Travel and Expense Claims

Graduate students may apply for the following two internal funding opportunities to support conference participation.

Funding amounts for both programs vary each year depending on budget availability. Students are encouraged to apply early, as funds are limited and applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Graduate Student Research Dissemination Award (GSRDA)

GSRDA is available to encourage full-time or part-time graduate students to present their own research (oral, poster, paper) at an academic conference and engage in academic dialogue within their field of study and research.

Details on funding availability, award amounts and application process are outlined on the GSRDA application page. 

Department Conference Funding

Applied Mathematics provides conference funding to AM graduate students of up to $500 per student per fiscal year. Each student can apply for funding for one conference per fiscal year. Students are not required to present in order to be eligible.

To apply, complete the Conference Funding Application form and obtain your supervisor’s signature. The signed form must be submitted to amgrad@uwaterloo.ca prior to the conference to be considered for departmental reserved funds.

Cancel the reserved funds by emailing amgrad@uwaterloo.ca in advance if you decide to no longer attend the conference. Failure to cancel in advance will make you ineligible to apply for this funding again within the same fiscal year (May 1–April 30).

International Travel Approval

Students travelling internationally on a university-sanctioned activity must obtain approval and register their travel with Safety Abroad. Please refer to the Student Travel Safety webpage for detailed instructions on the international travel process. The completed International Travel Approval Form should be submitted to amchairasst@uwaterloo.ca to initiate the Chair's approval process.

Secure screenshots or PDFs of cost comparisons at the time of booking whenever your travel plans fall outside the standard guidelines.

Scenarios requiring a cost comparison include:

• Adding personal travel before or after a business trip (arrive more than 2 days early for events outside North America, more than 1 day early within North America, or depart more than 1 day after the event)
• Including additional stops or layovers for non-business purposes
• Booking flights above economy class (Coach/Standard/Flex or equivalent)
• Driving a personal vehicle beyond a 500 km radius from the University instead of taking public transportation (i.e. plane, train, bus)
• Selecting accommodations that are not standard, single occupancy rooms 

When in doubt, always obtain a comparison. It is strongly recommended that you share the comparison with your designated staff member in advance to ensure it meets requirements.

Cost comparison documentation should be uploaded to Concur together with the actual receipts when you settle your claim. Reimbursement will be based on the most economical option.

You may request a cash advance to avoid being out of pocket for an extended period.

• Cash advances are not issued for amounts of $250 CAD or less. Expenses under this amount can still be claimed through reimbursement.
• Only one cash advance is issued per event or trip.
• Finance must receive the approved request at least 10 business days before your travel or expense start date. If you require a cash advance, submit your request early to allow sufficient time for processing.

1. Review Major Expense Types and Requirements and make sure you have documents for every expense you would like to claim. You can only submit one claim per trip for reimbursement.

2. Provide proper receipts and proof of payment for all expenses:

   • Each expense must be supported by an original itemized receipt that clearly shows proof and method of payment (e.g., paid by Visa ending in 1234).

   • If a receipt does not show proof and method of payment, include a separate payment confirmation (e.g., redacted credit card statement, email confirmation of payment, wire transfer slip).

   • If a receipt is lost or unavailable, you may choose to complete and attach the Missing Receipt Declaration form and provide separate proof of payment.

     Note: It is expected to be a rare circumstance. Reasonable efforts must be made to obtain receipts. The University reserves the right to deny expenses that do not have adequate documentation.

   • Foreign currency expenses must be submitted in the originating currency to match the receipt. Concur will automatically convert the amount to CAD. If you paid by credit/debit card and wish to be reimbursed the exact CAD amount charged, attach your card statement as proof of the currency conversion, and adjust the converted amount accordingly in Concur.

3. A trip purpose must be supplied indicating the business purpose and relevance to the grant funded research. If you are a graduate student, post-doc, or visitor, please reach out to your supervisor to get one and attach the email to your claim.

4. Graduate students, post-docs and visitors should additionally include the following documents:

   • An email from your supervisor confirming the work order to be charged and, if applicable, any limit on the amount to be charged.
   • A copy of the approved Conference Funding Application form if you have applied for department conference funding.
   • Confirmation emails and deposit/disbursement records if you receive any other funding(e.g., GSRDA, external awards).

• Conference poster or any document that includes the conference name, location, and dates
• Conference prospectus/schedule/agenda
• Receipt for conference registration fee

• Original tickets, receipts, or itineraries that clearly show your name, travel route and dates, total cost, and payment method

Flight and Train

1. Arrival should be no more than two days before events held outside North America or one day before events held within North America. Departure should be no more than one day after the event. If your travel deviates from this standard, secure a cost comparison at the time of booking by taking screenshots from the booking website, and provide a brief explanation (e.g., personal travel plans or limited travel options).

2. Only the most direct base level Economy (Coach/Standard/Flex or equivalent) is eligible for reimbursement. Appropriate travel features include:

   • Advance seat selection

   • Trip cancellation insurance (recommended)

   • Refundable/changeable ticket status if there is a question about whether the trip will occur or the dates of travel (a small fee may apply)

   • One checked bag

Transit, Taxi, and Ride-hailing

If the starting and ending locations are not clearly indicated in the receipt or ticket, please provide a brief explanation.

Personal Vehicle

1. Mileage can only be claimed for personal vehicles (owned and operated by the claimant or immediate family member inhabiting the same household) and will be claimed to a maximum of a 500 kilometre radius (one way) from the University.

2. Travel beyond a 500-kilometre radius (one way) from the University should be by way of public transportation. If you drive your own vehicle beyond this radius, you must provide a justification for your decision to drive and obtain a cost comparison with other transportation options in advance.

3. The mileage calculator in Concur will calculate the distance driven in kilometres. Claimants are expected to claim the shorter of the distance between the University and their destination, or the distance between their actual departure point and their destination.

4. The University will not reimburse fuel costs for a personal vehicle.

• Invoice with a $0 balance that clearly shows your name, type of room, check-in and check-out dates, total cost, and payment method

Commercial Accommodations

1. The rate for a standard, single occupancy room is considered the lowest logical rate for commercial accommodations.

   If your accommodation is not a standard hotel room (e.g., a suite, Airbnb), secure a cost comparison showing the typical rate for a standard hotel room at the time of booking.

   If additional guests will be staying in the room, secure a cost comparison showing what the cost would have been for single occupancy for the same room at the time of booking.

2. Any food, beverage, and room service must be itemized out of accommodation expenses in the claim.

Non-Commercial Accommodations

For information, refer to Non-Commercial Accommodations.

• Completed Per Diem Calculator form (version two is recommended) or original itemized receipts for each meal
• One consistent method (either Per Diems or Receipted Meals) should be applied within a single claim 

Per Diem Meals

1. You are strongly encouraged to claim meals through Per Diems. Per Diem rates (see the table below) will be reimbursed regardless of the actual meal costs.

   Meal	Within Canada (CAD)	Outside Canada (CAD)
   Breakfast (.25)	20.00	25.00
   Lunch (.25)	20.00	25.00
   Dinner (.50)	40.00	50.00
   Maximum per day (1)	80.00	100.00

2. Please follow the instructions in the Per Diem Calculator form to determine the number of reimbursable days. Exclude any meals provided by the conference or other sources. If hosted meals were offered but declined, a justification should be included.

Receipted Meals

If you choose to select this option, actual meals must be supported by itemized meal receipts and are eligible up to the maximum Per Diem rates.

Claims should be submitted within 30 days of the receipt date, travel end date, or research study end date.

To ensure timely processing, it’s recommended to submit your claim within one week of your return.

You are encouraged to contact your designated staff member for assistance in preparing your expense report.

For detailed step-by-step instructions on operating the Concur Online Expense System, refer to the Concur User Manual. You must log in to access the manual.

Here are some general tips for drafting a report in Concur:

• Make sure the correct work order is selected in the report header.

• Choose the appropriate expense type from Concur’s list.

• Attach supporting documents as “Additional Documentation”.

• Each expense must match the full amount and currency shown on the original receipt.

• Use the itemize function when:

  1. The receipt includes multiple expense types.
  2. The expense includes amounts that should be excluded from reimbursement.

  Do NOT reduce the expense amount on the Details tab. Instead, enter the full receipted amount there and use the Itemizations tab to separate and exclude any personal or ineligible portions.

• Use the allocate function to split the claimed amount across multiple work orders. You can allocate a single expense or allocate all expenses on a report. 

Applied Math Staff are available to help you prepare your claim report on your behalf.

1. Add your designated staff member as a delegate in Concur:

   Log into Concur → select your profile icon → select Profile Settings → select Expense Delegates from the left side menu → add [Staff Name] → check off Can Prepare and Can View Receipts.

2. Package and send your documents to your designated staff member. To help us understand your trip and documents, you may:

   • Clearly label each file.
   • Include a brief breakdown of the expenses and the total expected reimbursement amount in CAD.
   • Create a short trip itinerary to be included with your claim submission. Your goal is to tell a story with your itinerary. It is just as important to state what you aren’t claiming as it is to state what you are (ex, “I walked to the conference from the hotel, so I have no travel expenses to claim for this portion of the trip”).

To check your report status in Concur, go to Manage Expenses, open the report, and select Report Timeline under Report Details.