The university pays directly or reimburses individuals for expenses that are necessary and appropriate to conduct university business. Expenditures must be consistent with the university’s purchasing policies and guidelines as well as the guiding principles and IRS regulations with regard to business and travel expenses.
This article provides helpful guidance on recent updates and common questions that the Business Expense Team receives about expense reimbursement policies and processes. For common questions related to travel, visit Stanford Travel Updates and Hot Topics.
For general help with business expense and reimbursement questions, contact the Financial Support Center.
For questions about purchasing and contracts, visit Purchasing and Contracts Updates and Hot Topics. The page provides guidance on recent updates and common questions that the Purchasing and Contracts Team receives about purchasing policies and processes.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has released the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) continental United States (CONUS) per diem expense rates effective October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025.
Visit the GSA’s Per Diem Rates to access the new FY25 rates (searchable by city, state, or zip code).
For trips that took place prior to October 1, the previous FY24 rates can be accessed by selecting “2024” from the For Fiscal Year dropdown menu.
Concurrently, the Department of Defense (DoD) released the FY25 rates effective October 1 for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories, and Possessions (OCONUS rates).
For more information on reimbursement methods (e.g., per diem rates and actual expenses), see Topic Overview: Business and Travel Expenses.
Effective immediately, restrictions have been removed from purchasing computing hardware with a Purchasing Card (PCard), as well as through personal reimbursement (Expense Request). UIT’s preferred purchasing recommendations for hardware (desktop computers, laptops, mobile devices, and standard accessories) remain the same. However, now there are no more restrictions on using less preferred purchasing methods, such as a PCard, to purchase hardware.
These restrictions have been removed as the risks are now mitigated through alternative strategies. For example, senior leadership can access high risk business monitoring reports that provide visibility into hardware purchases within their schools and units. Additionally, the university is managing the risk associated with hardware purchases through several measures. Minimum Security Standards for endpoints are designed to mitigate many of the risks associated with hardware purchases. Device enrollment, verifiable encryption, and high-risk data handling requirements are designed to ensure that the university maintains a high standard of data security and compliance for all hardware used within its network.
As with the recent software purchasing guidance update, this change better balances risk reduction and administrative efficiency. Learn more about these changes on the University IT website.
For guidance on purchasing common types of goods for university use, visit Fingate’s Purchase Goods page, which describes best practices for purchasing hardware, home office equipment, lab supplies, and more. Visit the Purchase Services page for guidance on purchasing common types of services, including cloud computing, internet services and software.
As part of ongoing Procurement Efficiencies enhancements, on May 6 the Business Expense team is launching another set of enhancements to help reduce rejections and returns of Expense Reports (ERs) and Non-PO Payments (PRs) in the Expense Requests System (ERS) by central auditors. These changes include the following:
Functionality to allow auditors to send a notification to the preparer and approver when a transaction needs guidance but can still be approved. Currently, if there is a minor issue with a transaction, the auditor adds a comment and returns or rejects the transaction. The preparer must respond to the comment and resubmit the transaction. Effective May 6, if there is a minor issue with a transaction, the auditor may approve the transaction and add a note about the issue. The notification email, which is sent automatically and cannot be turned off, is sent to both the preparer and the approver so they both know what to improve in future transactions. This change decreases administrative burden for campus users by allowing the auditor to provide feedback while still approving a transaction.
The ability for an auditor to choose multiple rejection reasons when a transaction is rejected or returned. Currently, almost one-third of rejected or returned transactions have multiple reasons they were returned by an auditor. Starting May 6, auditors may choose multiple rejection reasons (instead of just one) when returning or rejecting a transaction. The notification from the auditor will also be reformatted and revised slightly to make it easier to read. Select the image below for an example of the updated notification.
This change has multiple benefits:
- It reduces the number of resubmitted transactions by clearly listing all needed corrections, so preparers can respond to the transaction a single time.
- Improved formatting will allow preparers to more quickly and easily understand what changes to an expense request are necessary.
Allowing multiple rejection reasons also helps FMS better understand why transactions are rejected and provide additional training or support as needed.
The Lodging Policy page was recently updated with guidance on finding, booking, and being reimbursed for home-share lodging (such as Airbnb or Vrbo). Although not encouraged, home shares available through home-sharing companies are an allowed option for travelers and reimbursable if they follow the hotel and lodging rate maximums and university policies.
This new home-sharing section includes guidance on:
- Finding an economical home share
- Home share contracts
- Calculating the total cost of a home share to stay within the lodging rate maximum
- Room sharing
To learn more, visit the Lodging Policy page.
On February 26, 2024, the Business Expense team will roll out improvements to the rejection and return reasons that central auditors use for all Expense Request transactions in the Expense Requests System (ERS). The changes include:
- Updates and consolidations of current rejection and return reasons to better clarify why a transaction is rejected or returned and how preparers can resolve the problem
- The addition of a number of new clear and actionable rejection and return reasons
- The retirement of several outdated rejection and return reasons
The changes help preparers and approvers to understand auditors’ instructions, and also provide more accurate end user reporting in OBI to help schools and units understand where more training may be needed.
The Digital Payments payment method, which was inaccessible from December 8, 2023 through January 15, 2024 while transitioning to an updated J.P. Morgan payment platform, is available for use again. The updated payment platform has a redesigned process for Stanford visitors to accept and receive payment. The interface to request Digital Payments in the Expense Requests System has not changed.
To support this change, the Digital Payments page on Fingate was revised to include an updated description of the Digital Payments reimbursement process for preparers and visitors. The Digital Payments page also links to a new instructional page for Stanford visitors, How to Register and Accept a Digital Payment, that can be shared with visitors.
Mileage reimbursement rates for 2024 are now available on Fingate and updated in Oracle. For 2024, the Internal Revenue Service increased the rate 1.5 cents per mile to $0.67 for using a private automobile for business purposes, and decreased the rate 1 cent per mile to $0.21 for using a private automobile for moving expenses.
These rates are effective as of January 1, 2024. For reference, the rates for 2023 are also included on the Fingate Resource page.
On November 13, there will be several updates to the Credit Card Profiles Change Request tool in Oracle Financials to support processes such as exception requests, attaching documents, managing transaction limits, and reactivating suspended cards. They include:
- The expansion of the Exception Request section to include a PCard non-permissible exception request, when an urgent need arises. This change allows for faster turnaround time and more complete information to support the request.
- The ability to upload/attach documents to substantiate or support the change request or exception request being submitted.
- The option to permanently lower the per-transaction limit (for PCards only), if necessary, to minimize risk on a PCard.
- A new card reactivation and attestation process to reinstate a suspended card.
In order to support departments in purchasing software in a manner that safeguards the university and supports financial stewardship, FMS and University IT (UIT) have made recent updates to guidance and associated processes. These updates are documented in Topic Overview: Purchase Services and include the following changes:
To ensure alignment with UIT security protocols, before purchasing any software, including online software purchases with an accompanying “click-through agreement,” schools and units must consult University Information Technology's (UIT) Software at Stanford page. This resource can be used to search for specific software and how to obtain it. After searching through this directory of Software, purchasers can consult the Software Purchase Guide for next steps.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) sets domestic per diem rates, effective Oct. 1 each year. The new per diem rates (searchable by city, state, or zip code) are now published; visit Domestic Per Diem Rates to access the rates.
For trips that took place prior to October 1, the previous rates can be accessed still by selecting “2023” from the drop down menu.
For more information on reimbursement methods (such as per diem vs. actuals), see Topic Overview: Business and Travel Expenses.
Purchasing Card (PCard) and Travel Card (TCard) cardholders who contact JPMorgan Chase to activate or ask questions about their card must provide different identifying information starting September 1, 2023.
When contacting JPMorgan Chase, the cardholder must provide the last four digits of their Stanford employee ID, rather than the last four digits of their Social Security Number (SSN), and their date of birth to verify their identity.
This change helps cardholders reduce the use of their SSNs for identification.
The employee ID number, also called the University ID, is listed on the employee ID card, on the electronic employee ID in the Stanford Mobile app, and available on Axess in the My Axess Profile section.
