Cash Advances

What can a Cash Advance be requested for?

Loyola University will provide cash advances in limited amounts for faculty and other employees needing to pay for expenses that cannot readily be paid for by other means. The employee must ensure that utilization of a cash advance will not violate the University's Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Travel, or other applicable policies.

Cash advances must not be used to cover personal expenses or any activity that is the sole responsibility of the employee. The size of the advance must be a reasonable estimate of the amount of cash necessary to conduct University business. Advances for non-travel-related expenses will generally not be provided earlier than 10 working days before the planned expense. Advances for general travel expenses may be issued no more than 10 days prior to the departure date. Advances for travel-related expenses such as registration fees or airline tickets can be provided within 10 days of the expected purchase date, even though this date may be well in advance of the travel date. The expected purchase date should be documented on the advance request.

Documentation and Forms:

Please submit all advance requests on a Check Request Form (.pdf).

Each cash advance is the personal obligation of the employee until it has been discharged by processing a properly completed Travel (.pdf), Entertainment (.pdf), or Miscellaneous (.pdf) Expense Statement. Employees are responsible for the proper record keeping of expenses incurred for settling any unused advance owed to the University.

Deadlines:

Travel advances must be accounted for within 10 working days after the expense has been paid. Any unused monies from cash advances must be returned. If proper documentation and return of any excess funds are not submitted within 120 calendar days, the amount of the advance will be included on the recipient’s W-2 and reported as income to the IRS. Additionally, if the individual is requesting reimbursement for business-related expenses spent in excess of the advance provided, proper documentation must be submitted within 60 calendar days after the expense was paid or incurred.

For travel purposes, the University begins counting the 60-day reimbursement allowance period on the day following the end date of travel. The end date of travel is defined as the employee’s return to New Orleans. For Entertainment and Miscellaneous Expenses with no overnight travel involved, the University defines the incurred date as the date of purchase. Any reimbursements provided after 60 days will be refused and no reimbursement will be provided.

Once an advance has been processed as income no future advances will be issued to that individual unless approved by the vice-president of the division. This policy is in effect because the inclusion of income from the advance results in a greater tax liability for the university. The Financial Affairs office reserves the right to refuse any requests for advances. Please note that when requesting reimbursement for additional expenses incurred while traveling a check request for the additional funds must accompany the expense statement.