How It Works

The Employee Reimbursement System (ERS) automates the entire reimbursement process—from submission of expenses to approval and payment. It’s all done online!

Paying Your Expenses

ERS allows you to use your Penn State Purchasing Card with travel spending limits to pay for expenses like lodging and meals. You can add travel spending limits to your current Purchasing Card or obtain a Purchasing Card with travel spending limits only. Or, if you prefer, you can use a personal credit card to pay for your travel expenses.

No matter what method of payment you use, non-per diem expenses may require receipts.

If you use your Purchasing Card to pay for travel for another person, you will be responsible for completing an online reimbursement request to process the PCARD charges.

Preparing Your Reimbursement Request

To prepare your reimbursement request, log on to ERS. You can access the system from your home, office, or hotel room—all you need is a computer and an Internet connection. Someone else can prepare your request for you, but you’ll still need to log on to the system and submit the completed request yourself.

When you’ve finished entering your expenses, you’re ready to submit your request online. There’s no need to complete a paper expense form.

Submitting Your Reimbursement Request

When you submit your reimbursement request, the system will generate a fax cover sheet listing the receipts you’ll need to provide along with a fax number and instructions. Print the cover sheet and fax it with the required receipts as soon as possible to facilitate the approval process.

The Approval Process

Your reimbursement request will be routed through an electronic workflow process beginning the moment you submit the request online.

Receiving Status Updates

Do you want to be notified every time the status changes on a request—or only when your receipts are received? Simply indicate your notification preferences on your user profile. All updates are sent via e-mail, so it’s easy to track the status of your reimbursement request.