Business Travel Account (BTA) - Product Overview

Please note that the Business Travel Account (BTA) has been implemented to suit the requirements of the Australian National University. The Product Overview is a generic statement that describes the operation of the product.

The Business Travel Account (BTA) is an American Express product that is being used by the University and the Travel Management Company (TMC), American Express, as a method of payment for air travel.

What is the BTA System?

The BTA system is a payment method for funding airfare transactions whereby charges are billed and paid at Budget Unit level. It is an excellent billing product for those companies who require a decentralised billing system for airfares or with travellers who are not issued with a Corporate Card i.e. Contractors, Consultants or Infrequent travellers.

BTA Product Features

• Budget unit billed and paid Travel Account
• For multiple travellers and multiple air transactions
• Billing platform same as the Corporate Card platform
• Fully itemised monthly statement with enhanced travel data
• Statement cycle cut options
• Statement field sort options
• Open item reconciliation
• Free Travel Insurance A$150,000 death & disability
• Management Information Statements (MIS) based on actual spend
• Statement delivery options: Hardcopy & Electronic format (e-Data)
• BTA Operational infrastructure to support the product

BTA Client Benefits

• Easy reconciliation of monthly statement
• Simple process for administering travel expenditure
• Provide Travel & Expenditure management support
• In some organisations electronic data can be uploaded into GL systems but the ANU does not use this facility.
• ATO Compliant - simplifies the process for claiming Input Tax Credit
• BTA Training provided for Client's Account Payable staff

How does the BTA work?

• The client books travel directly with the University preferred supplier, for travel management services, American Express.
• All travel details are captured in the TMC's Computer Reservation System (CRS) including University specific requirements i.e. Cost Centre, Budget Code, Project/Grant Code, Internal Reference. This is called "Enhanced Travel Data".
• This information is fed into the TMC's back office system, which feeds to Amex BTA via a daily extract file.
• Amex matches the Enhanced Travel Data from the TMC with the Bank Settlement Plan (BSP)/Airlines billing data via the ticket number.
• Amex produces a fully itemised Monthly Statement, which the Budget Unit reconciles and pays Amex prior to the next cycle cut.

University Enhanced Data Description:

Amex BTA Trip Req = University Budget Code
Amex BTA Cust Ref = University Project/Grant Code
Amex BTA Job Number = University Internal Reference

The BTA & GST

Amex gained a separate BTA determination from the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The determination is effective from 1 July 2000, and provides American Express BTA clients with the ability to support their claims for input tax credits, without holding a tax invoice. Details are available on the ATO Website.

1. How is the GST Populated?

The GST amount is calculated via the CRS System at the time of ticketing and the actual GST is captured on the BTA statement. The BTA does not use the 1/11 algorithm to calculate the GST.

2. How to Dispute a Business Travel Account Charge

The BTA statement is an open item statement; therefore, each charge needs to be addressed on your Reconciliation Advice.

Please note that there is a one hundred and five day (105) time limit on disputing any item, (approximately three statements) from the date of the transaction, after which time, if it has never been disputed, we consider the charge valid, due and payable.

In order to resolve a dispute quickly, we request that the comment be kept short and to the point. We need to know the type of dispute, (as categorised below) details of any other related charge or related payment, and any relevant supporting documentation.

The types of disputes to indicate, are summarised below:

• Already paid - please advise the date, the total payment amount, and the form of payment.
• Duplicate billing - please provide details of both charges: the original charge's details- the statement reference e.g. 00215-015, and also the month it appeared on your statement, and make sure to indicate the charge that duplicates it.
• Do not recognise charge - please advise e.g. - "The passenger does not belong to this account." If you are not sure if a traveller is from your department, please check with the TMC who booked the travel and find out for certain, before disputing the item with BTA Operations.
• Refund due - please inform BTA Operations on your Reconciliation Advice as soon as possible and return the ticket to the TMC if one was issued, so a refund application may be processed.
• Billed Amount Discrepancy - If the TMC advised you in writing of a different charge amount, please provide BTA Operations with a copy of the invoice or itinerary showing the original amount quoted and process payment for the amount that is valid. Note: you dispute the difference only.
• General Dispute - All other disputes or issues are required to be clearly written on your Reconciliation Advice

The total remittance amount when claiming a charge already paid, and statement reference numbers for both charges when claiming duplicate billing, are critical in order for us to be able to verify and resolve your dispute

NOTE: Once temporary credits have been applied to the individual, disputed line items, American Express will investigate and resolve these charges with the TMC in line with the Service Level Agreement between both our organisations

Please fax your monthly Reconciliation Advice to the Business Travel Account Department on 02 9271 1851 or if necessary, you can contact us by telephone on 1300 364 199.