All claims for reimbursement of travel expenses incurred while conducting official business for the Commonwealth must be submitted via the automated Chrome River system.
All domestic United States and international travel approvals and reimbursements are now made in Chrome River. The Chrome River Help Center provides detailed information about submitting and approving requests for travel and small business expense reimbursements. Travelers MUST adhere to ALL published travel policies and procedures.
Please note the following process changes:
- Pre-Approval request (now required for international travel only) in Chrome River replaces: paper Travel Estimate and Travel Authorization (TA)
- Expense Report in Chrome River replaces: both the Travel Expense Reimbursement Voucher and the Travel Request (TR)
- The GSA CONUS rates (domestic travel) and the GSA OCONUS rates (international travel) are applicable to all University travel October 1, 2015 or later.
Questions/Issues
- Questions about travel regulations should be addressed to your travel processing team member.
- Issues with Chrome River processing should be addressed to the Chrome River Adminstrator at travel@odu.edu.
Reimbursement Timeline
60 DAYS AFTER EXPENSE REPORT SUBMITTED
- The Expense Report should be submitted by the employee to the supervisor for approval within sixty (60) calendar days after completion of the trip where overnight travel is involved.
BI-MONTHLY CONTINUOUS TRAVEL
- Employees on continuous travel should request reimbursement at least bi-monthly.
14 DAYS AFTER WITH TRAVEL ADVANCE
- Travelers must submit an Expense Report within fourteen (14) calendar days of completion of a trip for which a travel advance was obtained.
5 WORK DAYS EMPLOYEE EXPENSE REPORTS APPROVED
- The traveler's supervisor and Budget Unit Director (BUD) must approve all Expense Reports in Chrome River within 5 working days after they are submitted in Chrome River. The employee's Expense Report will then automatically be routed to the appropriate travel team processor in Accounts Payable for processing.
5 WORKDAYS NON-EMPLOYEE EXPENSE REPORTS APPROVED
- Expense Reports for travel expenses incurred by non-employees must be submitted in Chrome River by a University employee. The supervisor of the University employee and the BUD must approve the Expense Report within 5 working days after it is submitted in Chrome River.
The BUD approving the payment must be on the authorized signature list for the budget charged.
NON-EMPLOYEE ENROLLMENT IN CHROME RIVER
For non-employee travel reimbursements to be processed, individuals must be set up in Banner as a vendor with a University Identification Number (UIN) assigned and then set up in Chrome River to receive reimbursements. All non-employees must complete the Chrome River Enrollment Form for Non-Employees.
- Complete all portions of the Chrome River Enrollment Form for Non-Employees, including #2, UIN (University Identification Number).
- Submit the completed form to the Chrome River Administrator in Accounts Payable or e-mail it to travel@odu.edu.
- The departmental contact on the Chrome River Enrollment Form for Non-Employees will receive an e-mail when the non-employee has been set up in Chrome River.
- Once the e-mail is received, the department contact/employee responsible for entering the non-employee Expense Report in Chrome River can create an Expense Report using the non-employee widget in Chrome River.
- Non-employees do not have access to Chrome River.
- The non-employee should be e-mailed/sent the report to sign the assertion indicating "I hereby certify that all expenses listed here are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and are for legitimate business purposes." The signed assertion will be attached to the Expense Report as a "receipt."
- Complete all portions of the Chrome River Enrollment Form for Non-Employees, except #2, UIN (University Identification Number).
- Complete a W-9 Form and submit it and the Chrome River Enrollment Form for Non-Employees to Linda Wallace in Accounts Payable. Forms may be faxed to 757-683-5729 (ATTN: Linda Wallace) or mailed to Accounts Payable, ATTN: Linda Wallace; Old Dominion University Rollins Hall; Norfolk, VA 23529. For more information, visit our W-9 Page.
- Once the non-employee is set up in Banner and assigned a UIN and address sequence, the Chrome River Enrollment Form for Non-Employees will be forwarded to the Chrome River Administrator.
- The departmental contact on the Chrome River Enrollment Form for Non-Employees will receive an e-mail when the non-employee has been set up in Chrome River.
- Once the e-mail is received, the department contact/employee responsible for entering the non-employee Expense Report in Chrome River can create an Expense Report using the non-employee widget in Chrome River.
- Non-employees do not have access to Chrome River.
- The non-employee should be e-mailed/sent the report to sign the assertion indicating "I hereby certify that all expenses listed here are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and are for legitimate business purposes." The signed assertion will be attached to the Expense Report as a "receipt."
IMPORTANT NOTE: If a non-employee traveler has a foreign address, contact Linda Wallace at lwallace@odu.edu for additional information about vendor set up in Banner.
Accounts Payable Travel Processing
If an Expense Report is accurate and complete, Accounts Payable Travel Processors will process the reimbursement. Processing time is seven (7) working days from receipt of a complete and accurate Expense Report. As long as the Expense Report is submitted correctly, a reimbursement processed by the travel processor by Tuesday should be deposited by Friday. If processed after Tuesday, the funds will be deposited on Wednesday of the next week.
Incomplete Submissions
Incomplete and/or inaccurate Expense Reports submitted to Travel Processing will be returned for correction in Chrome River. A system-generated e-mail will be sent to the traveler indicating the corrections needed or listing the additional items needed before the reimbursement can be processed - such as: itemized receipts, a receipt showing method of payment/zero-balance (if paid via credit card, last 4 digits of card must be on receipt), Business Related Meal Form, boarding passes, etc. Processing time is seven (7) working days from receipt of the corrected Expense Report.