Revised: 12/16/2022
Click here for the OBM Travel Rule.
Click here for the SAFE Policy (State Accounting Fiscal Essentials).
All expenses must be allowable under the OBM Travel Rule and Travel and Expenses SAFE Policy.
Travelers must refer to the OBM Travel Rule and Travel and Expenses SAFE Policy for guidelines on traveling.
Supervisors use the OBM Travel Rule and Travel and Expenses SAFE Policy on which to base their approval decisions.
OBM Shared Services (OSS) Travel and Expense Associates review expense reports to ensure compliance to the OBM Travel Rule and Travel and Expenses SAFE Policy.
Approving Expense Reports indicates compliance to the OBM Travel Rule and Travel and Expenses SAFE Policy. All required receipts match listed expenses and fall within acceptable thresholds.
Highlights of the OBM Travel Rule include:
The state will reimburse based on rates for lodging within the Continental United States (CONUS) set by the federal General Service Administration (GSA). Visit GSA to see current rates.
Maximum rates for lodging are set by location.
Per diems (daily monetary allowances for meals and incidentals) are based on GSA rates for the location.
International travel will be reimbursed on actual expenses within reason.
OBM Director retains discretion to establish mileage reimbursement rate and review on a quarterly basis.
The Travel and Expense Module in OAKS FIN is used to process 2 types of expense reimbursements:
Travel-related expenses
Non-travel related expenses
On occasion state agents may need to travel to perform duties related to their position. The Travel and Expense process encompasses the entire travel progression and expense reimbursement process. The Travel and Expense Module in OAKS FIN allows the Travel and Expense reimbursement process to flow smoothly.
The traveler must obtain authorization from their supervisor to travel (whether or not the Travel Authorization <TA> is required in OAKS FIN). If the traveler will be getting reimbursed for lodging, airfare, car rental, or international travel, the traveler must submit a Travel Authorization in OAKS FIN. Once a traveler travels, they will enter a Travel Expense (TE) in OAKS FIN to request reimbursement. The reimbursement will then be routed through the approval process in OAKS FIN.
Agencies may opt to directly pay for certain travel expenses rather than requiring the traveler to pay. Travelers should check with their supervisors to determine if the agency will pay for certain expenses (e.g., lodging, airfare). If an agency is paying for a traveler's expense, the traveler is not required to enter a Travel Authorization.
State employees seeking non-travel reimbursements will use the Travel and Expense module and attach appropriate documentation to the expense report (e.g., invoice, receipt). Receipts are required for all non-travel expenses. Travel Authorizations are not required for non-travel expenses. After the employee submits the non-travel expense report, the report is routed to the supervisor or designated alternate approver for review and then to fiscal staff (non-travel expense approver) for coding review and approval. Employees are reimbursed using their default combo code from OAKS Human Capital Management (HCM) (unless changed by fiscal staff during processing).
If an expense report contains both travel and non-travel expenses, it will route to the supervisor for approval, then to Fiscal for non-travel approval. Finally, the expense report will route to OBM Shared Services (OSS) for review. Although non-travel expenses do not have a 5-day window, when reported with travel expenses on one expense report, non-travel expenses will wait for the 5-day window until travel expenses are processed. It is recommended that non-travel expenses be claimed on a separate expense report from travel expenses, due to the difference in processing routes and processing times.