Payroll Services Overnight/Out-of-town Travel Training

1. Payroll Services Overnight/Out-of-town Travel Training

2. Introduction • Travel Regulations • CCSD follows the State of Georgia travel accounting policies and procedures • CCSD Travel Procedures Manual is located on FSU • Form Bank • Pre-authorizations, federal per diem rates, pre-payments, tax exemption forms, and reimbursements for Overnight Travel • Mileage reimbursement for Local Day Trips • Travel Checklists • Contacts • Travel Process - Payroll Services • Travel GL Accounts – Financial Planning or Central Office area funding travel event

3. Completing Required Travel Forms • Always download forms from CCSD Intranet Support Site: http://support.cobbk12.org/formbank/ • All forms should be TYPED • 6-digit Employee ID # should be on all • travel documents • All signatures should be signed in ink • other than black • County funded trips- • Originals routed to Payroll Services • Copies kept for your records • Student Activity funded trips- • All documents maintained at school

4. Plan ahead for Out-of-Town / Overnight Travel

5. Overnight Travel Step 1: Pre-Approval • FS-125 Authorization for Out-of-Town/ • Overnight Travel should be started at • least 30 days in advance • Reflects estimate of all expenses and funding source ( GL Account) • Must have all required signatures • If Principal traveling, their Area Superintendent must sign all travel documents • Use Checklist attached to FS-125 for guidance • Approved FS-125 should be attached to subsequent travel requests

6. Checklist for Overnight Travel • Attached to FS-125 on Form Bank • Step by step for overnight travel

7. Estimate of Travel Expenses • Obtain pricing for Registration from the conference/workshop brochure • Contact the hotel to obtain a room rate unless arranged by the conference personnel • Check the conference/workshop brochure regarding what meals might be included in the conference • Go to Form Bank to obtain the Federal Per Diem rates related to eligible meals

8. Estimate for Transportation • Contact airline company of choice to obtain an estimated cost for flight • Always consider the potential for price increases if the trip is not booked on the day you obtain the estimated cost • Have option to use Nippon Travel Co. (800-331-9749) for obtaining airline tickets • Always consider the potential for a price increase if you don’t book with Nippon on your first call. Nippon invoices CCSD directly and bill is paid by Payroll Services. • Include estimated transportation costs (shuttle, taxi, etc.) on FS-125

9. General Travel Reminders • Always keep COPIES of all ORIGINAL documents sent to Payroll Services or other departments for your records • A COPY of the approved FS-125 must be attached to all subsequent travel requests/documents (pre-payment requests) sent to Payroll Services while preparing for the trip • FS-119 prepayment requests with its backup documentation should be separate from the FS-125 package; don’t attach all together • Employee 6-digit ID# must be accurate on all travel forms • Do not save and reuse forms as they may be updated with new information, rates etc. periodically.

10. Travel and Pcards do not go together! • P-cards cannot be used for actual Travel expenses using County or Grant Funds * Exception* Conference Registration can be paid with Pcard

11. Group Travel • Payroll Services must be able to identify and record travel expenses per employee when county funds are utilized. • CCSD is required to submit accurate travel expenditures per employee to the State Department of Education on an annual basis. • If a group of employees are traveling together and plan to share rooms, you must attach a list of which employees will be sharing the expense of each room on the FS-119 Check Request to the hotel.

12. Step 2: Pre-Payments to Vendors • Payment for Registration – two options • Use Munis Request for Check procedure to request payment to a vendor for registration: Accounts Payable routes Check per instructions • Use Pcard • Pre-payment for hotel expenses--- Use the FS-119 Form. CCSD will issue a check directly to hotel or employee can take with them to hotel. • Pre-payment for airline tickets can be paid by the employee with their personal money and may be reimbursed prior to the trip. • Employee requests for reimbursements of pre-payments should be submitted on an FS-119A, Payroll Request for Check for Travel Expense Prepayment with a paid receipt in the employee’s name. Otherwise, employee will be reimbursed when they submit the FS-100 Employee Expense Statement at the conclusion of the trip. • Do not reuse previous forms to avoid inaccuracies

13. FS-119 Payroll Request for Check Payment for Travel Expense Prepayment – Vendor Paid • Pre-pay hotel or airline • List all employees and their E#s on form • Must have all required signatures and GL Account • Send completed form along with backup documentation to Payroll Services

14. FS-119-A Payroll Request for Check Payment for Travel Expense Prepayment – Employee Paid • Use to Request Reimbursement for Travel Expense Prepayment made by an Employee Ex. Airline • Must have all required signatures and GL Account indicated • Send completed form along with backup documentation to Payroll Services

15. Exemptions in State of Georgia • State and local government employees traveling within the state on official business are exempt from paying the county or municipal excise tax on lodging using the FS-137 Certificate of Exemption • As a government entity, CCSD may not be subject to Georgia sales tax by using the ST-5 Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption • These exemption forms are located on the Form Bank and should be provided to the hotel upon reservation and/or pre-payment • Some Georgia hotels may charge a $5.00 per day Occupancy Fee • The Occupancy Fee is not included in the exemption therefore can be paid and reimbursed.

16. FS-137 Certificate of Exemption • Use this form to exempt local hotel/motel excise tax • Provide to hotel when making reservation and/or upon arrival

17. ST-5 Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption • Use this form to exempt State of Georgia sales tax • Provide to hotel when making reservation and or upon arrival

18. Travel Advances • Limited and available only to an employee whose current annual salary is $50,000.00 or less. • Employees may request advances in $250 or $500 increments only. • Employees are allowed to hold one outstanding travel advance per trip at a time. • This is an advance from CCSD to the employee and is expected to be repaid within 30 days after the trip has been completed. • The full amount of the travel advance must be used for the travel expenses or the balance must be paid back to CCSD within 30 days after the trip is complete.

19. FS-118B Travel Advance • Use to request a Travel Advance for a specific trip using County Funds • Increments of $250 or $500 only • Obtain GL Account from Payroll Services

20. Overnight Travel: Step 3: Finalize Trip • FS-100 Employee Expense Statement for Out-of-Town/Overnight Travelmust be completed and approved within 30 days of returning from travel • Group travel - it’s important that the paperwork be submitted as a combined package for all the employees who were on the trip • Always plan appropriately and submit FS-100 to the proper departments for authorized signatures • If form is to be submitted to multiple departments, each department will know to which department the form should be routed to next. • Refer to the FS-412 Travel Expense Checklist tohelp complete the FS-100 in confirming you have all necessary documents and approvals. This will help reduce the possibility of delaying the applicable reimbursements. • Expenses submitted more than 60 calendar days after completion of the trip or event, will be included in the traveler’s IRS Form W-2 as taxable income per IRS regulations.

21. FS-412 Travel Expense Checklist For Out-of-Town / Overnight Travel • Use as a guide when finalizing travel paperwork • Keep with your records

22. FS-100 Employee Expense Statement for Out-of-Town / Overnight Travel

23. Travel Resources

24. Contacts for Travel Procedures Primary Contact: Payroll / Travel Representative 770-426-3338 Additional Contacts: Rhonda Elsberry, Payroll Accountant 770-420-4938 or Rhonda.Elsberry@cobbk12.org Kim Coonfield, Manager, Payroll Services 770-426-3502 or Kimberly.coonfield@cobbk12.org