Who is responsible for signing hotel contracts?

VPF Contract Advisors are authorized agents to sign any supplier contract on behalf of MIT. DLC staff do not have the authorization to sign supplier contracts on behalf of MIT.

What types of problems could hold up travel reimbursement?

  • Wrong cost object listed to charge expenses
  • Missing original receipts above $75
  • No original detailed hotel bill
  • No receipt for business meeting regardless of the amount
  • No receipt for local travel and dining regardless of the amount
  • No itemized receipt for meals above $75
  • No original detailed car rental receipt
  • No original passenger receipt or detailed website receipt for airline tickets;
  • No documentation on business-related meetings that involve food/meals (list of participants, affiliation and topic of discussion)
  • No discretionary account for unallowable expenses
  • Excessive costs
  • Incorrect mailing address for guest travelers
  • Required additional approval from Research Administration Services, Senior Officer or Provost
  • Foreign bank draft reimbursement
  • Use of a foreign-flag carrier on a sponsored project
  • Alcohol charged to a sponsored project

Is direct deposit be available for my reimbursements?

Direct Deposit is available if the traveler has direct deposit information on file with HR/Payroll and has created the expense report in his or her Concur profile and not a guest profile.

How is airline ticket fulfillment handled?

When you use the MIT Online Travel Booking and Expense Reporting System to reserve your flights, MIT’s preferred travel agency, The Travel Collaborative, will handle fulfillment/ticketing in the same manner as a phone reservation. Electronic tickets are issued unless otherwise requested.

How can I view the itinerary for flights I have already booked?

On the My Concur page, review the Upcoming Trips section. For more detailed information, click the appropriate trip name in the Trip Name/Description column and then click View Itinerary.

How do I change my reservation after it’s been booked?

To make changes to your seat assignment or add a hotel or car reservations to a trip, click the trip name in the Upcoming Trips area of the My Concur if you booked using Concur or The Travel Collaborative. To change your air itinerary contact your travel agency directly. Call the airline if you booked the air travel on an airline website or call the travel company if you booked the air travel on a third party travel website.

Note: When you contact your travel agency to cancel your reservation, the itinerary is not
automatically removed from the Upcoming Travel section on My Concur. To remove the canceled itinerary from the Upcoming Travel section:

1. In the Upcoming Travel section, select the appropriate itinerary
2. Click View Request and then click Withdraw Request.

Where do I view my itinerary?

The MIT Online Travel Booking and Expense Reporting System will send your itinerary to you immediately after you confirm the trip. Your agency will email your final itinerary when it is ticketed. In addition, you can view your itinerary in the Upcoming Trips section on the My Concur or Travel pages.

What are MIT’s preferred hotels? Can the agreements be used for personal travel?

MIT has many preferred hotels throughout the Cambridge/Boston area along with other cities out of state and internationally. All preferred hotels with MIT negotiated rates can be booked for personal travel by the MIT community. 

Who are MIT’s preferred travel agencies?

MIT's Preferred travel agency is The Travel Collaborative, who serves as the fulfillment agency for reservations made with Concur. 

Do I need to attach receipts for airline tickets purchased with Concur?

Yes, some vendors provide e-receipts, but they may not contain sufficient detail so please attach the detailed receipt you receive from the travel agency.

I have already processed my travel expense report. What do I do if I have additional expenses?

You would submit a second expense report with the original report name and “Addendum” in the new report name. Any additional expenses pertaining to a previous trip should be added to the NEW expense report and submitted. For records purposes, please note the TR number (can be found in MIT detailed report) of the original report in the new report.

If I do not have an MIT credit card, can I still use the Concur system to process my expenses?

Yes. All expenses will be entered manually as “out of pocket” expenses and will be reimbursed after the completion of the trip.

When do meals need to be categorized as expense type business meals?

Whenever a meal involves a non-MIT party, it must be classified as a business meeting.

Are account numbers tied to specific profiles/individuals?

No, anyone submitting a Travel Expense Report in the Concur system is able to type in any account number regardless of the DLC the account is tied to.

Is each Traveler/Submitter assigned his or her own approver?

No, Expense Report Approval in Concur is driven by Roles. Approvers are not assigned to individuals but are set up by accounts and fund centers (cost objects). When an account number is entered into the system via the report header, or when allocating individual expenses, the system recognizes the account number and knows to route the report to the designated approver(s) after the report is submitted.

Can I move card charges between profiles (i.e. from my Departmental Card’s Profile to another individual’s profile)?

No, MIT Travel Card charges feed into and are linked with only one profile and must be expensed under the profile name to which they have fed.

Do I have to allocate each individual travel expense in a report to a cost object/account number?

If every expense in your report can hit the cost object found in the Report Header you do not have to allocate each individual expense. Allocation is only necessary when splitting the report between cost objects or selecting particular expenses (like alcohol) to hit an account other than the one you entered in the Report Header (like a discretionary account) when the Concur Expense Report was created.

I have a departmental card whose name shows up when I click on “Profile” and “Act on behalf of another user” in my dropdown menu, but I have a non-institute guest who has all out-of-pocket expenses that I need to reimburse. Do I also need a guest account?

No, if you have a Departmental MIT Travel Card, you already have a guest account in the Concur system. You can select your Departmental Card’s name by clicking on “Profile” and “Act on behalf of another user” and typing in your email address. Click on your department travel card ID, and you are able to reimburse any traveler for out-of-pocket expenses. Please note that a guest account in Concur creates a paper check for out-of-pocket expenses. The check is mailed to the Guest mailing address the submitter enters in the Expense Report Header. If you do not have a Departmental MIT Travel Card and need to reimburse visitors or guests, please email travelsupport@mit.edu and request the creation of a guest profile.

I am a Backup Approver for someone, but when I log into Concur I don’t have an Approval Queue. Why is this?

Backup Approvers are basically set up as Expense Delegates for Primary Approvers. Due to this set-up, in order to approve reports that are routed to the Primary Approver by the system, Backup Approvers must proxy in under the Primary Approver’s name. This is done by selecting the approver's name in the “Profile,” “Act on behalf of another user” drop-down menu. Selecting the Primary Approver’s name gives the Backup Approver access to their Approval Queue.

How do I activate my MIT Travel Card?

Please call 1‐888‐571‐1000 to activate your card. This number will appear on an activation sticker on the front of the card issued to you. Activation code is your full employee ID number.