Process for Requesting a Travel Advance

All requests for Travel Advances are made via the form FZADPEZ in Banner. Complete training for this process is available by registering for the “Travel Policies and Procedures” workshop, available through Learning Central.  Please note that the Direct Pay Training Lab is a prerequisite for the Travel Policies workshop.

An overview of the procedure for requesting a Travel Advance follows:

  1. Traveler provides all information regarding the trip to an individual with access to FZADPEZ.  This information should include the travel destination and travel dates, the business purpose of the travel, any quotes for estimated expenses (hotel, rental car, etc.), receipts for any travel expenses the traveler has prepaid out-of-pocket (airfare, conference fee, etc.), and a conference brochure, if applicable.
  2. In FZADPEZ, select payment type “Travel Advance Request”.
  3. Select appropriate Payee type (Employee, Student, Foreign Student).  These are the only payee types eligible to receive travel advances.
  4. Enter Payee’s Banner ID, or search for same.  It is important to note that before an employee or student can receive a travel advance under this system, they must be set up as a “vendor” in Banner.  To find out if the payee is a vendor, search on Banner screen FTIIDEN, making sure that the box next to “Vendor” is checked.  If they are not a vendor, request this as normal, through the “Electronic Forms” link on my.unm.edu.
  5. Complete remainder of Header screen as any other DPEZ.  (Completion of AP Direct Pay lab is required before gaining access to form FZADPEZ).  Of particular note here is the “Payment Due Date”.  If the travel advance is being requested for prepaid out-of-pocket expenses, the current day’s date, which is the default, is appropriate, in order to allow for the traveler to be reimbursed as soon as possible.  However, if the travel advance is for estimated expenses, policy states that the advance cannot be issued until five (5) business days before the departure date.  Therefore, the payment due date entered should be 8-9 business days before travel, in order to allow for processing time.  If a travel advance is needed for both types of expenses, 2 separate requests will need to be submitted in order for the prepaid expenses to be reimbursed immediately.  If the payment date for estimated expenses is not correct, the DPEZ will have to be disapproved so the date can be changed.
  6. On “Travel/Other” tab, in the “Travel Departure/Arrival” block, enter trip information and business purpose, the same as on a Travel reimbursement DPEZ.
  7. The “Travel Details” block is used to request an advance for miscellaneous estimated expenses other than meal per diem and hotel (rental car, taxi, etc.), and for any expenses prepaid out-of pocket (such as airline tickets; however, airline tickets should be purchased using a UNM Purchasing Card whenever possible).
    1. First, note that “Travel Advance” and “Out-of-Pocket” are the only valid choices on the drop-down list.
    2. To request an advance for estimated expenses other than meals and lodging, select “Travel Advance” from the Payment Category drop-down list.  Note that estimated expenses are advanced at 80% of the total.  Quotes for the estimated amounts must be attached as appropriate.
    3. To request an advance for expenses prepaid out-of-pocket, select the “Out-of-Pocket” option from the drop-down list.  These expenses are advanced in full (100%).  Receipts for prepaid amounts must be attached.
    4. Be aware that Travel Advance requests for estimated expenses will not be paid to the traveler until 5 business days prior to travel; whereas prepaid out-of-pocket expenses can be reimbursed immediately.  If a Travel Advance is being requested for both types of expenses, two (2) separate advance requests will need to be submitted, otherwise only one payment for the full amount of the travel advance request will be made, 5 business days prior to travel.
  1. If applicable, enter the meals to be claimed, and the appropriate Meal and Incidental Expense (M&IE) per diem rate for the destination, on the “Meals” tab. Estimated M&IE expenses will be advanced at 80%.
  2. If applicable, enter the estimated actual lodging expense, or the appropriate meal and lodging per diem rate, on the “Lodging” tab.  Estimated lodging expenses will be advanced at 80%.  Attach a quote documenting the estimated lodging expenses.
  3. On the Accounting Distribution screen, enter an accounting record for each index and account code that will be funding the travel.  This index or indexes will not be charged at this time, but what you enter will determine the Central Accounting office(s) (Unrestricted Accounting-Main, Contracts & Grants-Main, Unrestricted Accounting-HSC, or Contracts & Grants-HSC) to which the Travel Advance request is routed for approval.
  4. Upon completing the DPEZ in Banner, a Banner invoice (DPI) number will be generated, and electronically routed to the appropriate Central Accounting office for approval; there is no departmental electronic approval required in Banner for Travel Advance requests. Note that if the traveler has any past due balance on their account at the Bursar's Office, they will not be able to receive a Travel Advance until the balance due has been paid.
  5. Print the Travel Advance Request form, obtain the signatures of the traveler and the traveler’s dean, director, department head or PI, and forward the form and all applicable backup (quotes, receipts, itinerary, etc.) to the appropriate Central Accounting office.  Please note that if the traveler is a dean, director, department head or PI, the traveler’s supervisor must sign the Travel Advance Request form.
  6. Once the accounting office receives, reviews and approves the request, they will then approve the DPI in Banner.  After the DPI has been approved, the traveler will either receive a check, or a direct deposit will be made into their designated bank account, no sooner than 5 business days before the travel date for estimated expenses, or as soon as submitted and approved in the case of prepaid out-of-pocket expenses.  The method of payment (check or direct deposit) follows the method in which the traveler receives their paycheck.  However, if the traveler receives their paycheck via direct deposit, they may still request that a check be issued for the travel advance, by making the appropriate selection on the DPEZ.
  7. When submitting the Travel DPEZ upon completion of the trip, the information from the Travel Advance Request may be “copied”:
    • At the main screen of the FZADPEZ form, enter the DPEZ number of the Travel Advance Request in the “Copy DP-EZ From” field, and click the “Copy DPEZ” icon to the right of the field.  A message confirming that the DPEZ was successfully copied will appear; click “OK”.
    • IMPORTANT:  On the Header screen, change the “Payment Type” to “Travel”. 
    • In the “Payee” field, enter the Banner ID of the traveler.  This can be obtained from the printed Travel Advance Request form, or by clicking the drop-down arrow to search.  The rest of the information on the Header screen will copy in from the Travel Advance Request DPEZ.
    • On the “Travel/Other” tab, make changes, if necessary, to the departure and return date and time.
    • IMPORTANT:  In the “Travel/Honorarium Details” section of the “Travel/Other” tab, select Travel Advance from the “Payment Category” drop-down box.  Enter the date of the Travel Advance Request DPEZ in the “Trans Date” field, and enter the Travel Advance Request DPEZ number in the “Explanation” field.  Then enter the Travel Advance amount in the "Amount" field. Finally, select the accounting office that issued the Travel Advance from the “Travel Advance Source” drop-down box.
    • On the “Meals” and “Lodging” tabs, make any necessary changes, and proceed to the Accounting screen.
    • Note that the first Accounting record on the Accounting screen has auto-populated.  This record is for accounting office use only; DO NOT CHANGE.
    • Select “Next Record” and enter the appropriate index or indexes to which the travel expenses will be charged.  Once the “Balance to be Allocated” is zero the document can be completed.
    • Click complete to generate a DPI number.
    • Print the Direct Pay Approval (DPA) form.
    • Forward the printed DPA for department signatures, and then on to the appropriate central accounting office.
    • Obtain the appropriate departmental approvals in Banner.
    • Print the Travel Advance Repayment Checklist, complete, and attach to the Direct Pay Approval (DPA) form.