1506 - Policy on Travel & Expense Card Infractions

Title

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Finance Policy 1506 - Policy on Travel & Expense Card (T&E Card) Infractions

Introduction

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to create a policy to:

  1. Mandate training for all Travel & Expense Card (T&E Card) accountholders.
  2. Enforce penalties on T&E Card accountholders who violate their Accountholder Agreement by not complying with the terms and conditions regarding use of their T&E card account.

The original training requirements and list of T&E card infractions is published in The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill T&E Card Program Handbook along with this policy and will be enforced accordingly.

Scope

Transactions made with the University T&E card are subject to audit and, as such, must have an appropriate business justification and be accompanied by required supporting documentation. Accountholders in violation of compliance may have card privileges suspended or permanently revoked. This policy is applicable to all active T&E card accountholders and applies to all transactions.

Policy

Policy Statement

All accountholders must complete the following T&E Card trainings:

General descriptions of T&E Card Accountholder infractions include:

  1. Failure to provide a valid & sufficient business justification for purchase (i.e. reason for purchase).
  2. Failure to supply valid, legible, itemized receipt, invoice, or other supporting documentation.
  3. Splitting transactions to circumvent transaction limits.
  4. Using the T&E card to purchase non-allowable items per the T&E card policy (e.g. personal purchases, etc.) or misuse of any temporary exception to T&E card restrictions. Personal transactions made on the T&E Card must be repaid to the University.
  5. Failure to immediately report loss or theft of a card upon discovery.
  6. Disabling the "New Company Card Transactions" notification email in your Concur profile.
  7. Other infractions warranting disciplinary actions, as deemed appropriate by the Travel Card Administrator or the accountholder's business manager or Department Head.

Infractions, including but not limited to those listed above, may result in the following consequences:

  • Misuse form to be submitted and attached to the expense report in Concur.  Email notification will be sent to accountholder, department approvers, and direct supervisor.
  • If an accountholder experiences 3 misuses within a rolling 12-month period, the account will be temporarily suspended until the accountholder meets with the Travel Card Office to review policy. 
  • Notification of the suspension will be sent to the accountholder, direct supervisor, Campus Unit Finance Lead, and Dean or Department Head. 
  • If a 4th misuse occurs within a rolling 12-month period, the account will remain suspended for 30 days.

NOTE: The Travel Card Office reserves the right to reduce or escalate disciplinary actions at its sole discretion.

Time Period: Rolling 12 months.

Reconciliation

T&E card accountholders are required to submit expenses for approval in Concur within 30 days of the transaction date for non-travel expenses and pre-trip expenses (i.e. airfare, conference registration, hotel deposit), or within 30 days from the last day of travel for expenses incurred during overnight travel.  Expense Reports for overnight travel must be created from an approved Travel Request in Concur. To ensure expenses can be approved and processed, all expenses must be properly substantiated: all itemized receipts and any supporting documentation must be attached to the Expense Report in Concur.

Non reconciled transactions by the deadline will result in the following consequences:

  • An email notification is sent to the accountholder when any transaction becomes over 30 days past due. The accountholder is given a 15 days deadline to submit ALL outstanding transactions which are more than 30 days past due.
  • If the 15-day deadline is not met, the accountholder's account will be temporarily suspended until all outstanding transactions have been submitted for approval. Failure to meet the required deadlines may result in payroll deduction for any outstanding transactions.
  • Notification of the suspension will be sent to the accountholder, their delegate(s), department approvers, and Campus Unit Finance Lead.
  • If an accountholder incurs 3 suspensions within a rolling 12-month period, they must meet with the Travel Card Office or internally with their departmental finance team to review procedures before their account may be reinstated.  During this suspension, the accountholder will not be eligible to submit for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.
  • If a 4th suspension occurs in a rolling 12-month period for non-reconciled transactions, the account will remain suspended for 30 days. Email will be sent to accountholder, direct supervisor, and Campus Unit Finance Lead.

NOTE: The Travel Card Office reserves the right to reduce or escalate disciplinary actions at its sole discretion.

Time Period: Rolling 12 Months.

Abuse and Fraud Rule (Personal purchase made intentionally)

  1. Immediate revocation of the T&E card. The accountholder, direct supervisor, Campus Unit Finance Lead, and Dean or Department Head will receive an email notification.
  2. Dean or Department Head is responsible for taking appropriate disciplinary action after consulting with Human Resources, up to and including termination of employment.

Exceptions

There are no exceptions to this policy.

Definitions

  • Accountholder - the person whose name is embossed on the T&E card and ultimately responsible for its proper use and completed reconciliation.
  • Delegate - employee who has been granted permission to create expense reports in Concur on behalf of the accountholder.
  • Department Approver - employee assigned to approve expense reports in Concur based on the Department ID utilized on the expense report.

Additional definitions and process requirements are detailed in The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill T&E card handbook.

Related Requirements

University Policies, Standards, and Procedures

Contact Information

Primary Contacts

Subject: T&E Card Infractions

Unit: Travel Card Office

Email: TravelCard@unc.edu

Publication Details

Issuing Officer: Travel and Payment Card Services Manager

Effective Date: September 1, 2026

Next Review Date: September 1, 2027

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1505.4 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Procedure on Travel & Expense (T&E) Card Refresher Training
Every two years after completion of the initial T&E Accountholder training, T&E accountholders must complete mandatory online refresher training. The training covers applicable restrictions, policies and reconciliation procedures. Accountholders are also required to pass an associated quiz.