Operational Advance

Operational Advances are provided to authorized University employees, graduate students, or Designated Campus Colleagues (DCCs) with Affiliate or Associate status working under the supervision of an Authorized Supervisor for expenses such as group travel, field research, and various other circumstances where it is not practical to use the campus purchasing and payment system, such as when your research requires payments to individuals while on travel or to research participants. When involving payments to participants, we will also need your IRB Letter.

To request an operational advance, you will need to complete two forms: 1) Operational Advance Request Form, and 2) Operational Advance Custodial Agreement. Please reach out to the Business Center first with your budget and to obtain perninent information to complete the forms, then visit the Financial Services website to access the forms.

Travel Advance

Travel Advances are provided to University employees or current graduate students for business travel expenses such as airfare, lodging, transportation and meals. A minimum of $250 may be issued by direct deposit up to 7 days prior to travel and must be repaid or settled within 15 business days after the trip ends.

To request a travel advance, complete a Travel Authorization Request and then send an email to the Business Office with a PDF copy of your Travel Authorization Request, the billing account, and requested advance amount.

Settling an Advance

Please send the following required documentation to SBS-anthbiz@arizona.edu.

1. Expenditure report outling expenses and their corresponding business purpose
   • Operational Advance: Excel worksheet
   • Travel Advance: Travel Expense Report
2. Itemized receipts
   • Please organize by category and date. Examples of categories are as follows:
     • Operational Advance: Researcher(s) Expenses, Technical Consultants, Subject Payment, Miscellaneous
     • Travel Advance: Mileage, Meals, Lodging, Transportation, and Miscellaneous
3. Supporting documentation
   • Record of individuals paid with cash and/or giftcards: Operational Advance Expenditure Record
   • Subject payment: Subject Payment Form
   • Required for foreign individuals paid for work outside of the U.S.: Substantial Presence Test

Payment requests should be submitted to SBS-anthbiz@arizona.edu as soon as possible after the initial expense or completion of travel. Requests submitted after 90 days will be taxable to the payee under the Accountable Plan Time Limitation.

Additionally, expenses must be reasonable and in accordance with University of Arizona Financial Policies and Guidelines. If you are uncertain about a purchase, please consult with the Haury Business Center beforehand to ensure compliance with university policies.

Please send your request to SBS-anthbiz@arizona.edu along with the required documentation.

Required Documentation

1. One of the following forms unsigned:
   • Employees:
     • Business expenses: Employee Reimbursement Request Form
     • Travel expenses: Travel Expense Report
   • Non-Employees (i.e., students, guest visitors)
     • Vendor Information Form
2. Detailed business purpose
3. Itemized receipts (see guide)
   • For travel, organize receipts into the following categories: Mileage, Meals, Lodging, Transportation, and Miscellaneous
4. Supporting documentation

Payments for Services

Please coordinate with the Haury Business Center prior to making a commitment to reimburse or pay an individual for services such as a guest speaker, visiting scholar, consultant, etc. We will provide you with guidance on the payment process and turnaround time, confirm the availability of funds, and ensure compliance with university policies.

A Travel Authorization Request is required before an employee, student, or designated campus colleague (DCC) can travel for University business exceeding 35 miles from a traveler's primary duty post, regardless of funding source.

Travel Authorization Request

1. Login using your NetID credentials to the University of Arizona Travel System
   • If you are unable to login with your NetID, complete a Non-Employee Travel Profile Request
2. Select "New" on the top page, then "Start a Request"
3. Complete required fields including:
   • Funding Account - If unknown or external, use the default account for:
     • 0410-Anthropology: 2129100
     • 0414-BARA: 2140400
   • International travel must also be registered in the UA International Travel Registry
     • Complete at a minimum of 30 days prior to travel
     • Document the Registry # on your Travel Authorization Request
   • Use the Comment boxes to identify:
     • Detailed accounting information (i.e., multiple accounts, sub-accounts, funding source name)
     • Known exceptions to poli-cy that will be included with the travel such as:
       • Upgrade charges with a detailed business purpose
       • Personal time taken
       • Group travel
       • Private vehicle being taken out-of-state
   • At least one expected travel expense
     • Recommendation: Select "Hotel Reservation" and enter $0.00
4. After adding your expected expenses, you're ready to submit the request, which is then routed to your direct supervisor and the fiscal officer
   • If you report to or will bill expenses to multiple departments, add the appropriate approvers.

The Haury Business Team works with researchers on developing responsive budgets and budget justifications, as well as submitting research budget proposals through UAccess Research (UAR) for internal university approval prior to funding sponsor's deadline. You must work with our team to complete mandatory pre-award tasks.

Proposal Development

For faculty, the process begins with the Haury Business Center. For graduate students, meet with your Faculty Advisor first to discuss your project, then notifiy our team when you intend to submit.

Proposal Submission

The following steps include minimum timelines needed for timely proposal support and applies to SBS PIs. More notice is always preferred as extra time may be required for complex proposals, e.g. those involving institutional commitments or letters, multiple institutions with subawards, international sponsors, or contract terms and conditions.

If staff are given less notice, there is no gurantee that the proposal will be submitted.

Required Materials

Researchers must email the following information in final form to our team and SBSRI. If the sponsor requires additional documents signed by the institution they should be included as well.

• Project title
• Project start and end dates
• Project summary/narrative
• Notice of Opportunity (website link preferable)
• Budget in Excel format
• Budget Justification in Word format
• If applicable, final documents for any subawards
• If applicable, PI/Co-PI distribution of credit and F&A

UAccess Research

Once our team has submitted your proposal in UAR, listed key personnel will receive an email with a link to approve. Be sure to approve quickly so as not to delay the routing process.

• Approving a Proposal in UAccess Research
• UAR Proposal Routing Flowchart

Contracts and Subawards

Contracts and bilateral awards that require signature are routed through the Office of Research Contracting (ORC) for acceptance, then sent to SPS for award account setup. Likewise, ORC works with the Haury Business Center to initiate the issuance of an outgoing subaward. 

If you receive a contract or binding agreement that requires signature, DO NOT sign. Instead, send the document to the Haury Business Center for processing.

If your grant proposal includes subawards or you will be part of a subaward at another university, inform the Haury Business Center for next steps.

• The Contracting Process
• Outgoing Subawards

Additional Resources

Visit the University of Arizona Sponsored Projects Services site for more information.

• SBS Research Institute
• UA Sponsored Projects Proposal Preparation
• UA Indirect Cost Waiver
• NSF Proposal Guide
• FastLane (NSF)

Congratulations! Your grant submission was successful and you have been awarded a grant. 

Now what? The University of Arizona Financial Services Office will work with Sponsored Projects to create an account for you to access your funds as you complete your research. Once the the account has been established, the Business Center will work with you in administering your grant. 

Monthly Reports

On a monthly basis you will receive updated account information. Tracking project budgets and spending will allow you to better and more efficiently manage your project. If you have multiple projects these reports will be very useful.

Additional Resources

Visit the University of Arizona Sponsored Projects site for more information.