Business Office



Hollins University Employee Reimbursements/Travel and Entertainment /Purchasing PolicyEmployee Reimbursements/Travel and EntertainmentPurpose In order to facilitate best business practices, the following policy sets forth instructions for employee reimbursements and travel and entertainment for the university. This policy offers guiding principles, but it remains the responsibility of anyone authorized to purchase goods and supplies to maintain the highest level of integrity and stewardship of University funds. Scope Vice presidents/deans, department heads, and their designees are authorized to approve university business travel and entertainment under the following conditions: ? Travel and entertainment must be consistent with the business and professional needs of the university. ? Each vice president/dean (or their designee) will determine prior travel approval requirements, if any, for personnel in departments reporting to them. ? Payments for travel expenditures must be signed by the traveler and approved by the traveler’s supervisor or the appropriate vice president/dean. ? Original, itemized receipts are required for all travel related expenditures over $25. ? No charges for alcoholic beverages are permitted except where approved by the appropriate vice president/dean for official entertainment of university guests who are not employees of the university and their names must be listed on the receipt. Employees traveling on business are not allowed to be reimbursed for alcohol beverages purchased with meals; this should be paid with personal funds. ? Reimbursable lodging charges may not exceed the normal charge for a single room. It is expected that the traveler will exercise prudent judgment in selecting a place to stay and will endeavor to obtain the lowest commercial rate available at the place of lodging. Original detailed receipts (hotel bill) must be obtained and submitted to request reimbursement. ? The mode of travel is to be justified on the basis of the most economical use of the traveler’s time and the requirements of the trip. If, for the convenience of the traveler, an indirect or interrupted route is chosen, any additional expense will be borne by the traveler. Reimbursement for expenses will be based only on such charges as would have been incurred by a usually traveled route. ? Receipts for taxi use are required for each fare over $25. ? If reimbursement for car rental is appropriate, the original rental agreement and invoice are required to be submitted with the reimbursement expense report.? The university provides full primary insurance coverage for short term rentals of automobiles by employees on university business anywhere in the United States, its territories and possessions, and Canada. The traveler should refuse car rental insurance offered by the commercial agency, unless they are out of the country or renting a truck. The employee should sign their name and “for Hollins University” to avoid any confusion for insurance purposes. Please see the “Car Rental Policy” for more information on car rentals. ? Use of a privately owned vehicle is reimbursable at the approved IRS standard rate at the time of the trip, which is to cover all operating expenses, including repairs, insurance, gasoline, depreciation, towage and other similar expenditures, regardless of whether university-owned equipment is carried. ? Parking and toll charges are allowable travel expenses. Original receipts or stamped parking tickets showing the exact payment made and date are to be submitted for each expense over $25. ? Sales tax will not be refunded for stores on our tax exempt stores list, please see the Tax Exempt Stores listed at the end of this document.Non-University Employees: The cost of entertaining non-university personnel (such as candidates for employment and guest speakers) is expected to be consistent with reasonable hospitality. Accommodations and meals are available in moderately priced facilities, and these facilities should be used, especially on-campus meal facilities. Charges for travel and lodging will be reimbursed at cost. Approved meals will be reimbursed at reasonable actual cost. “Reasonable” is to be determined by the account administrator and/or supervisor of the responsible university representative. Receipts (original detailed, itemized receipts for breakfast, lunch, dinner) over $25 are required and must be submitted with the check request form. The business purpose must be clearly documented in accordance with IRS Regulations for all transactions. Please indicate on the receipt the name of the guest, their affiliation with the university, the names of the university representatives and the purpose of the visit. University Employees: Payment or reimbursement for refreshments and meals for university personnel for one annual “get together” event and for service recognition and retirement functions requires the approval of a vice president/dean and must be charged to discretionary funds of the department. Reimbursement for group work-related meals is authorized at reasonable actual costs. University facilities or services should be utilized whenever possible. Original receipts are required for all meals regardless of the amount and must be submitted with the Reimbursement Expense Report. The business purpose must be clearly documented in accordance with IRS Regulations for all transactions. Please indicate on the receipt the names of the participants, their affiliation with the university, and the business purpose of the meeting. Meals and refreshments for events such as holidays, birthdays and showers, Secretary’s Day, major life event, etc. are considered personal expenses and are not authorized for reimbursement by the university. Additionally, the cost of Christmas and other cards, floral arrangements, baby-sitting, dog-sitting, membership in social clubs, are not authorized for reimbursement by the university unless approved by the appropriate vice president/dean. Purchasing ProceduresPurpose:In order to facilitate best business practices, the following policy sets forth instructions for making purchases for the university. Hollins is committed to the use and purchase of environmental and socially responsible materials and products (see the American College and University Presidents Climate Agreement, Hollins’ Strategic Plan, and Energy Conservation Guidelines, all posted on my.hollins). This policy offers guiding principles, but it remains the responsibility of anyone authorized to purchase goods and supplies to maintain the highest level of integrity and stewardship of university funds and to support our commitment to environmental sustainability.Scope:The vice presidents/deans, department heads, and their designees are authorized to purchase supplies directly from vendors under the following conditions:Department heads remain responsible for keeping total expenditures within the limits of the departmental budget, regardless if another individual has been authorized to purchase goods and/or services.Every effort must be made to discover the lowest price available for items purchased and to consider sustainable options where applicable. The vendor of choice for all office supplies is “Staples” (). Please note, if you are not a university authorized buyer, you will be able to see items available, but negotiated bulk pricing will not be reflected without a user ID and password. Please see the authorized person for your department. If you need supplies immediately and are able to visit a staples location you may sign out a discount card from the Accounts Payable Coordinator in the Business Office. This card will allow you to purchase items and receive our negotiated bulk pricing and have the charges billed to Hollins University. The discount card and receipt including entire account number and purpose must be returned to the Accounts Payable Coordinator with in a timely manner. This card should only be used when a supply is needed immediately and on-line ordering is not an option.It is understood that unavoidable circumstances arise where an item must be purchased from another vendor for an unexpected event. In these cases, vendors who recognize the tax exemption status of the institution should be used, e.g., Wal-Mart, Michael’s, Best Buy and products chosen in an informed manner.As a signatory in the American College & University President Climate Commitment (10/07), Hollins requires the purchase of ENERGY STAR certified products in all areas for which such ratings exist (from appliances to light bulbs). (8/09)All contracts for goods, services, or software must be approved by the vice president/dean of the area facilitating the contract and subsequently approved and signed by the vice president for finance and administration. By prior arrangement, the vice president for finance and administration may delegate signature authority, in writing, for certain repetitive standard contracts, e.g. periodicals, books, etc. Send request to the office of the vice president for finance and administration to receive delegated signature authority for contracts.All contracts for leases of any value must be approved by the vice president/dean of the area facilitating the contract and subsequently approved and signed by the vice president for finance and administration. A copy of the lease(s) must be sent to the university controller.The purchase or lease of all software, computers, computer peripherals including printers, scanners, etc. must be requisitioned through the chief information officer (including grant purchases of these items). Exceptions may be approved by the CIO after receiving justification in writing (e-mail is an accepted method for requesting and receiving exceptions). Purchase of electronic products will be made where available by using EPEAT (a tool to help select and compare equipment based on their environmental attributes).Purchases for cell phones must be approved by the vice president/dean responsible for the area purchasing the cell phone and must be purchased through the director of network and telecommunications services in accordance with standing policies and contracts with approved cell phone vendors.No purchases shall be made by the university from employees of the university or a business owned or controlled by an employee or in which an employee has a substantial interest without a clear statement from the requesting unit that such purchases are unique and necessary. This statement will be directed from the requesting unit to the university controller and forwarded with a recommendation as to uniqueness and necessity to the vice president for finance and administration for approval. Conflict of interest standards shall apply in all such cases.Check Request/Reimbursement/Advance GuidelinesAll invoices/reimbursements submitted for payment must be attached to either the check request or advance expense report form located on my.hollins.edu–Campus Services-BusinessOffice/Forms or by clicking the link below: requests or advance expense report forms that are not filled out completely or properly will be returned for missing information.For new vendors, a current W-9 must be on file prior to payment. You may find the W-9 form on my.Hollins or the clicking on the link above. Please turn in the W-9 with the check request, reimbursement expense or advance expense report. W-9s are not required for payments to students or employees. Place a check mark on the appropriate line, indicating whether to hold the check for pick up or mail to the address which you have provided. Direct deposit can be requested as well for payments to students, employees, or independent contractors. A direct deposit form must be completed and submitted to accounts payable with the check request, reimbursement expense or advance expense report form in order to set-up the vendor for direct deposit, (if not already submitted by employees/students for payroll direct deposit). Name and Address must always be listed to ensure that the check is mailed to the correct address.The Business purpose must be clearly documented in accordance with IRS Regulations for all transactions. Provide complete description for the expense being incurred. If it is a reimbursement for an event, please include the date and name of the event. If traveling out of town, please attach itinerary. For meal reimbursements, please submit the restaurants’ itemized receipt along with the receipt showing the total bill including the tip, the purpose of the business meal and who attended.Accurately enter Fund (5 digits) - Department/Org Code (5 digits) – Account Code (4 digits) on the check request or advance expense report form. Original, itemized receipts are required for all expenses. Please tape receipts (do not staple) neatly to only the front side of an 8 1/2” x 11” paper.If a receipt is double sided, please make a copy of one side so everything can be scanned. For mileage reimbursements, please provide a print out from MapQuest/Rand McNally showing total miles driven, date and purpose of trip. Mileage will be reimbursed at the standard IRS mileage rate at the time of the trip.For reimbursement requests with receipts in foreign currency please submit a printout showing the exchange rate. The following web site is an excellent resource. reimbursements/advances must be signed by the requestor and approved by their supervisor before submitting to Accounts Payable. (Under NO circumstance may an individual approve his or her own reimbursement, advance request or advance expense report.) Check Request-Vendor Only and Check Request – Independent Contractor can be signed by the Budget Manager. The university president will sign off on all reimbursement expense reports from her/his direct reports. The vice president for finance and administration may approve forms as well in the president’s absence.The vice president for finance and administration or the executive assistant to the president will sign off on the reimbursement expense reports submitted by the university president.Faculty reimbursement expense reports for travel and other expenses must be submitted to the vice president for academic affairs for signature and approval before being sent to accounts payable.Sales Tax will not be reimbursed for stores on our tax exempt stores list, please see the Tax Exempt Stores listed at the end of this document.All properly complete check requests and advances request must reach the Accounts Payable Office no later than Friday at 3:30pm. Checks/direct deposit will be ready by the following Thursday morning. All employees/students that have their payroll checks direct deposited will automatically receive employee reimbursements through direct deposit as well. The check requests/reimbursements/advances deadline may be altered due to holidays so please check my.hollins for schedule changes.It is the responsibility of the appropriate vice president/dean to control all financial transactions against assigned accounts to ensure that they conform to university policy.Tax Exempt StoresBarnes & Noble – You will have your Hollins Faculty ID with you and present that at the cash register. You will have to tell the cashier that we have your tax exempt certificate on file and can that be applied to their purchaseBest Buy – You will need to take the Tax Exemption Certificate with you. You will need to get your merchandise and go to the Customer Service desk to check out. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.CVS – (Corner of Williamson & Plantation) They have our Tax Exemption Certificate on file but you may want to take a copy with you just in case. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status and ask for a manager or shift leader. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Dollar General - You must come by the Business Office to pick up the Dollar General sales tax exemption form. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Fresh Market ‐ You will need to take the Tax Exemption Certificate with you. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Home Depot ‐ You will need to give this tax ID number 184200 to the cashier when you makea purchase to be tax exempt. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.K‐Mart ‐ You will need to take the Tax Exemption Certificate with you. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status. You will be asked to sign a form at the end of your purchase. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Kroger – (All Roanoke locations)You will need to take the Tax Exemption Certificate with you. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status. You will be asked to sign a form at the end of your purchase. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Lowe’s ‐ You will need to give this tax ID number 176400118 to the cashier when you make a purchase to be tax exempt. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Michael’s ‐ You must come by the Business Office to sign out the Tax Exemption Card. We only have one card for everyone to use. You must return the card to the Business Office no later than the following morning. You will be asked to fill out a form. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Northwest Hardware – (All Roanoke Locations)You will need to take the Tax Exemption Certificate with you. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status and that you are paying by cash, check or your personal debit or credit card. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.OfficeMax – You must come by the Business Office to sign out the Tax Exemption Card. We only have one card for everyone to use. You must return the card to the Business Office no laterthan the following morning. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Staples – If you need supplies immediately and are able to visit a staples location you may sign out a discount card from the Accounts Payable Coordinator in the Business Office. This card will allow you to purchase items and receive our negotiated bulk pricing and have the charges billed to Hollins University. The discount card and receipt including entire account number and purpose must be returned to the Accounts Payable Coordinator within a timely manner. This card should only be used when a supply is needed immediately and on-line ordering is not an option.Target – You will need to take the Tax Exemption Certificate with you. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status. They will ask to see your Driver’s License. Please have your Hollins University ID available If neededWalgreens ‐ You will need to take the Tax Exemption Certificate with you. You must inform them before they begin ringing up your order of your tax exemption status. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed.Walmart – (All Roanoke locations)You must come by the Business Office to sign out the Tax Exemption Card. We only have one card for everyone to use. It must be returned no later than the following morning. Please have your Hollins University ID available if needed ................
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