Approval for Travel

CodeDay will pay only those travel expenses which have been pre-approved by your manager (for employees) or CodeDay contact (for contractors and volunteers). These sorts of expenses are typically included in a budget.

CodeDay cannot pay for travel from your home to a regular place of business (except for any public transit benefit you receive as part of payroll).

Only the following are approved travel expenses:

• Going from your home or primary place of work to a "temporary workplace" (such as a CodeDay event). If you are a remote employee, your metropolitan area is considered your primary workplace, and travel can only be reimbursed when traveling outside this area.
• Attending a business meeting (including with volunteers) away from your primary place of work.
• Visiting clients or customers.

If you are unsure whether an expense can be approved, email [email protected] for pre-approval.

What is a Travel Expense?

Volunteering or working for CodeDay often requires travel. CodeDay will pay the following travel expenses for approved travel:

• Airfare or Train Transportation:

  • Main cabin/economy airfare from the traveler's current location to the event, and then from the event to the traveler's original location, or another location of comparable cost. (Don’t choose "Basic Economy" or “Saver” fares.) CodeDay will not pay for business class, first class, chartered planes, etc. except with pre-approval when no other options are available.
  • Checked bag fees, if the traveler is required to carry work-related items.
  • Except when traveling using funds from Federal sources, an upgrade to extended legroom seats is acceptable at the discretion of your manager/CodeDay contact for flights longer than 8 hours where the traveler is required to travel more than 3 times per year.
  • When traveling using funds from Federal sources, tickets must be purchased from US flag carrier airlines.
  • If you choose to travel on a different itinerary which would be more expensive than a flight under these criteria from/to your current location (or a location in which you regularly reside), you are responsible for the difference.

  You must provide documentation for the base cost (i.e. a screenshot of the cost of a “normal” itinerary accompanying your receipt) and you must book on your normal card and submit a reimbursement request.

  For example: - If you start your flight from your college, go to a CodeDay, and then fly back to your permanent home, CodeDay will pay the full cost. - If you start your flight from home, go to a CodeDay, and then fly to Hawaii to start your vacation, you are responsible for the extra cost of the flight to Hawaii, but only the amount above what it would have cost you to return back to your place of origin. For example, if the whole trip would have normally cost $500, but by flying to Hawaii, it cost you $650, CodeDay will only reimburse you for $500. - If your round-trip flight would have cost $500, but you choose to upgrade to first class for a total cost of $700, CodeDay will only reimburse you for $500.

• Transportation:

  • A pass or fares for public transportation.
  • Lyft, Uber, other ride share app, or cab fares.
  • Millage reimbursement for use of your own car. Employees will be reimbursed at current IRS business rates, while volunteers will be reimbursed at IRS Non-profit rates.
  • A rental car, only where the cost is lower than the cost that would be incurred by ride share or cab fares. The rental car should be booked from an economy carrier such as Alamo or Thrifty, and at the lowest rate unless special situations require a larger car.

Reimbursing Travel in a Personal Vehicle (Abacus) Use of a personal car can only be reimbursed on a per-mile basis, in Abacus. Enter "Mileage" in the Merchant field, and Abacus will automatically switch to mile mode.

(Rental cars should NOT be reimbursed at the per-mile rate. Instead, please enter actual expenses: rental fees, tolls, and gas.)

Do Not Use a Corporate Card (Divvy) For Travel in a Personal Vehicle CodeDay can generally only reimburse personal travel at the per-mile rate. Please do not put gas in your car using a corporate (Divvy) card!

(This does not apply to rental cars.)

• Lodging:
  • Airbnb (preferred) or a low-cost hotel.
  • Check-in and check-out dates must be included in any lodging receipt, and the receipt must break-out any additional charges (such as room service). Your final folio will typically meet these requirements.
  • The $75 exception for lost receipts does not apply to lodging. If you lost your receipt, you will need to contact the hotel for a copy.

Reimbursing Lodging (Abacus) Please click "Add Detail" and then "Check-in/Check-out dates". Note the amount, if any, which is a per diem expense (such as room service) in the Notes field.

Charging Lodging to a Corporate Card (Divvy) If lodging is pre-paid upon registration, you can upload your receipt immediately, and upload the final folio to document any additional fees which were charged. (If these are part of your per diem, please make a note.)

Note that hotels will typically place a $200-400/night hold on cards at check-in. If you would like to check in with your Divvy card, ask your CodeDay contact to include this in your Divvy budget or your card will be declined.

• Per Diem Meals and Incidentals (M&IE):
  • Up to the IRS/GSA "Per Diem" Meals and Incidentals rate for the travel location.
  • Individual, itemized receipts must still be submitted.

Reimbursing Per Diems (Abacus) Please enter per diem expenses as "Travel", and enter "per diem" in the notes field. Use "Program - Travel" if you are not traveling for general business or fundraising, and bill to a specific program.

Charging Per Diems to a Corporate Card (Divvy) Per diem expenses will need to be built into the budget for your event. Please categorize all expenses as "travel" and include the program, if applicable.

Extended Travel Expenses

In general, CodeDay will pay for lodging, transportation, and M&IE for up to two days before an event, and one day following. An exception is made for ongoing travel where it would be more expensive to return home (A→B→A, A→C→A) than to travel from point-to-point (A→B→C→A).

Abacus/Divvy Submission Please include details about your calculation in the "notes" field.

If you would like to travel for an extended period, you are responsible for any expenses incurred above what CodeDay would otherwise be responsible for, including lodging, and any price difference in flights.

Traveling With a Companion