Conference 7.286::digital

    When I was in the field (SWS), it was rarely sooner than two weeks
    after I turned in the voucher to the unit secretary.  She had to "check
    it for accuracy", then track down the manager to get it signed, then
    send it via interoffice mail, which seemed (at that time) to only move
    by the phase of the moon.  Typical turnaround time (from voucher
    submission to receiving reimbursement) was 3 weeks.
    
    It's much easier now (MKO); typically same day service, depending on
    how available the person is that needs to sign it.
    
    Jon

    I am in the "field", and we use traveletter up to a set limit, after
    that limit it usually take 2 weeks, and goes right into my DCU account.
    
    It is rare that the credit card bill comes before the reimbursement.
    

    It all seems to depend on who is in the chain between you
    and and petty cash.  I have had it take as long as 2-3 months
    for normal (weekly) expense vouchers.  Once one person in the 
    chain was replaced, that went down to 2 weeks.  Now I am in the
    midst of relocation and it seems to take two months before the local
    guy even gets around to reviewing the vouchers!!! (and we're talking
    thousands of dollars here!!)
    
    Kevin
    

    In the UK I get the money credited to my bank account 2 thursdays after
    submission. Public holidays occasionally disrupt this, but this has
    been my rule of thumb for 6 years.
    
    ANdy

    Holy Christmas Mr. Claus!!
    
    Months???  That word shouldn't even be in the vernacular of a person
    waiting to be reimbursed for expenses that he or she incurred on behalf
    of the company. I've been in 3-4 different groups in 4-5 different
    locations, and I have NEVER had to deal with the term "MONTHS".
    
    You have a problem, and I would absolutely SCREAM about it.
    
    
    /se
    

    
    I submitted one for $1600 last Monday and got the check two days
    later, Wed...  It usually only takes a day to get the check..  I have 
    never had to wait more than 2 weeks, all delays were due to someone 
    holding on to the expense report..
    
    The good thing about the Mill is that your complete chain of command
    is in the same facility, including KO.
    
    Jon

    The folks in my group fill out a form; have me sign it; then walk
    downstairs and present the form for payment... same day if they beat
    the 4 o'clock closing time at the petty cash window...
    
    At the other end of the spectrum, if I have a group meeting with my
    manager present, I must get an advance to pay the caf for coffee, then
    present the expense form to the manager one higher than mine for
    signature approval, since those present (and benefiting from the
    coffee) cannot sign.  For one particular group meeting where my
    manager's manager was present, I had to have a v.p. signature for a pot
    of coffee... (*sigh*)
    
    grins,
    Marge

    Re .-1
    
    I'm sure I saw a memo a year or two ago that banned company paid coffee
    and doughnuts for meetings. I know that in NAC we have to supply our
    own. How do you get the company to pay for coffee at meetings? I
    thought the rule was that the company only paid for food/beverages
    if customers were present.
    
    Dave

    As Marge's group does customer support and has meetings with many of
    our very largest, I wouldn't be too surprised if the aforementioned
    meetings were with customers.

    When I was visiting the CSC in Colorado Springs, one of my hosts had
    "greased" the process, such that I had a check in my hand the same day
    I turned in the report.  Also, I got it early enough that I was able
    to trot down to the DCU branch in the next building and get it
    deposited in my account that same day.
    
    It took me four revisions to get the report right the first time (I
    don't travel much) but after the first week there was no difficulty.
        John Sauter

    Usually its same day service. Fill out a report in the morning have a
    check by noon. It helps to keep each expense form under $2000 so your
    unit manager can sign for it; between 2000 and 5000 manager's manager
    has to sign for it.
    
    yoseff
    

I think that it's only reasonable that if Digital takes an excessive time
to send you the money after you have submitted the expense report you
should submit another report for the interest you paid on borrowing the
money in the interim period.

jb

    Usually takes me about a week or less....it helps to have a secretary
    & CC mgr who understand the value of timely reimbursements.
    Mark
    

    Out here in the Midwest if I get a check within a month, I feel happy.
    I have had checks take as long as 8 weeks to be processed (It sat on a
    CC Manager's desk for three of those weeks.)  The best turnaround I have
    seen is two weeks once.  Note that as a standard practice the day I give
    the report to my manager is the same day it goes into the mail and out of
    any control by us.

    Lee G.

    Most Customer Support Engineers have Traveletters which cover normal
    weekly business expenses.  Whenever I have to go for training or
    whatever I try to get a cash advance to help balance the bills.
    When I do submit an expense report with a plus balance it usually
    takes 3 to 6 weeks for the check to get back to me.  If I have been
    out of town for a few weeks before I can submit the reports, we're
    talking 5 - 8 weeks from the time the expenses were incurred and,
    yes, the bills usually arrive before the check.  Which is just as
    well because idle money burns holes in my pockets.
    
    Irving

    On the West Coast (unless you are in area) it takes 6-8 wks.  I'm
    in sales and card most every expense.  I usually run in arrears
    with AX by a bunch, but I'm not about to pay them til they pay
    me.                             
    
    Ken

    Diner's club isn't really forgiving after having a balance of 2200+
    dollars for 2 months.
    
    /p

    From the Aren't_you_glad_it_wasn't_you Department:
    
    I worked at a company once which moved its corporate offices from
    one state to another.  Maybe two months after the move, the CEO
    tried to check out of his London hotel room on a Sunday, only to be
    told by the hotel that AmEx was refusing to allow any more charges on
    his corporate-issue AmEx card.  The furious CEO had to wait in London
    another day for money to be wired to the hotel from Corporate HQ
    back in the US.
    
    When he returned to HQ, he found that invoices and expense reports
    had been piling up for weeks, with no one spending any real time
    attempting to process them since the move.
    
    Reportedly, a large number of finance-types became unemployed that
    week.
    
    Now, is it any surprise that the Mill gets one-day turnaround on
    expenses?  8^}
    
    -- Russ

I got my $1,429.45 check today.  Citicorp is going to real happy.
Thats 7/23 to 9/11.

John

This section gets excellent turn around on expense reports most of the time.
One specialist who had travelled overseas for an extended trip (several weeks
I believe) had some problems and was arrears with AmEx for some $5K.

I once worked for an employer whose owner had at one time played loose and 
fast with funds.  Aside from getting in hot water with the IRS, the firm
bounced paychecks and expense checks regularly for several months.  During
my tenure, the worst that happened was that an expense check bounced because,
"we deposited the funds into the wrong account."  It was always interesting.

re: .15 -- No delay is reasonable.  If you have trouble setting aside travel
reimbursement funds then that is a problem you must deal with.  Don't ask that
the rest of us wait for JIT expense reimbursement -- what if I'm back on the
road again.