If you receive a paycheck from the University, you will use the travel and expense module in PeopleSoft (sometimes called T&E) to manage your business expenses. Travel and expense contains tools to request travel approval, obtain a travel cash advance, and submit receipts for reimbursement of out-of-pocket University business expenses, including meals, mileage, domestic and foreign travel, approved moving expenses and other business-related costs. Before making a purchase, choose the most cost-effective option and follow University procurement guidelines. 

For instruction on navigating the T&E module, see the PeopleSoft Financials Trainings & Guides.

Expense Reporting & Reimbursement

After travel occurs and expenses are paid personally, University employees must document and request reimbursement using PeopleSoft T&E.

  1. Create the expense report: Either the employee or their travel delegate creates an expense report in T&E (see the  for step-by-step instructions.)
  2. Attach receipts and supporting documents: Include all required receipts and documentation according to University policy.
  3. Submit the expense report: Once submitted, the report enters the electronic approval workflow:
    • Project Manager (if grant-related): The Principal Investigator assigned in the Grants Module reviews and approves.
    • Fiscal Reviewer: Approvers at the DeptNode, SubDeptNode, and DeptID levels review charges based on FIN Authorization.
    • Accounting Office (Shared Services / PrePay Auditors): Verifies all information, approves for payment, or returns the report for clarification.
  4. Payment and reimbursement: After approval, the expense report is paid via ACH direct deposit the night it is approved. 
    • The default account is the same as the employee鈥檚 University paycheck.
    • Employees may select a different account in their T&E profile under User Preferences, which must match the account used for expense report reimbursement.

Per Diem

Per diem is a daily allowance provided to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on University business. The rates vary depending on whether your travel is in-state, out-of-state or international. For more information about per diem and other travel expenses, please refer to University Policy 22603: Allowable Travel Expenses.

Domestic Travel

Per diem rate is based on the Government Services Administration (GSA) standard CONUS rate. 

  • Missouri and Washington D.C.: For overnight travel meals are reimbursed at a per diem of $63 per day. 
  • Other US travel: Use the travel per diem calculator to determine the rate of reimbursement. 

International travel

Meals are reimbursed at rates prescribed by the U.S. Department of Defense Per Diem, Travel, and Transportation Allowance Committee (PDTATAC). 

Use the travel per diem calculator to determine the rate of reimbursement.

Calculate Per Diem Rate

The University uses the Defense Travel Per Diem Calculator to determine meal and incidental allowances for all travel. This tool provides the official GSA or Department of Defense rates used to calculate allowable meal reimbursements.

  1. Go to the .
  2. Select the appropriate travel location:
    • In-State or Domestic (U.S.) 鈥 Use the Contiguous United States (CONUS) column.
    • Foreign Travel 鈥 Use the Outside CONUS / Foreign column.
  3. Complete the required fields (state, city, and dates) and click Calculate.
  4. Review the Local Meals column for the per diem rate.

Cash Advance

If you are traveling on University business, you may be approved to receive a cash advance to cover minor travel expenses. However, before requesting a cash advance, you should first explore other payment options, such as direct billing, invoiced payment or using the One Card. Cash advances are only issued if other payment options are not feasible and only for the amount truly needed. Cash advances must be issued close to your travel dates and reconciled promptly after your trip to meet University requirements.

Cash advances are generally available to faculty and staff traveling on official business. Students may also receive an advance if the travel is University-related and reimbursed from University funds.

  1. The traveling employee or their delegate creates a cash advance in PeopleSoft T&E. (Consult the PeopleSoft Financials Trainings & Guides for step-by-step instructions.) 
    1. Description must indicate the destination. 
    2. Notes must include departure date, return date and a detailed description of purpose for the trip. 
    3. Source must be set to 鈥淎CH鈥. 
    4. Detail lines should be added for each budgeted item (e.g., per diem, transportation, admission fees, etc.). 
  2. Attach all required documents. 
    1. Athletics-related travel requires a Per Diem Cash Advance Form obtained from and pre-approved by campus athletics compliance and business offices. 
  3. Submit the cash advance for approval. 
    1. The request automatically routes to the HR supervisor based on the first line of funding on the employee鈥檚 personnel action file (PAF). 
    2. HR supervisor reviews and either returns the request for clarification or approves it for payment. 
    3. Once approved by HR, the request automatically routes to Shared Services for review. 
    4. Shared Services reviews either returns the request for clarification or approves it for payment. 
  4. Once approved by Shared Services and HR, the advance is disbursed to the employee via direct deposit wire transfer overnight following approval 
    1. The default bank account is the same account used for the employee鈥檚 paycheck. 
    2. Employees can set a different account in their T&E profile under 鈥淯ser Preferences鈥 as long as it matches the bank account used for expense report reimbursement. 

Failure to reconcile and repay a cash advance by the due date may result in the amount being deducted from payroll earnings or student charges and could result in the loss of the privilege to request future cash advances. 

  1. The cash advance is used to pay for authorized expenses during the trip.  
  2. Create an expense report (ER) in PeopleSoft T&E. 
    1. Only include expenses actually incurred (i.e., money spent). 
    2. If any cash remains unspent, it must be returned to the University. 
  3. Apply the cash advance to the expense report. 
    1. After entering and saving all expense lines, select 鈥楢pply Cash Advance(s)鈥 from the 鈥楢ctions鈥 box in the top-right corner of the screen. 
    2. Enter the cash advance ID and amount to apply to the expense report. Multiple expense reports can be applied to a single cash advance ID. 
    3. Important: Complete all expense lines and click Check for Errors before applying the cash advance. If the expense report changes after applying the advance, an error will occur and the cash advance must be reset. 
  4. Attach required receipts and supporting documents. 
    1. Select the Attachments hyperlink to upload all necessary documentation in accordance with University Business Policies. 
    2. Athletics-related travel must include the Per Diem Cash Advance form, used as a receipt for per diem distributions to student-athletes and sports staff.  
    3. Foreign travel can use the Foreign Travel Expense Detail form to document trip details and assist with currency conversion. 
  5. Submit the expense report for approval. 
    1. Grant review: If the expenses are grant-related (as indicated by the chartfield selected during ER creation), the report routes to the Project Manager/Principal Investigator (PI). The PI either returns the report for clarification or approves it for payment.  
    2. Fiscal approval: The report routes to the fiscal approver assigned to the department ID charged. The fiscal approver either returns the report for clarification or approves it for  
  6.  Once all required approvals are complete, the ER enters an electronic prepay audit process. 
    1. If selected for review, the prepay auditor either approves the report or returns it for clarification. 
  7. Final payment and cash advance reconciliation. 
    1. If the ER is not selected for prepay audit and all approvals are complete, the report is paid. 
      b. Cash advance reconciliation: 
      1. Expenses equal the advance: The cash advance is reconciled, no additional payment is made. 
      2. Expenses exceed the advance: The cash advance is reconciled, and the employee receives reimbursement for the difference. 
      3. Expenses less than the advance: The employee must return the difference via cash or check (payable to Curators of the 午夜影院).  
  1. Identify unused cash advance funds. 
    1. When a cash advance has remaining funds after travel, the department prepares a Cash Received Report (CRR) to deposit the monies back into the University. 
  2. Create the CRR in MIS WebApps. 
    1. Navigate to FIN CRR/ARR > CRR Cashier Deposit. 
    2. Set PS Account to 132801 鈥 Employee Cash Advance Reconcile. 
    3. Use the same chartfield as the original cash advance; do not include a class code. 
    4. Use the CEX_CASH_ADV_DETAILS query in PS Production (FSPRD90), or request this information from Shared Services. 
  3. Add comments to the CRR.
    1. Include the original cash advance number in the comments section. 
  4. Notify Shared Services.
    1. Provide the CRR number to the coordinator so the cash advance can be fully reconciled in Travel & Expense. 

Travel-Related Forms