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)

Purpose

Include your motivations for traveling. An example could be, "Presenting at *name of conference* ".

Is travel federally sponsored?

According to the Federal “Fly America Act”, travelers are required to use U.S. air carrier service for all air travel and cargo transportation services funded by the U.S. government.

Does your travel include airline travel?

• If federally funded, please see "Is travel federally sponsored?" above.
• If using a contracted travel agency, please see "Travel Agency" above.

Will you be attending a conference?

Please upload a copy of the agenda in the Documents section, if available.

Are you requesting a Working Fund travel advance?

• Keep in mind that a Working Fund travel advance should be the last resort and there is no guarantee of approval.
• Information about how to apply for a Working Fund travel advance can be found here (link) under the "About Reimbursement/Payment..." heading.

Will any part of this travel estimate include personal expenses?

Personal funds are to be used to pay for any unaffiliated traveler (such as family members), or if the travel will include personal travel (such as sightseeing). Please note, if traveling internationally with unaffiliated travelers, you will be required to provide a completed Unaffiliated Traveler Form to the Office of International Education Services for review.

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.

Summary

• All of your estimates are shown here.
• Totals of all of your estimates are shown in non-editable fields under the estimate entries. 
• Traveler Responsibility refers to the amount that the traveler is personally paying and not seeking reimbursement for.
• You will only see this required field if you answered that travel will include personal expenses.

Distribution of Charges

• The individual completing the Pre-Approval may complete the fields in this section if they know the chartstring information, if not, it will be completed after submission by the next individual in the approval process. 
• Click <Validate Button> to check if the combination of chartstring information entered is logical.
• There can be up to 5 Distribution of Charges line items on a Pre-Approval.
• Please see User Role Definitions for information about the different approvers in the signing process.

Transportation

• Add transportation estimates by clicking <Add Entry button>
• Please indicate any additional information about an estimate in the Comments section. For example, include if you may be personally responsible for paying for part of an estimate.

Lodging/Food

• Add lodging and food estimates by clicking <Add Entry button>
• Per diem rates for the destination city can be used to estimate meal expenses.
• Please indicate any additional information about an expense in the Comments section. This includes things like:
• If you think you will be personally responsible for paying for part of an estimate. 
• If you think the per diem rates will be exceeded due to dietary restrictions or some other foreseeable factor.

Fees/Miscellaneous

• Add other estimates by clicking <Add Entry button>
• Please indicate any additional information about an expense in the Comments section. For example, include if you may be personally responsible for paying for part of an estimate.