email confirmation may also show an amount of $0 due at the hotel (other than resort fees for selected hotels). 

For travelers to use a prepaid lodging receipt for prior-trip reimbursement, the lodging amount may be paid in full or as a deposit. 

Yes, food allergies will require a dietary medical accomodation (prior approval with the DSO) in order to be reimbursed for meals that would have usually been provided. Additionally, we recommend contacting the business host before the start date to confirm if they can accommodate with other options. 

This is not a proper audit trail.  It is not reimbursable, Either split payment to the vendor directly and obtain receipts showing both payments made or have one person pay for the entire expense (see claimant). 

No, travel expenses for spouses and family are not reimbursable. Spouses and family must have a bona fide business purpose when participating in UW business. 

Examples of a bona fide business purpose:

• Required attendance at business meetings
• Presentation at business meetings
• Officially hosting a University event if the host function includes the planning of the event, and where attendance is required because the spouse is responsible for certain logistics of the event
• The primary purpose of the spouse’s attendance is to serve in University business, and the spouse spends more time on business activities than on personal activities during the trip
• The presence of the spouse is essential to the function

Examples that are not considered a bona fide business purpose:

• Situations where the spouse attends because he or she is “expected” to be present or where the spouse is present primarily to promote generosity or support for the University
• Situations where the spouse provides incidental business services, such as secretarial services, attending to scheduling matters or attendance at meals
• Attendance at receptions or dinners or assisting in entertaining students or donors
• Participation in tourist activities
• Attendance with children or other family members
• The presence of the spouse is only beneficial, not essential to the function/trip

If the department would like to continue to reimburse the spouse and family travel expenses when there is no bona fide business purpose, the department must do the following:

(1) Discretionary funding must be used. (The Resource Worktag must state one of the following: "RS100203 Discretionary Gift Resource" OR "RS100376 Other Discretionary Gift Resource")

(2) The spouse and family travel expenses will be considered taxable income to the traveler. 

(3a) For UW employees, please email travel@uw.edu with the employee name, employee ID #, expense report #, payment description, and spouse/family expense line item(s) amount. Please attach proof to the expense report.

(3b) For Non-UW travelers, please use the "Non-Employee Travel 1099 (SC2567)".

Please note that reimbursed amounts that are classified as taxable income may not receive the Form 1099 unless the UW 1099 Payee Data Collection Threshold is met. 

For spouse and family travel expenses regarding Prospective Employees, please see here. 

• Please fill out a Check Cancellation Request Form from UW Connect.
• Miscellaneous Payments:
  • Once the check has been canceled, the MP will be canceled in Workday. If payment is still due, Shared Environment should submit a new MP in Workday.
• Expense Reports:
  • Once the check has been canceled, the ER will not be canceled in Workday and instead, the ER will re-run for settlement that evening.
    • Refer to payment tracking information below to determine the check status
• To expedite, the 'copy' function can be used on the previous ER. Note that all attachments & comments will need to be re-added. Here are the instructions:
  • Go to the Expenses App, click on Expense Reports, choose 'Approved' in the status field
  • Select the Expense Report by clicking on the Related Actions icon (do not actually open the report)
  • Under Expense Report, click on the 'copy' button
  • A new copy of ER will open or you can find the new copy in your drafts under My Expense Reports
  • Please attach all of the required receipts/documents, as they won’t be automatically copied
  • Please re-input line item details and all overall comments, as they won’t be duplicated either

• Under the Handling Code field, choose "Campus Mail"
• Under the Miscellaneous Fields tag, under Miscellaneous Field 7, input the Box Number
• Have the check sent to yourself or your department
• Reroute the check through the USPS (US Postal Service)

Sending checks to foreign addresses is highly discouraged as they tend to take a long time to reach their destination and more often than not they are lost. Additionally, most foreign banks do not accept US checks. We recommend processing a foreign wire in lieu of a check to a foreign location.

Yes, approved must review both MPE and MPs if the ACH transaction is $5,000 or greater AND either of the following conditions applies:

• The payee is a new payee, OR
• The payee is an existing payee and their banking information is being updated

If both the transaction threshold and one of the conditions mentioned above are met, review of both the MPE and MP is required prior to approval.

Yes, but only if the bank information provided is supported with additional verification. Because DocuSign requests remain vulnerable to business email compromise (BEC) and rely on the same communication channel as the original request, additional independent verification is required. This may include the official bank documentation included in the DocuSign file or a callback to the payee using contact information already on file.

Include the verification document in the “Attachments” tab of the Miscellaneous Payee. When creating or editing a miscellaneous payee, choose "More", followed by "Attachments"​

For recurring payments, no additional verification is needed as long as the banking information remains unchanged. If there are any changes to the banking information and the $5,000 threshold is met, updated verification must be obtained.

Workday has dual-factor authentication and is tokenized. Per NACHA's Supplementing Data Security Requirements, encryption, truncation, tokenization, destruction, or having the financial institution store, host, or tokenize the account numbers are among the options for Originators and Third-Parties to consider.

Expense payments, such as employee reimbursements, are also affected. However, because the banking information is generated through Workday HRP, a separate process must be developed. BAO and Payroll are working together to establish this process, which will be implemented at a later date

Tips for transportation, such as taxis and shuttles are reimbursable, and any other tips are considered an incidental expense which is included in the meal per diem as meal per diem has an added amount for incidentals.

Please prorate the car rental. Take the total amount and divide by the number of days. Multiply the daily rate by the total number of business days (please also do this if they rented at a weekly rate but business days were less).

We understand this. From talking to other departments that travel a lot globally, they have said they just carry a receipt book that can be handwritten and have the individual providing the service sign. For taxis and things like this we know this is probably the most we will get unless they pay with a credit card.  We need the amount listed and which currency it was paid in, the service they paid for and the date. 

Yes, mobile payment applications such as Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, are reimbursable payment methods. Please contact your department if they have internal policies for additional documentation. 

Mobile payment applications are not allowed to be used for an Exchange of Funds. 

No, perjury statements are not accepted as receipt documentation. Please follow the documentation requirements for all travel-related expenses on our website: Requirements for Receipt Documentation

The initial submission date. 

Expense Reports are submitted in a two-step process: Expense Report and Personal Time Questionnaire. The "initial submission date" is based on the personal time questionnaire's initial submission date. 

All other dates from multiple send-backs and resubmissions, do not override the initial submission date, as Workday records every submission (Oldest - Top of Page, Newest - Bottom of Page).

No, once submitted and fully approved, a Workday integration will take place that will create a report that will be sent to Payroll. 

This will depend on the reason for the reissue. 

ACH and wire returns do not require a new reimbursement payment request, which can continue to use the initial submission date. 

Returned checks that require a new reimbursement request, must be discussed with the department on why the check is being reissued, as there may be factors within or outside of the employee's control. 

Please choose the delayed submission caused by the SE and/or department personnel exception. The required documentation will be a note from the funding source or manager that the funding is not available or will be available at [MM/DD/YY].

There is no final cutoff date for reimbursement submissions. The department may create its own internal policy if preferred. 

The expense is to be reimbursed as non-travel with the "Professional Licenses and Accreditation" expense item. Please use the date of certification as the date of purchase (Expense Date). Do not use the actual date of purchase. In the Expense Report notes or comments, please explain that the date of certification is used and attach the certification document. 

No, the worktags used on the Expense Report will only be charged for the reimbursement amount when the ER is paid. No additional amounts will be charged to the worktags used on the ER, and no additional costs will be incurred by the departments for these taxes.

If the employee has received W-2 reportable wages in the current year, the payroll team will make the required adjustments to ensure accurate tax reporting. If the employee has no W-2 reportable wages, the imputed income will be reported on a Form 1099 instead of a Form W-2.