Did you know? Top five RTS travel voucher errors from IMAs

According to the Headquarters Individual Reservist Readiness and Integration Organization Travel Pay office, in 2015 nearly one in five RTS travel vouchers submitted using DD Form 1351-2 was returned to the traveler for errors.

Not only does this high return rate create an excessive amount of re-work and decrease organizational efficiency, it also dramatically increases the number of days it takes for an Individual Mobilization Augmentee to be reimbursed for travel expenses. 

In order to ensure travel vouchers are processed and paid as quickly as possible, be sure to avoid these five common mistakes:

1. Incomplete itinerary:  be sure to document the dates in column A, the place in column B for each place stopped, and the reason for stop in column D (common reasons are: AT – awaiting transportation, TD – temporary duty and MC --mission complete).  A complete itinerary is necessary to calculate your entitlements.
2. Missing signatures:  all travel documents must be signed by the traveler, the reviewer (usually the member’s supervisor) and the approving official.  Bottom line – travel pay documents cannot be processed with only the claimant’s signature.
3. Missing lodging receipts:  Department of Defense travel regulations require receipts for lodging, regardless of the cost.
4. Missing orders:  orders provide the technician processing the claim with the authority for reimbursement – orders must be included with your paperwork when submitting a travel claim.
5. Duplicate travel days:  you can only get paid for one day once – duplicate travel dates can occur when submitting multiple vouchers but the system catches this and prevents the technician from processing the claim.  Most often this happens with either multiple 1351-2s or with requests for IDT lodging reimbursement using SF1164.  Bottom line – you can only get paid for one day once – so review your dates with previous requests to ensure there is no duplication.

By reducing the errors above, coupled with the organizational process improvements HQ RIO is implementing, IMA travel processing delays can be reduced by 78 percent!  So, next time you travel on RTS orders, help us help you get your reimbursement quicker by reviewing your travel documents carefully before you submit them for pay!