September 24, 1996

To: Deans, Directors, Business Managers, Other Administrators and Secretaries

From: Bruce C. Fehn
University Controller

Subject: Request for Payment Form and the Travel and Business Expense Report

The Request for Payment Form (also referred to as a billhead or check request) and the Travel and Business Expense Report are designed to handle specific and unique payment transactions for the University. The proper use of these forms is necessary to control and account for these types of disbursements, as well as ensure that the University remains in compliance with a variety of State and Federal regulations covering its procurement, employment and sponsored programs activities. Accordingly, it is appropriate and necessary to periodically review the University's polities and procedures governing the use of the Request for Payment Form and the Travel and Business Expense Report. These requirements are summarized below for your information and benefit.

A. REQUEST FOR PAYMENT FORM (RPF)

Generally, the University procures and pays for goods and services through the use of a purchase order. Occasionally, however, there are circumstances under which a payment is required, but for which the issuance of a purchase order is either inappropriate or unnecessary. Although it is not practical to enumerate all of these circumstances, the following types of payments may be made using a properly completed RPF:

1. Travel Advances (Refer to University Regulations and Procedures Manual (URPM) Book 6, Section:6.1.10)
2. Petty Cash Reimbursements (Refer to URPM Book 6, Section 6.1.7)
3. Certain Payments to Individuals (Refer to URPM Book 6, Section 6.1.4)
4. Certain Statutory or Regulatory Obligations (e.g., payroll taxes, property taxes, etc.)
5. Conference Registration Fees
6. Office Subscriptions (e.g., Chronicle of Higher Education, Wall Street Journal, etc.)
7. Membership Fees
8. Postage The information requested on the RPF is necessary to properly support the payment and, when applicable, capture information required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As a general rule, each RPF must have attached to it the original or underlying documentation (e.g., invoices, receipts, registration forms, computation worksheets, etc.) supporting the amount of the payment. The explanation provided on the RPF must state the reason for the payment and make reference to the documentation supporting the amount of the payment. If, for some rare and unusual reason, the original or underlying documentation can not be attached to the RPF, the location (i.e., office or department) of the supporting documentation must be indicated on the Form. Documentation held at departmental locations must be retained for a period of ten (10) years and may be subject to examination by University officials and internal and external auditors.

When a payment request is made for an individual, the RPF must include (except in certain cases involving nonresident aliens) the social security number of the individual receiving the payment. In addition, it is particularly important that the proper subcode be used to classify the nature of the payment to the individual; this code is used to report information to the IRS. The subcodes and the detailed procedures concerning payments to individuals are contained in Book 6, Section 6.1.4 of the University's Regulations and Procedures Manual.

B. TRAVEL AND BUSINESS EXPENSE REPORT (TABER)

The TABER is used to reimburse employees for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred while traveling on University business or otherwise conducting University business. The amount of the reimbursement will depend, of course, on the nature and necessity of the expenditures claimed, as well as the reimbursement guidelines established by the University and the employee's department. As a general rule, however, employees should not personally purchase (and then seek reimbursement for) materials, supplies, services or equipment for the benefit of the University. These items should normally be procured by using University purchase orders.

The TABER is also used to reimburse non-employees for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with University business. For non-employees, however, the TABER can only be used in instances where the non-employee is receiving payment exclusively for expense reimbursement. If the non-employee is receiving a fee for services rendered in addition to the expense reimbursement, then both the fee and expense reimbursement must be combined and paid in accordance with the University's policy governing payments to individuals (Book 6, Section 6.1.4 of the University's Regulations and Procedures Manual).

The information and documentation requested with the TABER is necessary to support and justify the payment as reimbursement of ordinary and necessary business expenses. Particularly the TABER must contain an explanation of the business reason or purpose for the expenditure. This information is important to justify the validity of the reimbursement as a business expense for tax purposes, as well as to justify expenditures charged against sponsored programs. If the explanation fails to adequately document the expenditure as a business expense or fails to associate the need for the expenditure with a sponsored program's objectives, the reimbursements can be considered taxable compensation to the individual by the IRS or disallowed by the sponsoring agency. In addition, it is important that the TABER be accompanied by original receipts for all itemized expenses. (2/11/04)

The TABER must be signed by the individual requesting reimbursement. Alternatively, some departments have developed internal forms to report reimbursable expenses. In these instances, the individual must sign the departmental form and attach it to the TABER. If the requestor's signature is included on the departmental form, indicate "See Attached Departmental Form" in the requestor's signature block of the TABER. When departmental forms are used, the TABER must still contain the name and address of the requestor and the appropriate accounts and amounts to be charged. Other required details of the reimbursement need not be on the TABER if they are on the departmental form.

The TABER must also be signed by the individual(s) in the department authorized to approve employee reimbursement requests and other expenditures against departmental account(s). Normally, this is the department head or chairperson since they are presumably in the best position to evaluate whether the items claimed are reasonable and necessary business expenses for the department or program. However, there may be instances where a department head or chairperson can delegate this authority to a sufficiently knowledgeable departmental business officer. Under no circumstances are requestors or subordinates permitted to approve payments. (2/11/04)

Finally, the University will no longer accept or process employee reimbursement requests on the RPF; all employee reimbursement requests must be submitted on a TABER.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation in this regard: If you have any questions concerning the use of these forms, please call the Division of University Accounting at extension 5-2133 or if appropriate, the Division of Grant and Contract Accounting at extension 2-0165x2218. You may also learn more about these forms by attending a Paper Pipeline Training session conducted by the Division of University Accounting. The dates of these sessions are announced in the University's monthly Training Bulletin. (2/11/04)