A university-wide review of the PCard clearing account (61206) in the General Ledger reveals that funds across many college/departments continue to show balances from FY19 activity. These balances represent unreconciled transactions on PCards assigned to the college/department units. It is critical that all charges in the PCard clearing account be reallocated to the appropriate expense account by fiscal year end.
The university launched a new travel initiative that went into effect on August 1, 2018. With this initiative, individuals traveling on university business must book their flights through Ohio State’s contracted travel agency – Corporate Travel Planners (CTP).
With an authorized T#, travelers/arrangers must book individual business airfare directly with a CTP full service agent or in the online booking tool ( Concur ). Airfare must not be purchased with university issued PCards (Department, Service Center, Individual, or GET Cards). PCard transactions will be reviewed for compliance.
The Office of Business and Finance requires active PCards be cancelled upon the departure of the Card Manager/Cardholder. These accounts must be cancelled upon employee transfer (to another department within the University or another job whose duties do not include those related to a PCard) or termination of any kind (including retirement and involuntary/voluntary termination). In these situations, follow the steps outlined in the full article.
The Travel Office has arranged for several classroom offerings of the Travel Workshop (Introductory and Advanced) sessions that will run through December 2019.
Travel Workshop (Introductory) - This two-and-a-half hour travel workshop explains the fundamentals of business travel for Ohio State; covering the Travel Policy and specific travel resources for developing a travel budget and initiating the Travel Request for Authorization. In addition, the session includes a demonstration of travel booking through the university's Travel Agency for Individual Business Travel and their online booking tool for air, hotel and rental car. The introductory workshop is geared to the new traveler, arranger or those participants interested in a refresher in the basics of traveling on behalf of Ohio State.
See full article for details about the Advanced workshop as well as registration information for both sessions.
One of the most common questions raised since the start of the travel initiative relates to what to do if you believe that you have found airfare with a lower price than what you can find through CTP or their online booking tool (Concur).
In the vast majority of cases, flights booked through CTP or their online booking tool Concur cost the same or less than they would through third-party websites. But if you believe you have found a fare that has a better advertised price than through a quote from a CTP full service agent or the online booking tool (Concur), the Travel website explains how to use the Airfare Price Match Request Form to seek a review.
If you need to reach an agent during business travel, resources are available that provide that critical contact information:
Review your Travel Itinerary provided by CTP/Concur, which displays contact information in the header of the itinerary. Browse to the Travel Office website, which hosts a page containing all agency contact information . Pull up the Ohio State app on your mobile device, which now provides agency contact information (simply search by "travel").
