The University issues cash advances to employees in support of official University business for a very limited number of business activities.

Types of cash advances

Travel Cash Advances

Travel cash advances may be issued to employees of official William & Mary or VIMS businesses to cover individual and group travel or student travel. These cover out-of-pocket travel expenses that are expected to be reimbursed from university accounts.

Non-Travel Cash Advances

Non-travel cash advances will be given to employees only in exceptional circumstances, such as study abroad assistance and human subject study or research assistance.

Travel advances

Travelers must formally request a travel cash advance through Chrome River’s expense reporting process 10 days prior to departure, including a copy of the pre-approval and financial responsibility form.

The request is approved depending on the nature and necessity of the trip. Advances over $100 require cashier approval. Those with delinquent balances or multiple advances may be denied. Approved advances are distributed by direct deposit or check, and travelers must handle funds responsibly.

Reconciliation of travel cash advances

After the trip, travelers must submit a detailed expense report to Chrome River with receipts within 60 days to reconcile the advance, promptly returning any unspent funds to the University through the Blow Hall cashier’s office by cash or check. Once the traveler has obtained a payment receipt from the Cashier, they must immediately submit the receipt to Chrome River as a Cash Advance Return to update their Chrome River balance to zero and mitigate any discrepancies between Banner and the bank.

How to send a cash advance? Requesting a cash advance and/or returning a cash advance.

Non-Travel Cash Advances

A non-travel advance request form must be completed and signed by the William & Mary employee receiving the funds. It must also be reviewed and approved by designated authorities within the organization. The completed form is then forwarded to the Accounts Receivable office for approval and distribution of funds used by direct deposit or check.

Reconciliation of non-travel cash advances

After completing the trip or research, a Reimbursement/Reimbursement Request Form must be completed and sent to buyW&M with receipts within 60 days to reconcile the advance. Return all unspent funds to the University immediately through the cashier’s office in Blow Hall by cash or check.

Procedures for non-compliance

Any employee departing from the University must pay back and reconcile travel account balances prior to departure. In the event of non-repayment of the outstanding cash advance balance within 60 days of the last day of travel:

The employee will receive a final email notification from the cashier, including their immediate supervisor. The employee will be given a short period of time to pay the outstanding balance. If the balance is not paid by the end of this time frame, the outstanding expense report will be forwarded to Payroll to initiate a payroll deduction.

These procedures are in place to ensure compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements regarding expense reporting.