A field advance is, in essence, a loan from University of Washington (UW) general funds made to an individual (the custodian) to provide a temporary source of funds for conducting official UW business that cannot be paid for using traditional methods (i.e. purchase orders, check requests, UW Travel/Procurement credit cards).
The field advance:

• May be for any amount of money as long as the department administrator or designee has authorized the request.
• May be issued as a check or wire transfer.
• Cannot be issued for more than a six-month period. If funds are needed for a longer period, an additional advance may be requested near the end date of an outstanding advance.
• Must be reconciled within 30 days after the end of the field advance period.

See the Field Advances web site for complete information.