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Apples to apples comparison between Conur and the airline directly there should never be a cheaper flight on the airline. When doing this comparison, please check in Concur first as the flight you select with the airline directly may no longer be available in inventory for Concur to return.
Travel reward programs as well as points for personal credit card programs are available when booking travel in the UM Program. Whether booking online in Concur or with a Conlin Travel agent, these points are collected.
When using the personal credit card, which can be stored in the employee’s Concur profile, the points for the purchase are collected as with any other purchase using the same credit card.
Travel rewards programs can be stored in the employee’s Concur profile. This allows the employee to collect their points for associated travel reservations.
Help updating the employee profile can be found in MyLinc at this link.
Always recommend the U-M Travel Program, using Concur and/or Conlin Travel. The Priceline, Expedia, Kayak type of travel bookings don’t align as well for business travel as the U-M program.
If it is just an extended stay, nothing additional needs to be done. Your roundtrip airfare is allowable. If you add a personal leg to the flight, you can only expense the business portion of the airfare. This is supported by a screenshot of the trip with just the business portion - this is the amount that is allowed. If paid with a PCard, mark the personal leg as a personal expense. When including lodging, rental car, and any other expenses based on a daily rate (such as parking) the personal portion must either be marked personal or paid with a personal credit card.
If you add a personal leg to the flight, you can only expense the business portion of the airfare. This is supported by a screenshot of the trip with just the business portion - this is the amount that is allowed. If paid with a PCard, mark the personal leg as a personal expense.
When clicking on Fare Details the class of service is evident.
University policy does limit airfare to standard coach/economy class. However, there are approved exceptions:
Approved exceptions for first or business class travel on non-federal funds include:
When a university traveler is accompanying a major donor or dignitary, flying first or business class is allowable when approved by the unit
Business class is also allowable for flights exceeding eight hours in duration.
Federal regulations prohibit the use of federal funds for purchase of business or first class air travel. In addition, federal regulations require that U.S. carriers be used for both foreign and domestic travel, unless one is not available.
Please see UM SPG 507.10-1 for more information.
Refundable flights come with additional cost, and as such, fall outside of the standard airfare policy.
No form, just an internal process for your unit. At the time of expensing the charge, auditors will review the level of approval and the comments to support the refundable purchase.
As a rule, it is discouraged to book refundable flights. However, there are times that make sense which is why it is allowable with proper approval.
The approval can be in the form of a memo or email attached to the report or the report itself can be routed to the appropriate person for online approval.
On Southwest, the traveler doesn’t pay for the first two checked bags. Please see Southwest's presentation for more information.
No, we do not have a technical solution that fits this. If a PCard holder needs to purchase airfare for another employee, the cardholder must book a “guest” reservation in Concur or with Conlin Travel.
These seats have to be purchased on the Delta app or at Delta.com after the flight is booked.
If this is a question about policy, the university doesn’t set policy limitations on baggage. Typically, we see one checked bag, maybe two. It is possible that the audit team may request additional information if baggage seems excessive. Baggage purchases are not available in our program. The baggage purchase happens at check in with the airlines.
The inventory of flights is very fluid so, yes, it is likely you could see fluctuations.
In “normal” times, the unit would work with Conlin to authorize a name change. There can be fees for this process.
In “covid” times, we have an internal process to process journal entries to credit the original unit holding the ticket and charge the unit using the ticket. This is automatic for this bank of tickets in order for the university to recoup as much money as possible instead of losing the tickets when they expire.
Yes, if booked within the U-M Travel Program we have opportunities to request a name change to transfer a ticket from one traveler to another with our airline partners (Delta, United, American and Southwest).
If a person still has an appointment (an employee relationship) then they would be eligible. This does include Emeritus as well as all campuses (Michigan Med, Dearborn, Flint and Ann Arbor). More eligibility information can be found here.
Yes, with the U-M program, as long as it is a student on University business, they can rent at 18. Keywords here are “university business.”
Concur would be the best place, as it gives us (the University) more booking data. There are no fees associated with booking in Concur.
If you are booking for a guest, you cannot prepay with a credit card/PCard. Whoever is picking up the car, their license is required, and their payment is required. This can be changed at turn in, but up-front, the payment and license has to match the driver. There are no exceptions to this through National and Enterprise.
There is a link for the Enterprise Microsite which has the prices encrypted into the rates. The worst way to reserve a car is through National.com or Enterprise.com. Calling them directly to reserve a car, they will want the contract number, and those are not public. Booking though the designated sites is the best way to secure your U-M discount. More information related to National/Enterprise rentals is available here.
Both methods receive the same discount for business travel. Booking the rental in Concur allows you to keep all of your travel plans together in one itinerary.
Yes, you are able to rent, with a discount, for leisure travel. Please see the Personal-Use Program Summary here. Rates start at $32.00/day and go up, depending on what class the rental is. The insurance coverage is not included for leisure, only for business travel
This is correct. Leisure travel under the Big 10 contract receives discounts but does not include the insurance we receive for business. Leisure travel rental cars should be booked through the this website.
If it’s personal, then book through the Whitepine link and choose leisure.
The prices for National/Enterprise (EHI Holdings) should be the same in Concur or in the U-M site for EHI on the Procurement site.
The account numbers do work internationally, but there is a different set of rates (currency/exchange rates, etc). Generally, when you’re talking about international travel, there are deductibles involved, with any damage, and each country is different in their requirements. You would be expected to pay the deductible; you can purchase an additional line item that would cover that deductible, but they vary according to country.
Yes. When picking up the rental, provide the name and required information of any additional drivers.
Please see the Personal-Use Program Summary document, here. Rates start at $32.00/day and go up, based on the class of vehicle. Exclusively non-business travel reservations should not be put on a University PCard.
It is not recommended to add someone’s personal card to the employee’s profile making the reservation. In this example, the travel arranger can complete the reservation with their PCard and the student will be able to present their form of payment when picking up the rental car. This works the same for guests.
When reserving vehicles for university visitors, the reservation should be in the visitors' name, the visitor must pay for the rental with their own credit card and submit receipts to the department for reimbursement. For more information, see this page, under “Ordering information”.
Because the University is self-insured, you should still waive the liability insurance. If you take it, you will not be reimbursed. If traveling internationally, the traveler should always accept liability insurance.
Assuming that you’re talking about the discount associated with being an Emerald member, which is a percentage off the “going rates” - and note that going rates right now are high - yes, the University's rates are better than just standard Emerald club rates.
You can have a passenger that is not employed by the University in the rental car, but you would not be able to switch driving responsibilities. All driving responsibilities are on that University employee.
With the impact that the chip shortage has had on the industry as a whole, this has affected us. National and Enterprise are the largest rental car providers in the world. We buy the most cars, and were suddenly unable to purchase our normal quantities. Our last buy, we only got 20% of what we normally purchase. In the current environment, we are keeping our vehicles in the fleet longer. Some may have 50-60 thousand miles, possibly more. Instead of 30-40 thousand. Maintenance and safety are not forfeited, but they may be higher mileage, or possibly have a stain on the seat, something like that. We have also started to purchase used vehicles.
Note that whenever “leisure” travel is at peak, that’s when you will find more shortages. Think spring break for southern markets, summer, and the holidays.
If you’re trying to book a car, and it shows sold out, then it’s sold out, and you would move to a backup option. If you book a car, and it goes through, and you get a call the day before - or you arrive and there is not one available, that’s where I, Meghan Thomas, can get involved.
This would be considered business travel so would follow standard business process as it relates to Risk Management.
The university is self insured so business travel is covered in the event of an accident. The preferrence is to use Enterprise/National under the Big 10 contract but if reserving a rental outside of the U.S. it is recommended that you buy the insurance.
If said graduate student has an employee-relationship with the university, then they have a Concur profile. Anyone who does not have an employee-relationship with the university, will not have access to Concur.
Concur is available for self service (employee creates their own report) along with using an expense delegate (delegate creates the report on behalf of the employee). In addition, SSC has a team of delegates to create expense reports on behalf of the employee. Typically, units decide whether or not to require their employees to use the SSC. So yes, there is a way to create your own expense reports but you will need to follow unit guidelines.
Yes, a demo was provided showing how to search/book in Concur. The demonstration video is here. Concur doesn’t provide information related to luggage but if you download the TripIt app you will receive information regarding your reservation. If this doesn’t answer your question, you will likely have to check with the airline regarding specific questions..
Concur is available anywhere you have internet access or on the mobile app.
Yes, you can search and book international flights in Concur. Conlin Travel is also a great resource for international travel as these can sometimes be more challenging arrangements.
Contact the vendor for the receipt. After due diligence, if unsuccessful then add comments to explain why no receipt was provided. Receipts for airfare, lodging and car rental are always required and available from the vendor.
Typically, we expect to see something around 20%. Ultimately, this is a local decision in the unit if there is support for a larger amount. In Audit, this would be a judgment call and will be questioned if too far out of the norm.
No, this is considered sharing the PCard so it is a violation of policy.
Two options. Select the closest city to the location or submit an eForm: Travel & Expense General Inquiry.
Yes. "How to" can be found on MyLinc with this job aid.
For the individual traveler, specifically. They could take a picture of a taxi receipt, for instance, and add it to Concur (receipt store), or to an expense report. This aids in productivity, and can eliminate a traveler coming home with a wallet full of receipts and having to remember what each one was for - it would also eliminate having to come home from travel, and then scan and upload a bunch of receipts into Concur.
For booking functionality, if a flight is canceled or delayed, the traveler can rebook a flight, or book a hotel, in the event of a delay, etc
Currently there is no functionality to be able to upload a receipt (in Mobile) to someone else’s profile. However, this can be done via email. Once the receipt store is activated, simply email receipts to: Receipts@Concur.com
See this section of the Procurement FAQ page for more information
Only if a PCard is in someone’s profile, however, please note that this is a violation of University policy. Your PCard should only be in your profile. Adding your PCard number to someone else’s profile would be considered “sharing” your PCard.
Refer to the university’s tech tool policy for this question. Any other questions for these expenses should be directed to the unit business office.
Yes, this has been added. It was not originally in the first roll-out. You can create an itinerary and add per diem now. There are a couple of screenshots in the Concur Mobile App Slide Deck if you need more information.
Yes, the receipt images added with a phone camera, through ExpenseIt, show up in the “Available Expenses” area (in web version) and are denoted with the icon shown at right.
SAP Concur - the app icon should look something like the icon at the right.
Please remember to select “Sign in with SSO” - then enter your uniqname and level-1 password in the U-M web authentication screen. You will then need to approve via Duo authentication. Do not use the “@med.” when signing in with SSO.
Yes. Conlin’s hours of operation are 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM - both Customer Service numbers automatically roll over to their after-hours contact center. The customer service numbers are: 855-200-8785 and 800-783-9559. For calls outside of the US, 734-477-6022.
Yes, Conlin partners with an after hour service who is familiar with U-M processes and policies. There is a fee associated with this service.
This has not changed. We partner with Conlin Travel for our travel fulfillment and agree to pay fees associated with their service. Conlin Travel fees can be found on the Procurement website here.
It is charged at the same time the reservation is created. The fee will be charged to the same credit card used for the reservation. This fee is to be expensed to the correct shortcode when submitting the expense report.
This is an optional field in the event the traveler requires additional assistance. Populating this field automatically routes the online reservation to an agent, therefore, there are associated fees.
For normal Conlin bookings, the fees are (as of now) $18.00/agent assisted domestic flights, $28.00/agent assisted international flights, $10.00/ground transportation, etc. There is normally a charge for booking a hotel when making other arrangements. However, there is an additional $10.00 fee for hotel bookings, when you’re using a room block.
Yes, the U-M Travel Program is only for university business travel. The only exception is when a U-M employee is traveling for business and is traveling with a guest the guest reservations can be booked within the program.
No, the U-M Travel Program is only for university business travel. The only exception is when a U-M employee is traveling for business and is traveling with a personal guest. In this case, the guest reservations can be booked within the program but not paid for with PCard.
Concur and Conlin Travel cannot be used for personal travel under the contracts we have. You can use Conlin Travel for your personal needs, however, not at the contract negotiated rates.
This depends on if the student is booking through meetings or corporate travel. In corporate, we would like the person who booked the travel contact us, to avoid fraud.
For meetings, when the meeting event is created, the event creator can specify how they want to handle things like changes. This could be something like “Please reach out to X Department Administrator for any changes” or something similar.
Normally the card used for the original purchase is the one that is charged for any additional charges, unless Conlin is told otherwise.
Once we know more about the FROSCH global network, we (Conlin) can provide a comprehensive list to U-M for distribution. Conlin will follow up once they have this information.
Again, once we (Conlin) know more about the FROSCH global network, we can provide a comprehensive list to U-M for distribution. Conlin will follow up once they have this information.
The refunds we are getting today are specific to unused tickets as a result of covid. Conlin Travel is working to obtain refunds wherever possible and to process name changes so they can reissue unused tickets when possible. There is no guarantee that either a refund or exchange will take place for all tickets.
If you have any questions about unused tickets, you can contact Conlin Travel if you have travel to book and wish to use a ticket. Otherwise, you can contact Carolynn Blankenship at cblanken@umich.edu
When contacting the travel agent, if there are available tickets that can be used you will be offered that ticket.
The best way to try to use one of these tickets is to contact Conlin Travel. The inventory is changing daily based on reservations coming in daily.
The refunds have been dependent on the airlines and what they are allowing. When COVID hit hard in March 2020, the airlines had to decide how they would take care of their customers. There has been some flexibility as we (and Conlin Travel) work with our airline reps for assistance but we don’t know what will happen with future cancellations. One thing the airlines have done is to extend unused tickets with an expiration date at the same time the world wasn’t traveling. It is important to understand that the university is not involved in this decision, it was a world wide impact.
GuideMe today does show the above items, to a degree. However, there is a much more robust version that is launching in the next couple of weeks that definitely shows the above and more. So in time, and when we are fully integrated into the FROSCH ecosystem, we will be able to introduce this to the University.
GuideMe does provide good information now surrounding COVID (as that is what it was essentially built for – that exact purpose), but an updated version will be releasing soon.
For more details on the product, you can check out this site
PCard information should be stored in the cardholder’s Concur profile. When booking online or with Conlin, this is where the payment information is pulled from
Yes. All fees for university business travel are considered valid expenses
If the caller is a profiled individual, they can make bookings for the guest. The other way to do it is to have the U-M unit send an email with a list of guests, and other details. Conlin then has a University approval system that they will use internally. Then the guest traveler can call and book/reserve their own flights. Conlin will not book anyone without a Concur profile, unless method #2 is used, and all proper approvals are in place.
There would have to be an authorization made ahead of time, by someone here, at the University, otherwise Conlin would not know if this was an approved business expense or not. If you’re using the Meetings service, you could potentially provide a list of guests to Conlin, who could then contact them to arrange travel.
Sure, you could. This used to be a paper form, but it is now located as a service inside TeamDynamix. Fill out this form, and select “Limit Change Request” as the Request Type, in the form.
Conlin Travel has a department specializing in booking for groups of 10 or more.
For group travel, (everyone on one plane, traveling from one location to another, together) it is one form of payment. So you would need to use a PCard. Conlin does not take shortcodes for airline travel, at this time.
For the meeting travel service, a PCard or a personal card can be used, but again, no shortcodes.
Yes, it does.
Most units have guidelines that they would follow, which would not be covered in this demo. If your unit has a requirement, then you should follow your units guidelines. The report name shown in the demo is an SSC standard that is used for units that do not have guidelines on report naming.
You could add comments to the report header field (if a report is already started), or comments in your email (if that is your submission method). Note that the Business Purpose Details field is character limited to 32 characters.
It’s commonly used if someone is traveling, say to Western Michigan, or Upper Michigan, and they’re gone for 12 or more hours but not overnight. The same day per diem rate is 75% of the daily amount for the location traveled to. Per diem guidelines come from the Federal Government, the GSA specifically.
There are some departments that prefer their folks use the SSC for report creation, and there are some departments that are requiring their folks to send reports to the SSC for processing. So if you’re not sure of your unit's requirements, you should check with a department administrator or other similar figure to find out this information. Not all units are using the SSC Travel & Expense team to create their reports.
For the guests, their reimbursements would not be processed through Concur. Concur is accessible for faculty, staff, and students with an employment relationship with the University.
The other option would be to use a Stored Value Card (SVC) - which is a prepayment of per diem, not to exceed the GSA rates, by location, or any other University policy. For more information on the SVC program, please visit the SSC's website and Procurement's website. This program is administered by the Shared Services Audit team. You can reach out to them here to inquire.
For more information on the SVC program, please visit the SSC's website and Procurement's website. This program is administered by the Shared Services Audit team. You can reach out to them here to inquire..
For 10 or more attendees it is allowable to select a group as the attendee type and attach a list to the report. For groups you frequently use there is also an option to create the group and select it from favorites to attach to a new expense. Assistance with adding attendees can be found on MyLinc.
Faculty and staff are available under Advanced Search. Assistance with adding attendees can be found on MyLinc.
This search works like a lot of other search functionality. Using nicknames or not having the correct spelling can affect results. It is best to have the formal names or email address for the faculty/staff.
Click “Attach Receipts” in the expense line (alternatively, if a receipt is already uploaded, you can select “Available Receipts”), browse and select your receipt. To add another receipt, repeat this process. Concur will notify you that there is already a receipt attached, and ask if you would like to “Append” another receipt. Select yes, and the second receipt will be added to that expense line. This is also part of the demo on expense reporting at 27:20.
Indirect Cost Recovery. For more information on ICR and ICR-X (Indirect cost recovery excluded) expenditures, please visit these resources: Finance’s page on ICR and the Policy on ICRX Expenditures.
From the Details menu, inside a report, select “Allocations”. Then in the left-hand panel of the screen that shows up, select “Summary”. If you entered this screen with a specific line item selected, you will be seeing the allocations for that specific line, and may have to click “cancel” in order to select the Summary button in the left-hand panel. This is demonstrated around 32:36 in the video.
By selecting multiple expense lines you can update most of the fields associated with those expense lines. These fields include: Expense Type, Business Purpose Category & Details, Comments, and Department Reference. You can also mark items as Personal Expenses, Delegate Reviewed and update allocations from this pane.
Yes, this is correct. Different approvers can be added. Each approver has 7 days to approve the report, after the last approval, before the report times out. This doesn’t make sense in some situations, where there are many approvers, and potentially out of pocket expenses that are owed to the employee, as having say 4 approvers, that all took 6 days to approve the report, could lead to a delay of almost a month, in the employee getting that reimbursement. There are other situations where there are PCard charges that need to go to, say 3 approvers, and there is no out of pocket expense, where it would make sense to put everything in one report.
We want this process to be simple for our customers. Most folks send an email to expense.reports@umich.edu. We just need the Business Purpose, shortcode and paid receipt (unless hosting, then we also need a list of attendees).
If you’re using a spreadsheet, and it works for you, then it works for us. The mandatory bare-bones information that we need for a report: Who is the report for, what is the shortcode, and what is the business purpose. Some units have an internal form, some units use a default/generic SSC form, some just send an email.
Emailing receipts@concur.com will add the files to your Available Receipts (receipt store). You can also click the “plus” icon, that says “Upload New Receipt” under the Available Receipts section, in Concur. Taking pictures of the receipts on Concur Mobile also store those receipts in you Available Receipts.
Please see this document for more information on vendors that utilize E-Receipts
Tips for services such as taxi or Uber are included in the expense itself. Other tips while on travel are covered with per diem.
Tiping the driver if you are only paying the tip, enter it is ground transportation and add a comment to explain this is only for the tip portion. As just mentioned, this is not for tips covered by per diem.
Procurement lists the preferred suppliers on their website.
This depends on which types of travel reservations are being booked.
For airfare, the university employee can book a guest online in Concur or with an agent at Conlin Travel. You will need the legal name (has to match their government issued ID), gender and date of birth.
For hotel, if paying the hotel on a PCard this can be done in Concur or with a Conlin agent. You will need to let the hotel know what is being covered with the PCard, probably on an authorization form from the hotel. Never fax the card information or a copy of the PCard. You can provide the approved charges on the authorization form and call them with the account details. You can also reserve the room and have the guest pay with a personal credit card and then be reimbursed if necessary.
For rental cars, you can reserve one but the guest will have to provide a credit card when picking up the car. Guest will need to be reimbursed if using a rental car.
No, university policy doesn’t allow this. These funds are either deposited or collected as rewards for travel so this form of payment isn’t always an actual expense to the traveler. When using Uber for travel pay with either a PCard or out of pocket (not Uber Cash).
If the expense is $75 or more, university policy requires a receipt. Individual units may set lower thresholds for receipts so check with your business office.
Please see this document for more information on E-Receipt Suppliers
Yes, the PCard can be used to book Airbnb and other similar rentals (VRBO, etc.) for business travel.
In general, this shouldn’t happen. We would need to see examples of this in order to provide a more detailed explanation.
If the hotel property is an eReceipt provider the expense lines will be automatically created when you import the electronic receipt.
Conference rates are not available in Concur so the reservation would need to be booked directly with the hotel. Once booked, send the reservation confirmation to plans@tripit.com.
All hotels provide receipts, either via email to the guest of a physical copy at check out. The guest should obtain this and forward it to the PCard holder or be used for reimbursement if the guest paid.
This may depend on the property but in general, the cardholder has to give some kind of authorization to the hotel. This authorization should include a description of what is being authorized to be charged (room rate rate, room tax, etc) If meals are to be included, this can be authorized but the guest should be informed of the hosting limits.
*Under no circumstances should the cardholder fax a copy of the PCard or provide the full PCard number on a form being faxed. Doing so has resulted in fraud in the past and is not in line with PCard guidelines
U-M doesn’t have a contract for discounted rates with Amtrak. Reservations can be made in Concur but the rates available are what Amtrak is charging at the time of booking.
If you were just there to work remotely, then no, you would not be eligible. If you are traveling for personal leisure, then you would be eligible. It really comes down to the purpose of travel.
Yes, it’s available for personal leisure travel for purchase. You can see details for the personal leisure plan (and other plans) here.
If you are the Employee or student, and you have a partner, spouse, or children under the age of 26, who are traveling with you, they are eligible for the coverage. They do have to be with you, unless they are U-M student or employee.
Current U-M students, faculty, and staff members are eligible.
You are automatically covered if: You are a current staff member or faculty who is traveling abroad for U-M business, AND has registered your travel in the U-M travel registry.
For spouses or children on the leisure plan, they are eligible, but are not automatically covered. You can buy the leisure plan for them, if you’re purchasing it for yourself
GeoBlue would be the primary insurance, would be billed first, and has 100% coverage, when you’re abroad. Our current U-M insurance (what you would use normally, in the United States) does not offer a lot of benefit when abroad. There is some coverage for emergency situations, but generally you have to pay ahead of time, and complete reimbursement forms. There is no coordination, as the GeoBlue is the primary insurance. The only time you would need any coordination, is if the services are over $500,000.00.
Approved medical evacuations to the nearest suitable medical facility is covered. This is a decision that GeoBlue makes in consultation with the treating physician, and the nearest medical facility is not always the US. It can be another hospital in the same country, or a nearby country.
GeoBlue will cover medically necessary C-19 testing (e.g. have symptoms) but does not cover non-medically necessary testing. Those planning to travel will need to budget for known testing requirements, such as the one you are describing. Here is a resource that describes what GeoBlue covers regarding C-19 expenses. This resource is on the Global Michigan Health page under the travel abroad health insurance tab.
Travelers can of course decide to fly back to the US to get care by their own doctor, but as this is a preference rather than a medical necessity, it would not be covered.