Admin Cash Advance Instructions

1. Check account balance to ensure sufficient funds in needed subaccounts
   Cash advances cannot be distributed from accounts in credit status
   (confirm via *Define GB1, FRMS or UT-RMS)
    
2. Submit, in advance, Request for Travel Authorization
   (submit your own VE5 for faster processing, or CBS TAR request)
   Additional UT travelers must have their own approved VE5 for inclusion of related expenses. 
    
3. If cash advance involves very unusual circumstances, seek approval via CoLA Finance asap
    
4. Gather required details for (power)form
   
   Use stand-alone cash advance request form (travel) as a guide to ensure completeness
   If you don't have all the details - don't guess! -follow up with traveler to confirm
   
   Note: Recipient must have an active UT assignment through end date of travel
   Department Contact cannot be the receipient of Cash Advance Requests
   • Prepare an ITEMIZED LIST of Estimated Costs
     There is no template or form for this - just make sure it's clear and concise.
     Break the estimates into the four types of costs included on the Travel Cash Advance request:
     
     Entertainment - Meal expenses for official occasion (think: OOEF & VPE)
     Program expenses - Cost of staff and student participation, including travel, excursions, etc.
     Professional service - Non-employee services
     (guides, field workers, study participants), and their related travel costs
     Travel - Cash advance recipient's own transportation, lodging, per diem, and other logistical travel expenses
       --This includes 'other' costs: equipment, materials, supplies, fees, permits, sample shipments, etc. These are categorized as travel-related incidental purchases due to recipient's travel status
     
     Details to Include for Estimated Costs:
     Include description, amount, and quantity (if applicable) of travel cash advance costs
     
     Details about professional service individuals (if known, and if applicable)
     --Name, country of residence, citizenship, brief description of duties, cost basis
     (cost basis example: 2 workers, $200/month x 2 months)
     --Acknowledgement of requirement to obtain and turn in signed receipts from all workers
     
     Account numbers and total amounts to incumber
     --Foreign travel subaccount: 76, Other expenses typically come from a 50 series subaccount
      
5. Fill out and submit the online form  |  CBS Clients ONLY: 10+ days out, use CBS Cash Advance Form
   
   Travel Cash Advance (power)form
    
   • On first screen, insert any additional department/unit level reviewer who needs to review cash advance requests in your group, such as a senior admin or co-dept manager - check with admin lead
      
   • Department Reviewer: Designated individual who reviews/approves reconciliations within requesting unit- this could be a dept mgr, chair or other designated reviewer/approver - check with admin lead
      
   • Person to notify when check is ready: Cash Advance recipient (PI)
     Note: CoLA Finance approvals take several days, Cash Advance Desk requires 7 business days
     
     Cash advances can't be distributed more than 30 days out from start date
       --that doesn't mean wait until 30 days out to submit ---submit earlier if needed/possible
         The 30 day-out requirement impacts distribution date, not submission date
      
   • You must upload as part of the Cash Advance (power)form:
     • A PDF copy of the approved VE5 travel authorization
     • Your itemized list / travel plans with estimated costs (see step 4 above)
     • Any documentation related to an exception request, to assist with approval
        
6. Once you click the Finish button, the form immediately routes forward
   You should see the submission confirmation: Signing Complete

ROUTING

Once the form is submitted, the submitter and dept/unit approver immediately receive notice in their inbox
  --notice includes a link to the Cash Advance Request form and attached documentation

The default authorized signer on sponsored awards is typically the PI. 

1. Authorized signer on the account (limited to individuals listed in account's *Define GB1 screen)
   • PI recipients cannot sign their own Cash Advance Requests - consult GB1 for other signers
      
2. College (CSU) Business Officer in the Dean's Office (Assistant Dean of Finance)
    

Notice that submitter receives incudes the following statement:

'Please keep this email to monitor progress. You will need to click [review document] and then click [other actions] in the upper right corner of the DocuSign page then you will choose [view certificate]. The certificate will provide a list of recipients when they have viewed or signed the document.'

It is Submitter's Responsibility to TRACK PROGRESS

One more time for the folks in the back!

Person Who Submits Request is RESPONSIBLE for it - ALL THE WAY THROUGH
 

• Use calendar reminders to keep approval path on your radar, follow up as needed (see Routing above).
   
• If the request is time sensitive, consider reaching out to each person in the approval path via email to ask them to review asap.
   
• If the request seems to be stuck on someone's desk, ping them and check to see if there's anything else needed, and ask if they can review/approve as soon as possible.
   
• If you experience delays or lack of responsiveness, let LA Research know , so we can find out what's happening.

Timing of Submission, Review and Approval Process

UT Cash Advance Desk requires a minimum of 7 business days in advance of issue date needed
  --this includes time for review and approval, plus an account confirmation and promissory note issuance that takes several days

• CoLA Finance references this same timeline in their resources page.
   
  • UT Cash Advance Desk and CoLA Finance are using the same 7 day turn-around for processing.
     
    • Don't rely on this combined timeframe.
       
    • Give the process 2 full weeks once you have approved it forward for signatures.

Compensation for research subjects and study/survey participants is subject to federal policy via the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The university is bound by federal regulations outlined here.

INSTRUCTIONS
 

1. Check account balance to ensure sufficient funds
   Cash advances cannot be distributed from accounts in credit status
   (confirm via *Define GB1, FRMS or UT-RMS)
    
2. If cash advance involves very unusual circumstances, seek approval via CoLA Finance asap
   Units that have experienced issues with approval process, please alert LA Research for tracking assistance
    
3. Gather required details for (power)form
   
   Use stand-alone (participants) cash advance form as a guide to ensure completeness
   If you don't have all the details - don't guess! -follow up with traveler to confirm
   Note: Recipient must have an active UT assignment through end date of request
   Department Contact cannot be the receipient of Cash Advance Requests
   Recipient will be required to sign a promissory note in advance of release of funds
    
   • Required Details
     Recipent identifying details
     Department contact information
     Amount of request, account number (usually a 50 series subaccount)
     Cash advance start and end dates, requested check/payment issuance date
       -Study cannot be for more than 6 months, submit add'l cash advance request to avoid lapse in coverage
     Check release cannot be more than 30 days from start date
     Name of study, IRB Protocol #, IRB approval period start and end dates
     Description of incentive payments from cash advance, estimated # of participants and amount/person
      
4. Fill out and submit the online form  |  --CBS Clients ONLY: 10+ days out, use CBS Cash Advance Form
   
   Research and Participant Study Cash Advance Request (power)form
   
   Input all signers using eid@eid.utexas.edu address (all employees have this):
   
    1. Form Submitter
    2. Unit Senior Staff Contact (add'l dept or unit designated reviewer/approver - consult unit admin lead)
    3. Principal Investigator (the responsible party for the account)
    4. Authorized Signer on the Account
     -- This is also the PI if not the recipient, if PI is recipient, other authorized signer is required
    

      See *Define GBS to see all authorized signers, or GB1 +full account #, Other Authorized Signers
      Click spacebar on More: > to see additional signers

• IRB Protocol documentation not required for Cash Advance Request form submission
  PI attestation statement on Cash Advance Request form sufices for compliance
  Unit-level approver may want to include departmental copy of Protocol with Cash Advance documentation

ROUTING

Upon clicking the Finish button, the submitter and dept/unit reviewer immediately receive notice in their inbox with a link to the document - this is a view-only notice.

Submitter also receives the following directive:

• Please keep this email to monitor progress. You will need to click [review document] and then click [other actions] in the upper right corner of the DocuSign page then you will choose [view certificate]. The certificate will provide a list of recipients when they have viewed or signed the document.

• Notice of the form then lands in the PI's inbox with a prompt to review and sign the document.
   
• Then it routes to the Authorized Signer of the account (as shown in the *Define GB1 or GBS screens)
   
• The last stop for the form is the final approver team within Dean's Office: The CoLA Finance Frontline team
  
  Once the document has received final signature, submitter will receive email notice confirming document is complete
  Submitter can also proactively log into DocuSign and check the progress
   
  • Clicking on the document within the submitter's DocuSign inbox takes them to a detailed progress page that shows exactly who has signed it, when they signed, as well as whom they are waiting on.
    
    It looks like this:

 

Recipients	Status
John C johnc1@eid.utexas.edu	Completed	Signed On 11/01/22 | 05:15:46 pm
Jordan M JM23	Completed	Signed On 11/01/22 | 06:41:35 pm
Chris K	Current	Needs to sign Viewed on 11/01/22 | 05:56:23 pm
CoLA Finance Frontline Signing Group	Waiting	Allow to Edit

It is Submitter's Responsibility to Track Progress of Request

Use calendar reminders to keep approval path on your radar, plot the expected completion date(s) and follow up as needed (see Routing above). If you experience delays or lack of responsiveness, let LA Research know , so we can find out what's happening.

Timing of submission, review and approval process

UT Cash Advance Desk requires a minimum of 7 days in advance of date needed
  --this includes review and approval, plus an account confirmation and promissory note issuance that takes several days

CoLA Finance references this same timeline in their resources page - UT Cash Advance Desk and CoLA Finance are using the same 7 day turn-around for processing.

• NOTE: CoLA Finance has not built in their own timeframe on top of UT's Cash Advance Desk requirements
   
  • It's not recommended to submit Cash Advance requests to CoLA Finance with only the 7 day deadline
     
  • If possible, add another week to the process to give CoLA Finance time to review and approve 

Once the DocuSign Cash Advance Form has received all signatures, you must EMAIL Cash Advance PDF package (including form, expense outline, approved VE5 Travel Authorization and any other relevant documentation) to the Cash Advance Desk.

Subject line: DD/MM/YY Travel Cash Advance Request: (Recipent Last Name, UT EID)

• It is preferred that Cash Advance requests are processed via direct deposit only.
   
• 3+ days in advance of releasing the Cash Advance payment:
  
  Cash Advance team in UT's Office of Accounting Payment Services will send a promisory note to would-be recipient. The note is sent via DocuSign and must be signed and returned before the cash advance is issued.
  (see: sample promissory note)
   
• If ample time has been given for the Cash Advance Request, the recipient should see the deposit in their accounts by the start date that was included in the request.
   
  • The Cash Advance Desk is staffed with highly responsive team members.
    
    If your tracking efforts have confirmed that the request has been with the Cash Advance team longer than it should be, reach out to them and inquire directly: Cash Advance Desk

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