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I do some traveling around the country for my company. In the beginning, they said they'd issue me a company credit card to pay for expenses like car rental, hotel, food per diem, etc. Well, that never happened. So, I foot the bill for my business trips and then submit an expense report when I return. I took a trip two weeks ago and the expenses amounted to about $400 (including reimbursement for mileage), which is a rather large amount IMO. I emailed my supervisor about it earlier today and he told me he'd follow up with the accounting person. I didn't hear back this afternoon, so I sent him an email. He never responded.
How long should it take for them to reimburse me? I go on these trips for them, and it takes weeks for them to reimburse me. Is this typical behavior for companies? Does this sound like shady business practices to you? What are your opinions on this?
Two weeks is the minimum delay everywhere I've worked. They usually cut reimbursement checks along with paychecks and distribute them on payday. But there is a two- or three-day cut-off period before payday.
That is, if we were paid on Friday every two weeks, and this month those dates were Nov. 6th and Nov. 20th, we had to have our expense reports in the accountants' hands by Nov. 4th and Nov. 18th respectively in order to receive reimbursement on that Friday's payday. If we missed that cutoff, and submitted our expenses on Nov. 5th and 6th, we didn't get our reimbursement check until Nov. 20th. And so on.
After the expenses are submitted, the reports usually go through several steps before a check lands in your hands--the expenses verified, approved by a manager, accounting has to create a computer record, then the checks and check writing machine have to be unlocked and the paper fed, then management has to sign the check and then it has to be delivered to you. Getting all those people lined up to complete the necessary tasks can take a few days, minimum, and they often only do this when they have a pile of these tasks to do. It is too time consuming to do one check at a time.
So I wouldn't be pissed off yet, in your situation. If it went over 4 weeks, I would demand to be reimbursed including credit card interest. This did happen to me once--corporate screwed up and didn't get the check in the interoffice packet--and I requested that they cut a check immediately and include interest to cover my credit card charges. Which they did.
I would also--politely--request an ETA on the corporate credit card. When my work travel picked up, and I refused to travel more than once per pay period until they gave me a company credit card, since using my own card would have meant I was accruing new charges faster than I was getting reimbursed. And they got me that credit card pretty fast.
I always preferred using my own credit card in order to rack up FF miles. Typical turn-around is two weeks on expense reports at almost every company I've worked for, more than enough time to pay the bill before it's due. I used a credit card for business travel and expenses that I dedicated to that specifically in order to more easily track expenses and payments.
In all honesty $400 doesn't seem like all that much. I have friends who travel 75% with their jobs that can easily rack up $7500 in expenses in a month.
Just a little update on the situation. The woman in accounting finally responded via email after I left the office. She claims to have missed the email that was sent to her with my expense report attached. This is the second time this has happened . I think it's time for me to get a company credit card.
I always preferred using my own credit card in order to rack up FF miles. Typical turn-around is two weeks on expense reports at almost every company I've worked for, more than enough time to pay the bill before it's due. I used a credit card for business travel and expenses that I dedicated to that specifically in order to more easily track expenses and payments.
In all honesty $400 doesn't seem like all that much. I have friends who travel 75% with their jobs that can easily rack up $7500 in expenses in a month.
Not everyone can spend that ($7500) and wait on a reimbursement check. For one thing, some people don't have that much in credit limits or that much in the bank. Yes, $400 most people can do but I know some people who travel on the job for which waiting a month for that would force them to pay interest on a credit card, etc.
Will having a company credit card fix this issue? My company credit card is still my responsibility. If they don't pay the credit card company on time, I have to pick up the interest charges. Also, my credit will be affected by late payments. In my situation, it's not much different than using a personal card.
If they don't pay the credit card company on time, I have to pick up the interest charges. Also, my credit will be affected by late payments. In my situation, it's not much different than using a personal card.
My corporate credit card was an American Express card, so there were no interest charges. There was a late fee, which I could turn around and submit the next month if they were late.
And it definitely didn't go on my credit report. I checked.
Are you sure you can't do both? I always used my own frequent flyer account number, with my employer's blessing, along with the company credit card.
I think maybe Annerk is referring to a mileage card like AAdvantage Visa or United Mileage Plus Visa that can net you points for the purchase. You can get 1.5x to 3x the points for the purchase itself depending on what promotions they were running. So it comes down to whether or not its worth it to front your own money first to get those extra points. Of course - this isn't applicable if your company issues you a mileage cards to begin with (although in those cases, the points usually go to the company).
To the OP - I would inquire about the company CC again. Even if its a "no, it wasn't authorized" - at least you have an answer that you can follow-up with. My experience has been that expenses are tied to payroll. Meaning its paid with the next paycheck. But depending on how your payroll is scheduled, it can take up to 3 weeks.
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. I think it's time for me to get a company credit card.
