An accountable advance is a short-term cash payment made to an individual to cover upcoming UVic expenditures where no other payment options are practical under the circumstances. They are generally used only as a last resort and are not intended to replace other more efficient or more secure payment options, such as payment requests, reimbursement claims, C Card transactions or payments directly to vendors.
| Eligible |
Ineligible |
- Research study participants
- Team or other work-related travel
- Field school expenses
- Indigenous ceremonies and events
- Shipping costs associated with new faculty / staff relocation
- Other student or community programs
|
- Advances on salary through Payroll
- Emergency payments to students
|
Eligible UVic faculty, staff and students will only be issued one accountable advance at a time. The first advance should be cleared and closed before the next one is issued.
All faculty members, staff and researchers are eligible to request an accountable advance with the approval of their one-over-one supervisor. Students may be eligible to request an advance if travelling for UVic purposes. In this case, a faculty member or research supervisor will be accountable for the student’s advance.
The accountable advance is issued and held in the name of the faculty or staff member who requested the advance. They are personally responsible for the proper storage, disbursement, tracking and clearing of the total amount of the advance.
With the exception of relocation advances, it is recommended that accountable advances be requested through the Chrome River expense management system. For instructions, please refer to the webpage. Refer to the relocation assistance webpage for information on requesting an advance to support shipping costs associated with new faculty and staff relocation.
To request an accountable advance, complete the accountable advance request form (NEW online format). If the advance being requested relates to an Indigenous ceremony or event, complete the accountable advance request – Indigenous events / services (NEW online format) form.
Clearing an advance reallocates expenses from FAST Account 7260 into the applicable expense account. Any un-cleared advance will remain in FAST Account 7260.
Advances requested through the expense management system need to be also cleared using the system. For instructions, please refer to the webpage.
If the advance was requested the accountable advance form, it needs to be cleared using the accountable advance clearing form and submitted using the form submission portal.
- If the total of the advance is equal to the total amount distributed, no additional payment will be issued.
- If the total of the advance is greater than the total amount distributed, the remaining amount needs to be returned using the cash and cheque remittance form.
- If the total of the advance is less than the total amount distributed, the additional amount will be paid to the advance holder.
The advance should be cleared as soon as is practically possible after either:
- The amount of the advance has been spent
- The program or event is complete
- The remaining funds are no longer required
The supporting information, such as receipts or honorarium recipient forms, are to be submitted to Financial Services to provide back-up for audit compliance.
Wherever possible, advances should be cleared in the fiscal year in which they are issued. If the requirement for the advance straddles the fiscal year end (March 31st), it can be partially cleared by submitting the transactions associated in the appropriate fiscal year.
For more information on eligible uses and how to request and clear an advance, refer to the quick guide on accountable advances.
For specific information related to accountable advances using research or grant funds, refer to the Research Accounting webpage.
For more information on how to use an advance to distribute honorarium payments, refer to honorarium payments webpage.
