DOCUMENT PREPARATION

 

PREPARATION OF REQUEST FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL CASH ADVANCE (STARS FORM 61)

A Request for Official Travel Cash Advance Form (STARS Form 61) illustrated in the Request for Official Travel Cash Advance (STARS Form 61) Section of this manual must be prepared in conjunction with a Disbursement Voucher, when a State employee requests advance cash in anticipation of travel expenditures. The primary purpose for providing cash advances to employees traveling on official business of a State agency is to reduce the amount of personal funds required to finance official travel, thereby relieving the financial burden of the traveler. The following policy shall be observed in regard to requests for travel advances:

  1. No travel advance shall be made to an employee for travel within the State of South Carolina without specific approval of the State Budget and Control Board.

  2. No travel advance shall be made to a payee other than a state employee with a bonafide social security number.

  3. Individual performing the travel must be the recipient of the cash advance.

  4. Request for advance travel can not be combined with request for travel reimbursement, per diem or any other charges.

  5. No travel advance shall be made for more than 80% of the estimated amount of lodging and subsistence (excluding airline transportation). This is determined by multiplying the number of days for meals plus multiplying the number of days for lodging.

  6. No advance shall be made in instances where 80% of the estimated travel expense does not exceed $250.00.

  7. Request for travel advance cash must be submitted to the Comptroller General's Office not later than seven (7) business days prior to the beginning of the trip for which the advance is required.

  8. If advance is paid and the trip is canceled, the check should be returned to the State Treasurer's Office with a letter of cancellation. If the check has been cashed, the employee must write a personal check made payable to and deposited with the State Treasurer.

  9. The agency, department, or institution making advances shall keep such records of advances made in accordance with rules prescribed by the Comptroller General. If an agency fails to keep proper records, the privilege to make travel advances shall be withdrawn.

  10. All advances for travel and subsistence monies shall be repaid to the agency within thirty (30) days after the end of he trip or by July 15, whichever comes first.

Travel advances must be requested through the regular Disbursement Voucher procedure. The Disbursement Voucher (STARS Form 60) must be filled out as an advance transaction using transaction code 600. Request for a travel advance must be processed separately - i.e., it is not possible to process travel reimbursement or per diem payments on a voucher requesting a travel advance. The Travel Advance Form must be filled out completely. Although the Travel Advance Form is not a STARS input form, specific instructions regarding its preparation are outlined in the Request for Official Travel Cash Advance Preparation Instructions Section of this manual to assist agency personnel in preparing this common support form. For illustrative purposes, a completed Travel Advance Form is shown in the Request for Official Travel Cash Advance (STARS Form 61) Completed Section of this manual.

When the employee returns from his trip for which an advance was issued, a Disbursement Voucher and Travel Support Document must be prepared to request reimbursement. Note that, a repayment of the travel advance is a separate transaction. See the Disbursement Voucher - Reimbursement for Travel and Repayment of Travel Advance Section of this manual for exhibit of disbursement voucher for repayment of travel advance with balance due traveler and Disbursement Voucher - Repayment of Travel Advance - Balance Due State and Disbursement Voucher - Repayment of Travel Advance with Non-Travel Expense - Balance Due State for exhibit of repayment of travel advances with balance due State.

REQUEST FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL CASH ADVANCE (STARS FORM 61)

For Request for Official Travel Cash Advance Preparation Instructions See Below

REQUEST FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL CASH ADVANCE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

NO.

ITEM

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1

  Agency Number   Enter the agency number of the agency where the person works.

2

  Name   Enter the name of the person who is requesting the advance.

3

  Social Security Number   Enter the Social Security Number of the person requesting the advance.

4

  Official Headquarters   Enter the location of the official headquarters of person making request.

5

  Destination - From   Enter the city of departure, date, and time.

6

  Destination - To   Enter the city of arrival, date and time. Note that if more than one city is to be visited during a trip, enter the name, date, and time of the first city, where expenses for lodging and meals will occur.

7

  Return - From   Enter the city of departure, date and time for return trip.

8

  Return - To   Enter the city to which the traveler will return to, the date of return, and the time. Normally, the return city shall be the same as the departure city.

9

  Purpose of Trip   Enter reason for making trip.

10

  Meals _____ Days   Enter the number of days for which meals will be reimbursed to the person requesting the advance. Do not enter days which will not be reimbursed at the maximum allowable rate.

11

  @ _____ Per Day   Enter the rate of reimbursement for meals.

12

  Total Meals   Enter the amount of meals. The amount is computed by multiplying the number of days times the reimbursement rate.

13

  Lodging _____ Days   Enter the number of nights for which lodging expenses will be reimbursed to the person requesting the advance.

14

  @ _____ Per Day   Enter the anticipated rate for a single night's lodging.

15

  Total Lodging   Enter the amount for lodging. The amount is computed by multiplying the number of nights of lodging times the anticipated rate.

16

  Subtotal   Add the amounts for meals (Item No. 13) and lodging (Item No. 15) and enter the sum.

17

  Total   Multiply the SUBTOTAL amount (Item No. 16) by 80% and enter the results.

18

  Signature of
Department Head
  The Request for Official Travel Cash Advance must be signed by the department/organization Director and dated.

19

  Signature of Traveler   The Request for Official Travel Cash Advance must be signed by the person requesting the advance and dated.

REQUEST FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL CASH ADVANCE (STARS FORM 61) COMPLETED

REQUEST FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL CASH ADVANCE (STARS FORM 61)

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