FSO - Did You Know?

Is your Concur report submitted but still pending? Here’s how to see who needs to approve it:

1. Open your submitted report.
2. Click on “Report Details,” then select “Report Timeline.”
3. On the left side, you’ll find the Approval Flow. Look for any names without a check mark—these are the ones who still need to review and approve.

Reach out to those folks to give them a friendly nudge!  

If you have questions regarding Concur, please email concur@mtu.edu

When creating a report name in Concur, follow the format example listed above the field. You may add additional information after the report name. For example:

• Travel &/or Business Meal Expense Report:
  Format: “City, State MMDDYY”
  Example: “Ann Arbor, MI 010124”
  With additional information
  Example: “Ann Arbor, MI 010124 XYZ Conference”
• Purchasing Card Report
  Format: “Last 4 digits of card # - MM/YYYY of report”
  Example: “5555 - 01/2024”

If you have any questions regarding Concur, email concur@mtu.edu

When claiming an overnight travel allowance (meal per diem) in Concur, the Report/Trip Business Start Date and End Date must match the dates of the itinerary (travel allowance).  It is important to ensure that the dates are accurate, since Concur will automatically calculate the meal per diem based on the dates entered.

If you have any questions regarding Concur, email concur@mtu.edu

When submitting a check request, remember to include the payee’s personal address or business remit to address rather than your department address. The only exemptions to this rule are for check requests related to Student Organizations and Human Subjects Research (HSR) payments. If a check needs to be sent to your department, choose “Mail to Department'' in the mailing instructions.

Also, ensure that a vendor ID or M# is included on the check request. Vendor information can be found by querying the Vendor Search. To locate an individual's M# in Banner, you can query the Banner 9 SPAIDEN form.

Please note that if the request involves a new vendor, there may be a delay as we gather necessary documents. Providing documentation with the vendor’s contact information can expedite this process.

If you have questions regarding check requests, email mtuap@mtu.edu.

As part of our University Purchasing Card (PCard) program, a 2% international transaction fee is incurred on foreign purchases. This fee is recorded as a distinct transaction in Concur, enabling us to track expenditures made outside the US accurately. To allocate this fee in Concur, assign it to account code E916T - International Transaction Fee (PCard), and utilize the same index as the primary expense. No receipt is necessary for this fee.  

For any inquiries about your University Purchasing Card (PCard), feel free to reach out to pcard@mtu.edu for prompt assistance.

Expense code A127C is specifically designated for personal expenses charged on a Purchasing Card (PCard). It is crucial to emphasize that personal charges are strictly prohibited and should be avoided. A127C should only be used in cases of error. The cardholder will receive an invoice for the amount charged. Upon receipt of the invoice, please proceed to the Cashier’s Office for check or cash payment (no deposit slip required), or utilize the online non-student payment portal for credit card or electronic check payments. 

The PCard is a privilege granted by the University and it is expected that it will be used responsibly, if not, your PCard privileges will be reviewed and may be terminated.

For any inquiries about your University PCard, feel free to reach out to pcard@mtu.edu for prompt assistance.

To improve efficiency and cost effectiveness Financial Services and Operations (FSO) recommends reimbursements for supplies that are less than $10.00 be reimbursed through a petty cash fund.  If you don’t have a petty cash custodian in your department, or are unsure who is the petty cash custodian in your department, please email fso@mtu.edu.

Further information on petty cash payments can be found at: https://www.mtu.edu/fso/financial/accounts-payable/ 

You can lookup your submitted check request in Perceptive Content by querying with the Documents button.  Select AS-Invoice as your document type.  In the Quick Search dropdown select PO or Blanket #.  Enter the check request number and click Go. 

If you want to update anything on the check request, you can add text on the form.

This query will no longer work once the check request has been processed to your index in Banner. At this stage you can lookup the check request in Perceptive Content by using the Invoice # option in the Quick Search dropdown and inputting the document number (I#) assigned to it in Banner.

At Michigan Tech, Faculty, Staff, and Students are encouraged to use a University purchasing card (PCard) for all travel-related expenses whenever possible. Financial Services & Operations (FSO) recommends that departments charge travel costs, such as airfare, hotels, and conference fees, directly to the PCard rather than having individuals pay out of pocket—especially for trips booked months in advance. If you do not have a PCard, please contact your department coordinator for assistance in making these purchases. If you do purchase a travel-related expense for someone else with your PCard, this would go in your PCard report, not a travel expense report.

If travelers do pay out of pocket, they must wait until after the trip is completed to submit a reimbursement request. University policy allows for one travel expense report to be filed post-travel. By using the PCard, travelers can avoid out-of-pocket expenses and minimize financial strain. This approach also streamlines the reimbursement process and ensures compliance with University guidelines.

For questions, please contact concur@mtu.edu.

A new Journal type “FTET” was created for budget transfers that have one line over $500,000. Please utilize this Journal type moving forward for this situation.

The last day to submit budget transfers in My Finance is the 25th of the month.  This allows for the appropriate approvals.  Any budget transfers after the 25th of a month should NOT be entered in until the 1st of the following month.

Please delete “Draft” transfers that you do not plan on submitting.  This includes disapproved documents that have been resubmitted and approved.

Please contact fso@mtu.edu with any questions.

With recent changes in space on campus, FSO would like to remind faculty and staff that permanent location changes of tagged Michigan Tech property must be reported timely to the Property Office. A location change is considered permanent if the property will not return to its original on- or off-campus location (documented in Banner) within four weeks. Please work with your department’s equipment coordinator to make sure location changes are reported. A list of equipment coordinators by department is available in the Property Procedures Manual. 

All departments contribute to successful audits.  As a reminder, our annual physical inventory provides the Office of Naval Research an assessment of the effectiveness of our property management system, including our location accuracy.  Receiving positive audit opinions allows Michigan Tech to continue to receive federal funds for research and to meet government and sponsor requirements.

For questions, please contact property-l@mtu.edu.

Employee requests for cash advances are done by submitting a Request report in Concur.  Once you have created a new request, you must add the Cash Advance to it.  The Cash Advance is added by clicking on the Add Cash Advance option under Request Details and inputting the Cash Advance Amount.  This step MUST be completed prior to submitting the request in order to receive a Cash Advance.

Additional information regarding cash advances can be found on the cash advances website.  

If you have questions regarding Concur, please email concur@mtu.edu.

If you have funds remaining from your cash advance upon your return from travel, there are two ways to return the funds to the university.

1. 1. Return the cash at the Cashier’s Office using the Cash Advance Deposit Form.
      Funds can be returned via cash, in person at the Cashier’s Office. Please complete all fill-able sections of the cash advance deposit form. This form must be submitted with payment when returning your cash advances.  The receipt provided to you by the cashier will need to be uploaded to Concur to clear the cash advance.
   2.  
2. Return via credit/debit card or electronic check using the Online Payment Portal NON-Student.
   1. To make payments toward outstanding travel expenses, such as cash advances, choose the “Travel Repayment” selection.  Please enter all required information (i.e. index, travel start date, and travel destination). The receipt or confirmation email from the payment portal will need to be uploaded to Concur to clear the cash advance.
   2. Note: there is a 2.3% service charge for online credit/debit card payments.

When submitting your travel report in Concur, be sure to add an expense on your report for the returned amount: Add Expense > A113-Cash Advance Returned. Enter the amount being returned and attach the receipt from the online payment or Cashier’s Office. Additional information on handling cash advances in Concur can be found in the Michigan Tech Concur Training Guide.

If you have questions regarding Concur, please email concur@mtu.edu.

Financial Services and Operations (FSO) has the following reminders on the allowability of
various travel expenses, specifically expense aging.

• Travel reimbursement expenses (including repayment of cash advances and business
  meals) submitted more than 60 days after the event/last day of business travel will
  be considered taxable income to the employee as the reimbursement would fall outside
  of the conditions of an accountable plan (per IRS regulations). Amounts reimbursed
  under a non-accountable plan are included in the employee’s gross income on form W-2
  and are subject to withholding as supplemental wages. Applicable taxes will be withheld
  from a future paycheck.
• Out-of-pocket travel reimbursement expenses (including business meals) submitted
  more than 120 days after the event/last day of business travel are unallowable and
  are not reimbursable.

If you have questions about the travel changes, contact FSO at 906-487-2373 or
travel@mtu.edu. For additional information, please visit FSO's University Travel page.
FSO appreciates your assistance and would like to thank you for adhering to our institutional
policies and guidelines.

Disbursements from Michigan Tech Fund endowed funds are done quarterly. Check requests for disbursements from Michigan Tech Fund endowed funds may still be submitted to mtfchecks@mtu.edu at any time during a quarter; however, payment of the check requests will only occur once per quarter. 

If you have any questions regarding Michigan Tech Fund check requests, please email mtfchecks@mtu.edu.

As of Monday, May 19, 2025, all of the Finance Self Service functions available in Banweb are moving to Experience. 

You will find the new Finance Self Service link on the Finance card in Experience. Finance has posted instructions on the new requisition process on their Purchase Order Requisitions webpage. The Banweb Finance tab will be updated to forward to Experience.

Ellucian Experience is an inclusive interface with a mobile-accessible, user-friendly design that allows you to customize a central dashboard and access your information and campus services with a single sign-on. 

If you have any questions, please contact Purchasing at 7-2510 or purchasing@mtu.edu.

University invoices (non-research) over $100 should be billed through the University’s Accounts Receivable invoicing process.

This allows for:

•  Consistent invoices across the University.
• One central location for calls and questions.
• The Cashier’s Office to quickly match payments with vendors to properly process payments.
• Vendors to pay online.
• Automated tracking.
• If nonpayment occurs there are options for further collection action.

We recommend that request for invoice forms be submitted within two weeks after the service has been provided, in order to allow the vendor to submit payment in a timely manner.

The directions for requesting an invoice and request for invoice form can be found on the FSO Department Forms website.

If you have additional questions, please reach out to mtuar@mtu.edu

Student bills are due and enrollment must be confirmed by the Wednesday before the first day of class to avoid a late enrollment processing fee and possible course cancellation.  This applies to all students, including students receiving graduate support.  Departments should inform supported students that they are responsible for the student voted fees, as well as the orientation fee and international surcharge fee, if applicable.

Students cannot confirm their enrollment until they have a $0.00 balance so it is extremely important that their tuition only form or graduate support is submitted via TZAGRSP by 2:00 pm on the Tuesday before the first day of classes.  This allows the support to be applied and reflected on the student account so that students can make their payment and confirm their enrollment prior to the due date. You CAN enter a student into TZAGRSP even if they do not have an index yet.  You will use PENDNG in place of the index and can update the index later.

There are various forms that departments should be running in WebFocus to ensure graduate support is reflected properly for the department’s supported students.  The forms can be found by logging into WebFocus, then going to Workspaces > Graduate School > Academic > Finance|Support Reports.  The reports you will use are: Grad Tuition Only Listing, Grad Support in TZAGRSP, TZSREC014 - Choose your department and TYSOR017 - Grad Tuition Support Detail.

For additional questions regarding graduate support please contact mtuar@mtu.edu.