Business and Travel Policy and Procedures (Committees & Volunteers)

CORRESPONDENCE

• All Committee correspondence to the National Office should be made by the Committee Chair/Treasurer through their specified National Office liaison. The liaison will contact other National Office staff or departments as needed. When possible, questions and requests should be accumulated and relayed together to alleviate time taken away from processing. Payment requests should be sent directly to the liaison.

TRAVEL AUTHORIZATIONS (TAs) and EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS

• Any Committee travel must be a part of that committee’s approved budget.
• ALL persons traveling under a Committee’s budget MUST have an approved TA to be eligible for travel booking and/or reimbursements, regardless of the mode of travel (air, car, train).
• Individual TAs should be requested 30 days prior to travel, group TAs even sooner. The National Office liaison typically completes the form upon request of the Committee Chair. TAs should include the purpose of the trip and the capacity/role in which an individual is traveling.
• After the TA is initiated by the Committee Chair or Treasurer noting all needed information and Committee approval, the National Office liaison will submit it to Finance, USATF Travel and the COO for approval and booking.
• Travel should be booked through National Office. Exceptions must be requested in writing by the Chair/Treasurer at least 30 days in advance through the liaison with approval by the COO.
• If an exception is approved and travel is booked outside of the National Office, reimbursement is made only up to the cost at which the National Office could have provided the same travel.  USATF uses the 21 day rate for airfare estimates.
• All travelers must abide by USATF travel policy regardless of Committee budget allocations. (Examples, upgrade requests, disallowed activities, documentation of expenses)
• Requests for preferred carriers, upgrades, companion travel, etc. are a personal cost and will not be reimbursed.  If booking personal costs through USATF, the traveler will be asked to provide a personal credit card for the difference.
• If a Committee member chooses to drive instead of fly, mileage will be reimbursed at the lesser of actual mileage reimbursement (currently $.53/mile) or the 21 day airfare, whichever is less.
• USATF must follow the IRS mileage rate which is updated annually – the USATF rate of reimbursement must be at or below the government rate to avoid a taxable event.
• USATF follows the IRS High/Low Cost Locality method to determine meal and incidental per diem allowable. BEGINNING JUNE 1, 2019, ALL REIMBURSED EXPENSES INCLUDING MEALS WILL REQUIRE AN ITEMIZED RECEIPT TO BE SUBMITTED. Meals will be reimbursed up to $60 per person, per day for travel to most locations or $70 per person, per day if the travel location is on the IRS High Cost Locality list which is updated annually. See the current list of High Cost Localities separately posted on this website.
• USATF will reimburse for meals only up to the amount of the daily cap. Each person requesting reimbursement must do so separately and may not submit for a reimbursement for or on behalf of other individuals.
• NO ALCOHOL purchases will be reimbursed.
• Meal and transportation (Uber, taxi, etc) tips will only be reimbursed up to 20 percent of the total charge (excluding alcohol or other disallowed charges first).
• Within 30 days of return from travel, the traveler must complete and submit an Expense report with receipts or a Request for Payment Form with receipts to the Committee Chair &/or Treasurer. The TA number should be noted. If submitted later than 30 days, the first offense is a written warning and the second offense will result in non-payment.
• Supporting documents should include the traveler’s itinerary, MapQuest or similar in support of mileage, itemized receipts, Lost/Missing Receipt Form, etc.
• Committee Chairs and Treasurers approving these submittals should pay particular attention to hotel bills as charges to room for meals, room service, mini bar charges, entertainment etc. should be appropriately and separately categorized and may or may not qualify for reimbursement.
• Committee Chair/Treasurer must review all submissions for accuracy, check receipts, approve expenses and verify there is budget available.  If all documentation is complete, the Committee Chair or Treasurer signs approval.
• Committee Chair/Treasurer then sends report and receipts to their liaison. The liaison will date stamp the submittal as to when it was received. The liaison then reviews and checks the submittal for accuracy before approving and sending to Finance for payment.
• Missing or incomplete documentation will delay the reimbursement.
• ALL payees must have a W9 on file with the National Office regardless of whether the payment is reportable as income. USATF won’t issue payment until a W9 is on file. W9s remain valid for up to 3 years or until an address change etc. is needed.
• Finance attempts to process reimbursements within 2 weeks of them being turned into our department. Please allow extra time during/after large events and at year end.  Total processing time from receipt from Committee to individual receiving reimbursement may take up to 30 days. Volunteers should be aware of this timeframe before incurring expenses.

INVOICES

• Invoices for goods or services should be vetted and approved by the Committee Chair/Treasurer and forwarded to the liaison. A Request for Payment Form may be attached.
• Please note – no Committee member can contractually bind USATF.  The Committee must work through National Office for any contractual goods or services.
• W9s are required from all vendors.
• Payment terms are net 30 from USATF’s receipt of proper documentation. Committees need to allow time for internal processes so invoices should be submitted as soon as possible.

HONORARIA/STIPENDS

• Request for Payment Form should be used to request payments of honoraria and stipends. The form must be filled out completely including the payee’s category and reason for payment.
• A W9 from recipients is mandatory as these payments will be reported on a 1099MISC in the year paid if aggregate payments are greater than $600.
• Payment will be made after services are rendered/appearance at event etc.

BUDGET

• The budget process starts in April.  
• Committee requests for consideration should be made in writing to the liaison initially. Committees are welcome to begin discussions early in the process.
• Budget proposals are made by the beginning of July.
• Final full budget proposals are made to the Budget and Finance Committee in October. The Budget and Finance Committee holds an open budget hearing at Annual Meeting before it’s presented to full the Board of Directors for approval.
• Committees should have conversations and proposals prior to the December meeting.

LEDGERS

• ”Ledgers” are the National Office’s method of reporting committee activity.
• Each committee has one or more designated budget codes. Your liaison will help you determine proper coding on all expenses so that your ledgers are as accurate as possible.
• Finance will provide Committee ledgers quarterly, upon request, to the Committee’s liaison who will forward to the Committee Treasurer and Chair. Corrections need to be made as soon as possible and communicated to the committee liaison.
• Please note - credit card charges are much delayed due to the timing of statements and how quickly they are able to be coded to the proper budget codes. Hotel bills and flights are typically paid for via USATF corporate credit cards and therefore take up to 60 days to show in a Committee’s ledger.
• All activity is reported within our financial statements every 4 months and is reported to the Board of Directors.
• USATF is audited by an external accounting firm annually and by the USOC on an every 1 to 3 year basis.

GENERAL

• Many of our procedures are mandated by IRS regulations. USATF aims to protect all of our athletes, employees and constituents.
• While all committees are unique, we strive for consistency and timeliness to enhance understanding and reporting.