Expense Report - ACDI/VOCA



Volunteer Travel Expense GuidelinesWelcome to the ACDI/VOCA Volunteer Program! The purpose of these Guidelines is to provide you with helpful information about your travel expenses. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your Recruiter or Project Coordinator! ACDI/VOCA POLICY ON REPORTING AND REIMBURSING EXPENSES Since the funding source of your assignment is the U.S. Federal Government, we are required to follow Federal and IRS regulations in handling your expenses. ACDI/VOCA policy requires the Volunteer to submit a Volunteer Expense Report (VER) that accounts for travel expenses. We ask that your report must be submitted electronically within 30 days of returning home. Please do not hold your VER for receipts that you expect to receive after the 30-day deadline. You can submit these expenses separately, after submitting your initial VER. Should your VER be 90 days late or if you submit unallowable/non-reimbursable expenses, ACDI/VOCA is required to issue an IRS Form 1099 (Miscellaneous Income) showing the advance amount or the unallowable expenses as taxable income. In addition, you will not receive any future advances.You will be reimbursed for your allowable expenses upon acceptance of your VER. An expense is considered allowable if it’s reasonable, allocable and is adequately documented.Expenses are reasonable if they are ordinary, necessary and do not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person under the circumstances. In general, your assignment expenses are deemed reasonable if you would not be able to successfully complete your assignment without them, or if you would not have had to incur them if you were not going on the assignment. Although the reasonableness of the expense will be determined on a case-by-case basis, examples discussed further below provide general guidelines. Consult your Project Coordinator if you have any questions.TRAVEL ADVANCEFor each assignment*, ACDI/VOCA provides you with an advance of funds that covers 80% of your estimated in-country expenses, such as lodging, meals and incidentals, transportation, etc. Any additional advances you receive in the field office must be pre-approved by your Project Coordinator. If you receive such an advance or if you leave any unused funds with the Field Accountant, please request a voucher from the Accountant, signed by you and the Accountant/Country Director or Chief of Party, and attach it to your VER. Your total advance will include all amounts given to you from all offices.Since credit card use varies in the countries where ACDI/VOCA operates, you are encouraged to take cash with you on travel. To help you safeguard the money, every field office has a safe available to store cash for you if needed. However, you bear the responsibility for your cash and our field offices are not equipped to cover your costs if a credit card is not accepted for payment. VOLUNTEER EXPENSE REPORT (VER) The VER must be submitted electronically using the VER Template & Instructions provided as part of this Welcome Packet. Please email the completed VER with scanned receipts, tickets, and boarding passes to your Project Coordinator. See the VER Template for step-by-step instructions.Once received, your VER will be reviewed by Project and Accounting teams for compliance with ACDI/VOCA and Federal regulations. The Project Coordinator will be in touch with you in case of any questions or missing receipts. Our internal auditor may also review your VER at any time after your assignment, and it may also be subject to audits by external and Federal government auditors. Expenses fall under 3 categories: Miscellaneous & Incidental Expenses (M&IE), Lodging, and Other. MISCELLANEOUS & INCIDENTAL EXPENSES (M&IE)ACDI/VOCA provides a modest daily M&IE allowance to be used for meals and incidental expenses, including laundry, tips, beverages, toiletry items, non-prescription drugs, and personal internet. M&IE rates are derived from actual expenses in the countries where ACDI/VOCA operates. You will find the rate applicable for your travel in your Letter of Agreement. No receipts are required for M&IE. M&IE allowance goes into effect the day your travel begins and ends the day you return home after completing the assignment, excluding any personal travel. To cover expenses incurred on your travel date(s) to and from the assignment, we use the M&IE rate for the capital city in your country of service. You will also receive M&IE and lodging costs for any pre-approved overnight stopovers. The M&IE rate may differ during your assignment if you work in several different locations or if some of the meals are provided by a host. In order to avoid any disputes, we strongly recommend recording the appropriate rate daily, even though no receipts are required.While your M&IE is meant to cover only expenses for yourself, ACDI/VOCA will reimburse the cost of one meal purchased for your host(s), the total of which is not to exceed one day M&IE allowance for the location of assignment. You will need to obtain a receipt and note the number of people for whom you purchased the meal. The host portion of the meal cost (excluding alcohol and tips) should be recorded in your expense report; however, your portion of the meal cost should NOT be recorded on the expense report since it is part of your M&IE.M&IE does not cover any personal travel time before, during or after the assignment. M&IE does not apply while you are incurring pre- and post-assignment expenses (i.e., during the period leading up to your assignment and after you return home.) Additionally, your M&IE is meant to cover only meals and incidental expenses for yourself.Please save and include your boarding passes, ticket receipts and any unused tickets with the expense report to confirm dates for your M&IE calculation.HOTEL AND LODGING EXPENSESAllowable lodging expenses include basic room rate and room taxes only, with a valid receipt. Please exclude costs covered under M&IE (see above) from your hotel bill. If lodging was paid by ACDIVOCA directly to the hotel, please be sure to reimburse your part of the expenses (laundry, mini-bar, food, etc.) directly to the hotel prior to your departure and inform the field-based Project Coordinator and/or Country Director that you have done so. If there are unpaid M&IE costs incurred at your hotel, ACDI/VOCA may deduct the amount of the unpaid expenses from your reimbursement. Please include receipts for additional services such as laundry, mini-bar, etc. in your report as proof of payment to the hotel, if available. OTHER ALLOWABLE (REIMBURSABLE) EXPENSESACDI/VOCA will reimburse you for allowable expenses related to your assignment as detailed below. All require receipts, and some require pre-approval by the Project Coordinator (see table below). Some expenses are capped at $100, and all expenses over $100 require pre-approval. See table below.TYPE OF EXPENSEReceiptPre-approval TRANSPORTATION. Taxis, Uber/Lyft, shuttles between residence and airport, and airport parking are allowed with receipts that indicate date, origin and destination. Mileage reimbursement for use of personal vehicle to and from a U.S. airport is reimbursed at current IRS rate for the date of travel within the US or an applicable rate for international cities of origin. Please indicate the number of miles, origination and destination of the trip to claim personal mileage. If your origination or destination is different from your home address/airport, you may be asked to provide an explanation. For reimbursement of travel in a personal vehicle, please use Google Maps or a similar online mapping tool as a confirmation receipt for mileage reimbursement. If your mapping tool shows distance in kilometers, convert it into miles before calculating the mileage amount. All mileage amounts submitted for reimbursement will be held up to the Federal standard of reasonable and necessary and will be subject to review and approval.YESNOPASSPORT AND VISAS. Fees for the issuance of passports, visas, and other required documents, as well as photographs for passports and visas, certificate of birth, health and identity affidavits, and other required documents will be allowed. If you receive a visa on arrival at an airport, please include a photocopy of the page.YESNOEXCESS BAGGAGE. Excess baggage costs to carry assignment-related items to and from the field is allowed with prior approval.YESYESSTANDARD BAGGAGE. Many airlines charge passengers for checked baggage. This is an allowable travel expense. We will pay for one bag on domestic flights and two bags on international flights.YESNOTELEPHONE/COMMUNICATIONS: You may be reimbursed for one ten-minute call home per week. We encourage using free VOIP services such as Skype. Internet for personal use is included in M&IE. Internet required for work is allowed.YESNOBOOKS, MATERIALS, LIGHT TOOLS, EQUIPMENT: Purchase of materials, books, and other items required for the assignment is allowed up to $100 per item.YESYESPRE-DEPARTURE PREPARATION: M&IE and lodging costs during preparation are not allowed. Research-related travel during preparation may be allowed.YESYESMEDICAL CLEARANCE. All projects require a medical clearance. Prior to departure the Volunteer must submit to ACDI/VOCA a letter of medical clearance from his/her doctor certifying that in the doctor’s opinion, the Volunteer is physically fit to engage in international activities in the country of assignment. If a medical examination is required, ACDI/VOCA will reimburse the Volunteer for out-of-pocket costs, generally up to $100. The provided receipt should clearly state that the amount was paid and that the amount won’t be reimbursed by your insurance company. Mileage for doctor’s office visits is not reimbursable.YESNO, but expenses over $100 require pre-approval.IMMUNIZATIONS AND PRESCRIPTIONS: ACDI/VOCA will not pay for recurring daily medications required by your doctor. We will, however, pay for physician-prescribed immunizations required for customs entry into a country and will pay on request for any vaccinations recommended by the CDC for travel to your country of service. Routine vaccinations such as tetanus are subject to approval from the Project Coordinator. ACDI/VOCA will reimburse you for certain medicines provided they are assignment-specific (ex. Cipro or malaria medicine) and not for pre-existing conditions. Please call your doctor to obtain the estimated cost of any necessary immunizations prior to your visit and inform your Project Coordinator.YESYESFOOTWEAR: We encourage volunteers to purchase disposable plastic boot covers to wear during farm or livestock assignments to improve bio-security and control diseases. Since soiled boots carry animal dung contamination, we suggest using the disposable boot covers between same-farm livestock areas as well as on multi-farm visits. Such boot covers are an allowable project expense up to $100.YESYESCLOTHING: ACDI/VOCA volunteers are expected to have the proper clothing for the region of the country where the assignments are located. Therefore, most clothing purchases of reusable articles that you can bring home are unallowable. However, if you anticipate that your own clothing will become contaminated or otherwise damaged due to the nature of your assignment activities, the cost of certain articles of clothing may be deemed allowable up to $100. The Project Coordinator must pre-approve these purchases, and your claim for reimbursement must contain an explanation of the nature of the loss.YESYESUNALLOWABLE (NON-REIMBURSABLE) EXPENSESFood, beverages, laundry, incidental toiletry items, non-prescription drugs, tips, personal internet, and other expenses covered by the M&IE allowance.Airplane seating upgrades, software, medicine you take regularly, personal travel, entertainment, gifts (including those given to hosts), souvenirs and other items purchased for personal reasons.Alcohol.Lost baggage. The ultimate responsibility for retrieving and compensating lost baggage lies with the airlines. ACDI/VOCA will not reimburse for personal items lost while traveling.The cost of replacing eyeglasses. If you have any doubts about allowability, please contact your Project Coordinator.PERSONAL TRAVEL AND COMPANION TRAVELPersonal Travel. You may combine personal and business travel if the personal travel occurs after your assignment. All personal travel costs are the responsibility of the traveler and will be charged to the Volunteer’s personal credit card at time of ticket purchase. In addition, any ticket fees associated with personal travel that are charged on the ACDI/VOCA credit card will need to be settled after the assignment. A cost analysis will be conducted to verify if any additional costs are being incurred because of the additional personal travel time. If additional costs are incurred, it will be the responsibility of the Volunteer to pay for these costs. Companion Travel. Any companion to accompany a volunteer must be at least 18 years of age at the time of travel. Due to security and other liability considerations, all companion travel must be approved by the field office. Any ACDI/VOCA office has the right to deny companion travel for any reason. If approved, you must arrange to pay all airline and other travel expenses incurred on behalf of a companion directly. ACDI/VOCA will not reimburse any expenses incurred by a spouse or other individuals accompanying a volunteer on assignment. RECEIPT REQUIREMENTSAll expenses that require a receipt (see table above) must be adequately documented with one of the following documents, in order of preference: Original receipt, scanned prior to submission. An invoice from the vendor/service provider can’t be considered as a receipt unless a confirmation of payment is enclosed.A signature from the service provider and an ACDI/VOCA staff member on the “Receipt Form,” provided as part of this Welcome Packet. We won’t be able to process your VER without scanned copies of the ticket and boarding passes as proof of travel. This is a U.S. Government regulation.Receipts, tickets and boarding passes must be numbered and taped to an 8 ? x 11 sheet of paper before scanning. The number should appear on the VER. Following these guidelines will expedite the processing of your VER and your expense reimbursement.ADDITIONAL NOTESPlease do not classify any of your daily expenses as “miscellaneous” but provide a detailed description for each expense. This will expedite the processing of your VER and reimbursement.Please do not send a check to ACDI/VOCA until you are requested to do so. Once requested, you can send a check to ACDI/VOCA with the assignment number in the memo area of your check. Making payable to ACDI/VOCA. Do not return cash, foreign currency, or traveler’s checks. If you have any unused foreign currency amount by the end of your assignment, we recommend that you exchange it back to USD before leaving the country of assignment. Most currencies from the countries in which we work cannot be exchanged once you are back in the US. Foreign currency cannot be claimed for reimbursement on the expense report. Expenses incurred in foreign currency should be recorded in that currency on your VER (see the Instructions tab of the VER Form). They will be converted to USD by ACDI/VOCA when your VER is processed.Do not hesitate to contact your Recruiter or Project Coordinator if you have any questions or need additional information! We wish you a successful assignment! ................
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