INQUIRY: Hi Paul, we need some advice on how to handle the following. Our scenario is we cannot get a corp acct credit card at this time. So when our employees travel we give them a travel debit card to use for all expense which hits our travel expense bank account. Some of the employees are putting everything on it including meals. Then they hand in a travel voucher which has the per diem rate for meals based on location of travel. The issue we have is we cannot reconcile with them the per diem amount and the amount they have already spent on the debit card in a timely manner and we end up paying for both already charged meal expense and then the per diem on the voucher. We would like to control this better and wanted to make sure if there is or is not a DCAA policy on handling this situation.
RESPONSE: Why do you pay them twice? If they are charging the meals, along with all other travel cost on a debit card, then why not change your policy for reimbursement to a later time once the voucher and debit card charges are reconciled. It should not be a hardship on the employees since it sounds like most of the expenses are charged and paid up-front by the company.
Alternately, you could cut a check in advance all travel costs other than those authorized, such as if you authorize that only Hotel/Lodging/Air Fair/Auto Rental are authorized on the card. Someone in the home office, or the traveler, can charge these in advance of travel on the card. The employee can then receive a check advance based on Per Diem projected and choose to use the cash or their own credit card and settle up upon return. If you limit reimbursement until after travel voucher is reconciled that should minimize overpayment.
However, if there is an overpayment by the company due to less than expected expenditures, the employee, through payroll, can have this deducted from their paycheck. The General Ledger account would be the expense account that the amount was originally charged, such as Direct or Indirect Travel - Meals. This ensures that the government receives any applicable credits.
These are only options. I understand there may be other factors involved that require more detailed discussions.
There are several Time and Expense Reporting software options that can be integrated with your software to allow for an improved control of these costs. However, your POLICY becomes the focal point on how to control what the company does in these circumstances and how employees will be reimbursed.