UW Study Abroad Finance and Administration (SAFA) will supply you with a field advance for expenses you can only pay in the field. A field advance is a loan from the University of Washington general funds made to a UW employee (the custodian) to provide a temporary source of funds for conducting official UW business. All field advances issued are subject to federal, state and university purchasing rules and guidelines. We work with the UW Field Advance office to procure funds for you and to help you submit documentation of your field advance spending within 30 days of your program end date.
Allowable expenses
Field advance funds are only to be used to pay expenses that can not be paid in advance or directly by SAFA. The following is a basic list of allowable and unallowable field advance purchases.
See the Field Advance office’s website for more information on authorized and unauthorized uses of field advance funds.
US Bank debit cards
Field advance funds are distributed to Program Directors via a US Bank branded VISA. The maximum card balance is $15,000. The cards now have microchips. The following daily limits apply:
- ATM WITHDRAWAL: 3 transactions at $1,025 per transaction; daily maximum limit of $1,220
- PURCHASES: 20 transactions at $5,050
- OVERALL LIMIT: 20 transactions at $7,500
The Study Abroad F&A team will contact you about ordering a card or cards for your program. If the US Bank card will not work for your program, we will work with you to find a solution that fits your needs. Email uwsafa@uw.edu with questions.
Your field advance timeline
The following table details your responsibilities as a field advance custodian before, during, and after your program. See below the table for detailed instructions.
| Program Phase | Custodian Responsibilities |
| Pre-departure | Schedule a meeting with Study Abroad F&A several weeks prior to your program start date. You will pick up your US Bank card(s) at this meeting and confirm the amount and distribution of your field advance. |
| In the Field | Track all debit and cash expenses and retain all receipts for purchases made with field advance funds. |
| Post Program | Prepare your field advance report and submit it and your US Bank card(s) to Study Abroad Finance within 30 days of your program’s end date. |
Pre-departure instructions
Your SAFA contact will be in touch with you about ordering US Bank cards for your program. Typically we like to order a minimum of two cards per program.
We will determine the amount of your field advance from your final spending plan by totaling all expenses you have indicated will be paid with your field advance. To this we automatically add half of your 5% program reserve so that you will have additional funds available in the case of an emergency or unexpected costs. You should avoid spending these reserve funds if you don’t need to.
UW Study Abroad requires you to track expenses using the Field Advance Expenditures sheet that is included with your Spending Plan. This can be accessed on your phone or computer.
You will need to do the following before you leave:
- Locate the “Submit Field Advance Expenditures” button in your Spending Plan.
- Review all instructions included in this link and print off any copies of the attached forms that you may need.
- Reach out to uwsafa@uw.edu with any questions before departure.
Schedule a meeting with your SAFA contact once your program is confirmed. During this meeting you will:
- Review your final spending plan and confirm the amount of field advance funds you will need
- Pick up your US Bank field advance cards and decide the amount to be deposited to each card – you should activate your cards as soon as possible
- Review instructions for tracking your expenses in the field
Your SAFA contact will load your cards and send you a confirmation email.
Tracking your expenses in the field
Instructions on how to submit your receipts can be found in the attached link in your spending plan. This link can be found in your spending plan on the Field Advance Expenditures sheet.
The following forms can also be found through your spending plan. Each form will be on a different tab. These forms may be helpful to print off ahead of time so you can have the copies you need while in the field.
| Form | Description |
| ATM Withdrawal Tracking Sheet | Use this form to track your cash withdrawals throughout the program; turn this in at the end of your program |
| Perjury Statement | Use this form to track any payments for which you do not have a receipt. At the close of your program, sign and submit the completed form |
| Student Meal/Activity Allowance Form | If you would like to provide your students with a set amount of cash to pay for a meal or an activity, use this form.
|
| Field Advance Cash Payment Form | This form is meant to be used to record cash payments such as honoraria or substantial tips to individuals for services rendered. Note that individuals provided any longer term services (more than one day or event) must be paid as Independent Contractors. See the Payment Guidelines for instructions.
|
| Personal Expense Reimbursement Form | We hope that you won’t have to spend any of your own money during in your program, but if you do, include those purchases on this form and submit it with the receipts to your SAFA contact. Be sure to keep these expenses and receipts separate from your field advance expenses and receipts |
Preparing and submitting your field advance report
As you record your expenses and submit them, they will populate on the Field Advance Expenditure sheet. This will allow you to track your spending in real time, including both cash and debit transactions. Please make sure that all receipts are being included and that there is not an outstanding cash balance. Any unaccounted for cash must be repaid back to Study Abroad.
Once you have recorded all of your expenses, please let SAFA know. Your SAFA contact will then be able to run a report showing all of your expenses and the receipts you uploaded.
Make sure to destroy your US Bank cards after the program is over.
What happens next?
When we receive your field advance packet after your program has concluded, we take the following steps:
- Export records of all account activity on your US Bank to compare with your expenditure spreadsheet
- Enter actual USD amounts charged for point of sale purchases to the appropriate line items.
- Audit receipts and line items entered on your expenditure spreadsheet
- Enter the total amount charged as ATM and exchange fees on your US Bank card as a line item on your expenditure spreadsheet
- Assign exchange rates to cash expenditures based on actual exchange rates received when cash was withdrawn
- Compare total amount of cash withdrawn and total amount of cash expenses. Any significant difference will be reported to you.
- Scan all receipts
- Send copies of field advance accounting and receipts to the UW Field Advance Office to close out your field advance.
Please note that any unused field advance funds left on your US Bank cards at the end of your program are returned to UW Central. They are not applied to your program budget.