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ADAPT Bulletin 4/27/01
Announcement from HMS Finance Office:

1. Expenses Reimbursable By An Outside Organization - New Policy
See below the new policy on expenses reimbursable by an outside organization. If you have questions or concerns about adhering to this new policy, please contact Sharon Reine at 432-4401.

Definition
This refers to reimbursement to an employee, or direct payment to a vendor, for travel expenses that ultimately will be reimbursed to the employee from another university or outside organization.

Background
Situations exist where Harvard employees travel and/or incur expenses that will later be reimbursed by another institution or outside agency. In most cases the employee pays for these expenses and submits receipts to the host agency for reimbursement and never involves Harvard. However, in some cases the employee requests reimbursement, or direct payment to vendors, for these expenses up front; thus Harvard incurs the expense. When the employee receives reimbursement from the host, he/she pays Harvard back.

University Policy
University policy does not allow for reimbursement to an employee, or direct payment to a vendor, for expenses that ultimately will be reimbursed by another university or outside organization. Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the employee's tub Financial Dean (HMS: Cynthia Walker, Dean for Finance).

Risk
There is concern these expenses are not tracked to ensure Harvard is reimbursed. Also, there may be tax reporting consequences to the Harvard employee if the expenses are not appropriately substantiated and documented.

This will be cited as an addition to the University-wide Business Expense Policy: Personal and Unallowable Expenses section (not as a stand-alone policy paper). It will be listed as follows:

Payment Type: Travel Expenses Reimbursable by Outside Organizations

Exception to Policy: Requires Fin Dean (or equivalent) review/approval

Tax Treatment of exceptions: Not Reportable or Taxable

Are exceptions chargeable to federal sponsored research programs: No


2. Important Notice on Increase in New York Shuttle Ticket Fees (effective April 30th)
Almost two years ago, the Travel Office successfully negotiated one of the lowest shuttle fares the University has seen in years (*note 1). The full coach fare to New York LaGuardia Airport is $404.00 compared to Harvard's price of $161.50. That's a 60% savings! The Harvard community certainly has benefited from this savings. However, it has become increasingly more difficult for the Travel Center to achieve profitability on such low fares for New York shuttle tickets since there is a very low commission return. The current fee of $20 for NYC shuttle tickets is not enough to cover the real costs the Harvard Travel Center incurs for issuing that ticket (*note 2).

The success of the shuttle program has shown a 10% increase in bookings over the last year, yet the Harvard Travel Center loses money every time it issues a shuttle ticket. In order for HTC to break even, the Travel and Reimbursement Office at Holyoke Center has authorized a $20 increase to the current $20 charge. The new price for NYC shuttle ticket will be $161.50 plus a $40 fee (or $20 each way) to bring the total price to $201.50. The price is still a 50% savings off the regular fare. The fee for all other tickets (including Amtrak to NYC) will remain $20.00.

What can you do to avoid paying any fees?
For future Delta Shuttle travel please consider the Delta SkyCard Program, a NO FEE option when purchasing tickets for Harvard University business. The SkyCard program provides a convenient, efficient, and excellent cost-saving alternative. Delta SkyCard Program benefits:

A quick, 45 second , NO FEE ticket transaction at the airport.
Harvard University's negotiated Delta Shuttle price.
Automatic mileage credits to your Delta SkyMiles account.

Go to the Harvard Travel Web Site for enrollment instructions.

Once you are registered, you may purchase your Delta Shuttle tickets at an Electronic Ticketing kiosk at Boston Logan, New York LaGuardia, and Washington Reagan National airports. You simply insert your registered credit card into the Delta Shuttle electronic
ticketing kiosk and receive your one-way ticket in 45 seconds. You may only use the "registered" credit card -- your Harvard/American Express Corporate Card. Your SkyMiles account will automatically be credited upon completion of your flight. All you need is an American Express Corporate Card to be enrolled in the frequent flyer program. You will be notified by e-mail when the registration is complete.

(*Note 1) The HTC has been authorized to start charging the new fee as of April 30, 2001. History of Harvard's NYC shuttle price: $210.00 in 1997, $186.00 in 1998, $161.50 in 1999.

(*Note 2) Ticket transaction costs cover HTC's operating expenses, such as salaries/benefits, occupancy, equipment, supplies, etc. It currently costs HTC $50 to issue a ticket. In general, commissions cover 60% of that cost, the service fee covers 40%. However, commissions earned on a NYC shuttle ticket cover only 16% of the cost of issuing a ticket.
 




Harvard Medical School. Last Updated: May 2002. Send feedback to: foa@hms.harvard.edu