Travel & Expenses Frequently Asked Questions

Travel & Expenses Frequently Asked Questions

To view the answer to the below questions, please hold down the Ctrl button and click on the question of interest and this will take you to the answer.

1. When does each school/department go live?
2. I don’t have access to Agresso, how do I get access?
3. Where do I get a project code?
4. Who do I go to for support?
5. Where can I access training?
6. Can I access the system off campus?
7. Who can view my personal information?
8. Do I still book my own travel arrangements?
9. Can I leave the pricing at £0 as I am not sure of the cost?
10. How do I know what costs to put down?
11. Do I have to put all requests on the system?
12. How much is the maximum I can spend on accommodation?
13. Do I need to include VAT in my budget request?
14. Does the Travel Office book conferences?
15. Do I need to know the exact costs of the trip?
16. Do I have to work out the exact BSR totals for my trip?
17. I am visiting one than one destination on my trip how do I enter this on the Travel Request?
18. Where do I put my train/flight/hotel/conference details?
19. Do I need to complete a Travel Request for Hospitality expenses?
20. How far in advance should I send requests for rail/flight?
21. Can I travel in Premium Economy and is it available with every airline?
22. Can you book using my railcard?
23. Can I book for an external visitor?
24. An External Partner is paying for my trip do I need to complete a Travel Request?
25. Which countries are we not able to travel to?
26. Does the University offer Travel Insurance?
27. Can I book for my family members to join me?
28. Can I extend my business trip to add some leisure time at the end?
29. If I have a trip signed off on paper forms, how do I claim expenses?
30. Do I need business travel on my car insurance to claim for parking?
31. Do I receive an email to confirm my request has been submitted?
32. I am not receiving emails to say I have a task to action, why is this?
    

1. I don’t have access to Agresso, how do I get access?

If you do not already have Agresso on your desktop, you are able to access Agresso through the UoS Portal on the Staff website ( Once you have logged into the portal, ABW should be one of the options available to you.

1. Where do I get a project code?

-If you are unsure of the correct project code to use please contact someone in your school/department or your Finance Officer.

1. Who do I go to for support?

General Finance Support: Please contact your Finance Officer

Travel Related Queries:Travel Officeat

Or call extension 56161

When emailing the Travel Office regarding a Travel Request please quote your Travel Request number in the email subject.

Expense/Advance Queries: Payroll at

or call extension 54193

1. Where can I access training?

-Please use the following document for a Quick Start guide Travel & Expenses Quick Start Guide

-Travel & Expense training can be found on Blackboard. Once you log into Blackboard, Under ‘My Organisations’ - Go to Professional & Organisational Staff Development. In the options on the left hand side, click on Travel & Expenses. Here you will find training in video and document form.

1. Can I access the system off campus?

Yes. You can access Agresso via the UoS Portal on the Staff website ( Once you have logged into the portal, ABE should be one of the options available to you.

1. Who can view my personal information?

-Your personal information is secure and can only be accessed by yourself

-Apart from payment and car insurance details which can be viewed by the Payroll team, and the Travel Office can access ‘Your Travel Information’ but no other section.

1. Do I still book my own travel arrangements?

-No, the new Travel Office is here to do that for you. You will need to submit a Travel Request form via Agresso and the Travel Office will book your travel for you.

-We will then send you your booking confirmations by email once all elements are confirmed.

1. Can I leave the pricing at £0 as I am not sure of the cost?

-No, this is a budget form therefore you need to estimate how much you think you will need to spend on your trip. The Travel Office will try to source options within the budget, if this is not possible they will discuss this with the Traveller and request an increase in the budget.

1. How do I know what costs to put down?

-If it is a journey you have taken in the past then please use these costs as an estimate for your next trip.

-If it is a large itinerary and you are really unsure of what the budget will need to be please contact the Travel Office and we can provide advice.

-You can have a quick look at the suppliers website i.e. trainline.com please add a little extra for booking fees and any price fluctuations.

1. Do I have to put all requests on the system?

-Yes, all requests need to be submitted via the Agresso system. If you have previously submitted a Business Expense Approval Form, you will now submit a Travel Request form.

-One exception to this is mileage claims, you are still able to expense these, if the request is mileage only and does not include any accommodation, conferences etc.

1. How much is the maximum I can spend on accommodation?

-To keep in line with the Travel Policy, the maximum you can spend on accommodation is:

Please be aware some departments/budgets impose their own caps which may be less than the above therefore please check with your cost centre approver if you are unsure.

If the Travel Office cannot obtain any options within the given budget we will discuss this with the Traveller to obtain the best solution.

1. Do I need to include VAT in my budget request?

-Yes, please consider VAT when budgeting for your conference. Please note VAT is currently at 20%.

1. Does the Travel Office book conferences?

-Yes, they do. Please include a link to the conference in the Additional Information box, as well as any membership numbers, early bird rates and dietary and access requirements.

-However, if you have a membership in which you need to log in to confirm your attendance, we can provide a Purchase Order number so you can log in and secure your place, the Conference supplier will then invoice the University for payment.

-For more information please see the Conference Booking Information document on our website.

1. Do I need to know the exact costs of the trip?

- You will need to estimate the budget for all the elements of your trip i.e. conference/rail/hotel/flights etc. This doesn’t have to be exact, but an estimation of how much it will cost.

-Please make sure to take into account VAT (20%) and booking fees (£2 for Rail) when budgeting. When in doubt, over-budget rather than under-budget.

1. Do I have to work out the exact BSR totals for my trip?

-No all you need to do it add in the Quantity of the BSR’s you will be using i.e. staying 5 nights place 5 in the ‘BSR 24 hours’ or not staying 24 hours only 11 hours place 1 in the ‘BSR over 10 hours.

-When you then send for approval the system with calculate how much HMRC allow for your destination and also will convert this into GBP.

-If when the travel office confirms your arrangements the BSR’s need adjusting due to arrival and departure times they will amend these so they show correctly in your Expense claim.

1. I am visiting one than one destination on my trip how do I enter this on the Travel Request?

-Enter in the main destination and then enter the budget amounts as normal, in the Additional Information Box or a separate email, inform the Travel Office of which destinations you will need to travel to and the Travel Office will add in the additional destinations and alter the BSR rates to reflect the destinations you will be visiting.

1. Where do I put my train/flight/hotel/conference details?

-On the Travel Request form, there is an ‘Additional Information’ box. Please add the details here. Please note, this box only allows 250 characters to be entered. If you need to add more information, or a more detailed travel itinerary, please email and quote your travel request number in the email subject. We are happy for you to use abbreviations for train stations (for example MANP for Manchester Piccadilly, LON for London) or airports.

1. Do I need to complete a Travel Request for Hospitality expenses?

-Yes, even though no travel is involved you will need to receive pre-approval to spend the budget on hospitality therefore please complete a Travel Request so this spend can be approved. This will then speed up the expense claim as the request has already been approved.

1. How far in advance should I send requests for rail/flight?

-Rail requests can be made up to 12 weeks before you travel

-Flight requests can be made up to 10 months before you travel

-The sooner you are able to submit a request the more options you will have available and this will also allow the Travel Office to source your requirements at the best price.

-When possible submit a travel office at least a week before you travel to give the request time to be approved and then actioned by the Travel Office.

-However, if your request is urgent and you have not heard back from the Travel Office up to two days before you travel, please contact us and we will find out the progress of your request.

1. Can I travel in Premium Economy and is it available with every airline?

-If your flight is over 5 hours in duration you are able to travel in Premium Economy if the budget allows.

-However Premium Economy is not available with every airline, only a select number of airlines offer this service, and the cabins are small so seats are limited.

-The Travel Office will provide a quote for Premium Economy if it is available and within a realistic budget

1. Can you book using my railcard?

-Yes, if you have a railcard, please specify in the ‘Additional information’ box or in an email which of railcard you will be using. Please note that we can’t accept the ‘two together’ railcard for single travellers.

1. Can I book for an external visitor?

-Yes, to book travel for an external visitor, please complete a Travel Request as normal and in the ‘Additional Information’ state External Visitor – there name and the requirements of their travel. There are full notes on the travel office website if required.

1. An External Partner is paying for my trip do I need to complete a Travel Request?

-If your entire trip is paying paid for by an external partner and the University will not be required to pay for any element you will still need to complete a Travel Request.

-Please state the budget as £0.

-Please select ‘Externally Funded’ as your reason for travel this will allow the request to be processed without an budget fields completed.

-The reason we are asking for these to be processed even though there are no costs to the University is so we have an understanding of where our travellers are in the world, and to make sure the trip is covered by the Universities Travel Insurance.

1. Which countries are we not able to travel to?

-You are not able to travel to any country list on the Travel Risk Map ( list in Red (extreme risk), as you are not covered by our Insurance. For Medium to High Risk countries a full Risk assessment will need to be carried out please refer to the Travel and Fieldwork Policy for further information.

-The foreign office website is also a useful resource when planning your trip

1. Does the University offer Travel Insurance?

-The University has a travel Insurance policy with UMAL which covers staff who travel for business purposes which also includes medical insurance. A copy of the Travel Insurance certificate will be sent with your travel confirmation details and can be found on the Travel Office website.

-Please note if you have any leisure time as part of the trip you will not be covered by the Universities Travel Insurance for this section. You will need your own personal travel insurance to cover the leisure section of your trip.

1. Can I book for my family members to join me?

-No. The Travel Office will only book for members of staff or external visitors.

-If you would like your family members to join you on your business trip you will need to book their travel arrangements yourself through either the airlines or rail operators direct webpage. You are not able to pay our Business Travel Suppliers directly.

1. Can I extend my business trip to add some leisure time at the end?

-The Travel Office can look into this, however the price of the return journey needs to be either cheaper or the same price as coming home straight after the Business trip completes. If it is more expensive the Travel Office will not able to confirm this.

-The Travel Office will only arrange the accommodation for the business trip section of your stay and the return travel, you will have to arrange the leisure section of our accommodation separately with the hotel directly.

1. If I have a trip signed off on paper forms, how do I claim expenses?

If you have already submitted a paper Business Expense Approval Form (BEA), you are therefore best to complete and submit a Business Expense Claim Form to Payroll to claim the expenses relating to your trip submitted on the paper form.

1. Do I need business travel on my car insurance to claim for parking?

-Yes, when claiming for parking expenses, please make sure that your car insurance covers business travel. If not, your parking expense cannot be claimed.

-Alternatively you are able to travel to your destination using public transport or a taxi and claim for this expense. i.e. Taxi to the train station, if it is a train to the airport the Travel Office can pre-book this for you as part of your Travel Request

1. Do I receive an email to confirm my request has been submitted?

-Once you have sent your Travel Request or Expense Claim for Approval you will not receive an email to confirm this. The request will appear in your ‘In Progress’ box.

-You will only receive aemail if anything further needs actioning and when your task is fully complete.

-You can see the progress of your request in Agresso, on the main menu click – Time & Expenses – ‘Workflow Enquiry’ either Travel Request or Travel Expenses. A list of your requests will be shown click on the Map button and this will show you a workflow map of your request and who it is currently sat with to action.

1. I am not receiving emails to say I have a task to action, why is this?

-Go to ‘Your Personnel Information’and check that you only have one ‘General/Term’ email address added on your contact details, please check this is correct.

-If there is no email listed please list on the word ‘General/Term’ and add an email address into this section.