Help creating and completing a Pre-Approval

Creating A Pre-Approval

1. Navigate to the UMBC Travel System.

2. Click  located in the top right-hand corner of the screen. If that green button does not say "Main", you are on the correct screen.

3. Click   on the right side of the black bar appearing across the page.

4. Select who you are completing the Pre-Approval for, if prompted.

   1. You will only be asked this question if you are designated to be able to complete Pre-Approvals on behalf of someone in the Travel System.

5. If you are creating a Pre-Approval to be completed by someone else on your behalf, select the individual who will be completing the Pre-Approval in this menu <Select a Preparer menu>. 

   1. Follow the instructions on this page (link to page about how to allow individuals to make submissions on behalf of me) if you don’t see this menu or their name in the dropdown to allow individuals to make submissions on your behalf.

6. Enter a title exceeding 10 characters for the Pre-Approval.

7. Indicate the start and end dates of travel by clicking the fields and selecting the dates in the calendar or by entering them manually in mm/dd/yyyy format.

   One Pre-Approval can account for up to 6 months of travel so please keep in mind that you cannot submit for reimbursement until travel is complete.

8. Click 

   After creating a Pre-Approval, periodically click  to be able to close, re-open, and edit the Pre-Approval at any time before submission without loosing any information.

   

Details

This is the first page you are taken to upon creation of a Pre-Approval.

Address

• Please note that a UMBC address should not be used for this field as it should be your most permanent place of residence.
• If the address populated by the system is incorrect, select No and make any necessary corrections to the address field.
• You may be wondering why you are receiving a message that your address is not in the vendor file or why your address does not automatically populate. The Travel System pulls information from Business related systems, so if you have not previously requested reimbursements from UMBC, your address will not be on file.
• If you decide to send your address or corrections to Accounts Payable, you will not be able to edit the address field again until the original changes have been processed.

Origin Address

Origin is the point at which travel begins. For example, if traveling by plane, you would select US Address in the Address Type dropdown menu, and use the address information of the departing airport.

Destination Address

• Use the information of the final destination for these fields. For example, if traveling by plane, use the information of the hotel, not the arrival airport.
• You can click <Add Destination button> to have up to 3 destinations.
• Click <X button> to remove a destination.

Travel Agency

• Contracted agencies are those agencies which have been vetted by the State of Maryland and include Globetrotter Travel, Travel Leaders, and Omega as shown in the dropdown. Contact the agency for a quote which should be entered in the Estimate section.
• What are the advantages to using a contracted agency/ Why should I use a contracted agency? (Link to information about this)

Estimates

Navigate to the <Estimates button> tab to enter travel estimates. It is important to estimate all travel expenses as closely as possible because a traveler is only approved for the amount on the Pre-Approval. Information about how to estimate expenses for each category can be found below.