Particularly in heavily franchised industries, the dissemination of rudimentary information explaining proper invoicing could prove useful. From within the hotel industry alone, a large corporate client or government agency representing significant CONUS travel spend could face the prospect of working with hundreds of individual corporate structures due to the popularity of the franchise model. While most franchise operations are professionally run with sophisticated accounting systems in place, many still struggle to understand and implement fundamentally sound accounting practices. Basic literature and/or a single online resource highlighting the basic requirements of the different reconciliation processes would go a long way toward helping the brands guide these franchise locations to better operations, thereby resulting in an improved final step in the travel transaction.

Enhancing the ease of access to any such existing information also would prove beneficial to both the traveler and the vendor. Encouraging local workshops through Convention & Visitors Bureaus, Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Commissions, Small Business Administrations, and other community-based organizations would help reach those smaller businesses and franchisees who might otherwise not have the resources to attend trade conferences to obtain similar information.

By: Mark Feggeler

Expenses with payment method of Traveler are to be reimbursed directly to the traveler’s personal bank account.  The eGov Travel application assigns the following expenses to the method of reimbursement of Traveler: meals and incidental reimbursements, taxi expense, privately owned vehicle (POV) expense, and parking and/or toll expense.

Expenses with payment method of Gov-CC are to be paid directly to the traveler’s government credit card.  The eGov Travel application assigns the following expenses to the method of reimbursement of Gov-cc: air ticket charges, TMC fees, hotel charges, rental vehicle charges, and ATM fees.  The traveler also has the option to allocate additional amounts to be paid to Gov-CC in order to pay the credit card vendor any additional charges that were placed on the card.

CBA is used for expenses charged to the central billed account.  Generally, CBA is used only for air ticket or hotel for individuals who do not have a government credit card.
The Direct method is used only for the TAV (Travel Voucher and Authorization) fee charged by the vendor of the eGov Travel application.  The TAV fee, which appears on every travel voucher, is paid directly to the eGov Travel vendor upon approval of each travel voucher.

By: Debbie Sams

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”

By Stacey Clark

SmartPay program cards can be issued to either individuals or agencies.  Individual Billed Accounts or IBA’s are issued to individuals for use during official travel.  These credit cards are issued in the travelers name with the traveler having full responsibility for payment and reconciliation.  A Centrally Billed Account (CBA) is issued to organizations and is generally used when a traveler does not have an IBA.  The account is usually only an account number and not an actual card.  The responsibility for reconciliation lies with the agency, with payments paid directly from the Government to the bank.    Most agencies require prior approval for use of the CBA.

The GSA SmartPay 2 program offers many benefits and expanded services to the Government.  Among the services offered are: built-in credit evaluations and enhanced security options.  The cards are numbered for vendor recognition and look different with new anti-misuse features.  The cards are accepted worldwide and have improved tracking capabilities.  Another advantage of the SmartPay program is the reporting capabilities.  The improved reporting capabilities assist agencies with budget planning, projected travel activity, and better control over misuse of the card.

By:  Chanda Garrett

The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.

We can issue reimbursements in four ways: electronic funds transfer (EFT), individually billed accounts (IBA), centrally billed accounts (CBA) and checks.  The flexibility is necessary to accommodate different travel situations.

The following three scenarios show three travelers going on the same trip.  All of the travelers need a flight on Tuesday from Washington, DC to Atlanta, GA for a three day conference.  Each traveler will take a taxi to and from the airport and stay in the same Atlanta hotel, but their method of reimbursement will be different.

Traveler 1 will start to work at his government agency on Monday.  Since he needs to fly out on Tuesday morning, his agency does not have time to get him an individual government credit card (IBA).  Therefore they charged his airfare and hotel to their CBA.  Traveler 1 will pay for all of his meals and taxi cab expense.  When Traveler 1 vouchers for his trip, we will reimburse the agency’s CBA and the traveler’s bank account.  Both reimbursements will be made by EFT.

Traveler 2 has been issued a government credit card so his airfare and hotel will be charged to his IBA.  He will pay for some of his meals in cash and charge the rest of his meals and taxi cab to his government credit card.  When Traveler 2 vouchers for his trip, we will reimburse his IBA for his airfare and hotel.  The reimbursement for his meals and taxi cab expense will be based on how he enters them into the E-Gov Travel System.  He can have the travel system reimburse him for all of the meals and taxi cab and he will be responsible for paying the IBA for the meals and taxi or he can change the method of reimbursement on his voucher to have us pay for the specific meals he charged to his IBA and submit the balance to his bank account.  Both reimbursements will be made by EFT.

Traveler 3 is not a government employee.  He lives in a foreign country and is in the United States giving speeches.  He does not have a bank account in the United States.  Since his last speech was in Washington, the government agency agreed to pay for his flight from Washington, DC to Georgia to give a presentation at the conference.  The agency will charge the airfare and hotel to their CBA.  Traveler 3 will be responsible for paying his expenses on the trip and will be reimbursed after he signs a paper voucher.  Since his foreign bank is not affiliated with a bank in the United States, we will reimburse him by check for his meals and taxi.  The CBA method of reimbursement will be by EFT and the check will be mailed.

Why the flexibility in methods of reimbursement . . .  because we need them. 

 by Dean Cox 

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”

We can issue reimbursements in four ways: electronic funds transfer (EFT), individually billed accounts (IBA), centrally billed accounts (CBA) and checks.  We also receive funds from travelers when they have been overpaid.  The flexibility is necessary to accommodate different travel situations.

The following scenarios show travelers going on the same trip.  All of the travelers need a flight on Tuesday from Washington, DC to Atlanta, GA for a three day conference.  Each traveler will take a taxi to and from the airport, stay in the same Atlanta hotel and eat the same meals, but their method of reimbursement will be different.

Traveler 1 will start to work at his government agency on Monday.  Since he needs to fly out on Tuesday morning, his agency does not have time to get him an individual government credit card (IBA).  Therefore they charged his airfare and hotel to their CBA.  Traveler 1 will pay for all of his meals and taxi cab expenses.  When Traveler 1 vouchers for his trip, we will reimburse the agency’s CBA and the traveler’s bank account.  Both reimbursements will be made by EFT.

Traveler 2 is a government employee who has been issued a government credit card.  Therefore, his airfare and hotel will be charged to his IBA.  He will pay for some of his meals in cash and charge the rest of his meals and taxi cab to his government credit card.  When Traveler 2 vouchers for his trip, we will reimburse his IBA for his airfare and hotel.  The reimbursement for his meals and taxi cab expenses will be based on how he enters them into the E-Gov Travel System.  For instance, he can have the travel system reimburse him for all of the meals and taxi expenses and then he would be responsible for paying the IBA for the meals and taxi.  He could also change the method of reimbursement on his voucher to have us pay for the specific meals he charged to his IBA and then submit the balance to his bank account.  Both reimbursements will be made by EFT.

Traveler 3 is a government employee.  Due to his personal credit history, he is not eligible to receive an individual government credit card.  His airfare and hotel are charged to the CBA so he doesn’t have any out of pocket expense, but he still needs cash for meals and the taxi to and from the airport.  Traveler 3 can request his agency give him an advance for 80% of the meals and incidental (M&IE) per diem and estimated taxi expenses he has on his authorization.  His agency will send an email to our Travel office requesting we add the advance to Traveler 3′s authorization.  Five days before Traveler 3′s trip, the requested advance will be deposited by EFT into his bank account.  When Traveler 3 returns from his trip and vouchers, he will be reimbursed by EFT for the amount of his M&IE and actual taxi expenses less the amount of the advance he had already received to cover the expenses.

Traveler 4 is not a government employee.  He lives in a foreign country and is in the United States giving speeches.  He does not have a bank account in the United States.  Since his last speech was in Washington, the government agency agreed to pay for his flight from Washington, DC to Georgia to give a presentation at the conference.  The agency will charge the airfare and hotel to their CBA.  Traveler 4 will be responsible for paying his expenses on the trip and will be reimbursed after he signs a paper voucher.  Since his foreign bank is not affiliated with a bank in the United States, we will reimburse him by check for his meals and taxi.  The CBA method of reimbursement will be by EFT and the check will be mailed.

Sometimes travelers forget to update their travel voucher to the amount they actually incur.  This can result in an underpayment or overpayment.  If the traveler needs to be reimbursed for an additional expense after he has voucher, then he can create a supplemental voucher.  Travel will reimburse the additional expense amount according to the method selected in the voucher.  If the traveler over estimated an expense and forgot to update the amount on the voucher, then he can send a check to his agency for the amount of the overpayment.

Why the flexibility in payment methods . . .  because we need them.

By: Dean Ann Cox

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”

In the future, I expect lodging and rental car expenses to be paid from a CBA instead of IBA, the same way that transportation expenses are now covered by a CBA.  In our e-travel system, FedTraveler, travelers can make transportation, lodging, and rental car reservations.  Since airlines accept CBA as a form of payment, the hotels and rental car companies may soon follow suit.  This puts the liability on the government rather than the individual traveler.  In addition, this would minimize opportunities for travelers to use their personal credit cards to pay for government travel expenses.  After an audit, it was discovered that some employees inappropriately used their personal credit cards to get reward points instead of using their IBA.  The travelers did not utilize the split disbursement function in FedTraveler correctly and were reimbursed for expenses made to their personal credit cards.  Another problem with the IBA is that sometimes travelers make late or insufficient payments, resulting in penalty fees.  Covering more expenses under a CBA would reduce these problems.  However, IBAs are still needed for miscellaneous kinds of expenses, but training and consistent application of the rules need to enforced to prevent misuse of the IBAs.  The new feature of the GSA SmartPay2 program cards with built in credit evaluations will also help with IBA management.

Lorie Henderson

OK, the question is slightly misleading but it got your attention I hope.  My method doesn’t work 100% of the time, but way more often than not.

Here is what I DON’T want to do.  One, I DON’T want to request and then make sure I receive a cash advance prior to leaving on a trip.  (And I certainly don’t want to have to concern myself with returning a cash advance if my trip gets canceled.)  Two, I DON’T want to have to write a check or otherwise make a payment for my personal travel card after the trip is over.

Let assume a “normal” trip – airfare, rental car, & hotel.

I make my airfare, rental car, & hotel reservations online in our E-Gov Travel system.  Airfare is reserved – and paid for – with a centrally-billed account (CBA).  Rental cars & hotels are reserved via my individually-billed account (IBA) stored in the E-Gov Travel system.

Then, my travel authorization is sent for approvals in our E-Gov Travel system.  Once the approvals have been completed, I’m ready to go.

I’m going to need some cash for the trip so on the day I leave, I take my IBA travel card to an ATM and get some.  Not too much, because I will be using my IBA while on travel whenever I can.  Keep all receipts – very important.

Now, I’m back from my trip and ready to voucher.  My airfare, TMC fee, and E-Gov Travel fees are all paid by CBA, so I don’t even need to concern myself with those.  Just record the correct amounts in the voucher.

I have all my receipts so I can add them up and know exactly how much I owe on my IBA.

My agency’s E-Gov Travel system allows me to designate a portion of my voucher reimbursement to be paid directly to my IBA’s vendor.  So when I complete my voucher, I add up all my receipts and put the exact amount in column to be paid directly to the IBA vendor.

That’s it!  (I check my IBA statement later of course to make sure that my balance is $0.)

I’m old enough to remember having to write and mail a paper check to pay the balance of my IBA.  No need to do that anymore with CBAs and direct payments to IBAs.

By: Kevin Young

In the future, I expect lodging and rental car expenses to be paid from a CBA instead of IBA, the same way that transportation expenses are now covered by a CBA.  In our e-travel system, FedTraveler, travelers can make transportation, lodging, and rental car reservations.  Since airlines accept CBA as a form of payment, the hotels and rental car companies may soon follow suit.  This puts the liability on the government rather than the individual traveler.  In addition, this would minimize opportunities for travelers to use their personal credit cards to pay for government travel expenses.  After an audit, it was discovered that some employees inappropriately used their personal credit cards to get reward points instead of using their IBA.  The travelers did not utilize the split disbursement function in FedTraveler correctly and were reimbursed for expenses made to their personal credit cards.  Another problem with the IBA is that sometimes travelers make late or insufficient payments, resulting in penalty fees.  Covering more expenses under a CBA would reduce these problems.  However, IBAs are still needed for miscellaneous kinds of expenses, but training and consistent application of the rules need to enforced to prevent misuse of the IBAs.  The new feature of the GSA SmartPay2 program cards with built in credit evaluations will also help with IBA management.

Lorie Henderson

By:  Scott Carver