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Expense Requests System Help

This resource provides information to help Expense Requests system users select correct transaction types, choose correct category templates, and complete transaction screens. This content is available on Fingate as well as from help links within the Expense Requests system.

A domestic event consists of an Event Name (which you create and enter), and Start and End Dates that define the duration of the event.

See Demo: Create a Domestic Event

Applying an event is mandatory for expense reports for foreign expenses. A foreign event consists of an Event Name (which you create and enter), and Start and End Dates that define the duration of the event. In addition, you must enter event lines that identity the country, types of activities in the country, and number of each type of person involved with each activity. You'll enter one event line for each activity.

See Demo: Create a Foreign Event

Consider the following when deciding what type of new transaction to create.

Create an expense report for business-related expenditures and reimbursement requests, including out-of-pocket business expenditures and travel expenditures purchased with a Stanford Travel Card.

The Expense Report Type depends on the payee:

See Guidelines – Foreign Expenses to determine foreign expenses.

Cash advances may be requested for out-of-pocket business expenses associated with travel (domestic or foreign) such as airfare or, in some cases, anticipated cash expenditures to be incurred during business travel. Advances can also be requested for incentive payments to human subjects. The advance funds must be paid to an SU Payee.

  • Request – select to request advance funds for travel or incentive payment for human subjects.
  • Clear – opens an expense report to clear an advance, and to allocate those funds. Enter the SU Payee who received the funds as the payee of the expense report.

See

Select Non-PO Payment to pay for certain types of expenses that do not require a formal purchase order, or, for which negotiation by the Procurement department adds no value. Refer to Guidelines for Use of Non-PO Payment Categories.

  • Single Payee – select when there is only one payee. Some categories allow non-PO payments to both SU Payees and Non-SU Payees.
  • Multiple Payees – select to process a non-PO payment for 2 to 50 payees in one transaction.
    • All payees must be paid for the same Non-PO payment category, and the same Business Purpose must apply to each.
    • All payees must be already set up as a Supplier / Payee. Requests for new payees are not possible during the entry of a non-PO payment request transactions for multiple payees.

See

Only Petty Cash Custodians will see the Petty Cash Replenishment option on the home page. Use this option to replenish petty cash funds, and reconcile a petty cash account.

The tracking of foreign expense activity has become critical to Stanford University, as the global reach of the University's activities continues to grow. Data about expenses related to foreign travel, foreign purchases, and activities outside the United States are important for a variety of reasons:

  • Statistics regarding Stanford's global presence
  • Risk Management
  • Compliance

The Expense Requests system has been designed to collect the much-needed data around foreign travel and expenses.

See definition of foreign transaction in Guidelines for Use of Categories for SU Payees.

Exceptions to the Rule:

  • All expenses related to a business purpose involving foreign travel, including the purchase of goods and services while traveling (regardless of where they are used or provided), should be included in a foreign expense report.
  • Non-PO Payments related to a business purpose involving foreign travel should be considered a foreign expense, even if service was provided or goods used in the U.S.

Expense Reports Foreign Expense Categories

Category Description
Expenses (Foreign)

Used for expense reports that meet these criteria:

  • Travel expenses for which either or both the origination or destination location (during any leg of a trip) is outside the U.S.
  • Goods used outside the U.S.
  • Services provided or consumed outside the U.S.
Expenses (Foreign)
Non-SU Payee
Used to reimburse visitors for travel expenses in which either or both the origination or destination location (during any leg of a trip) is outside the U.S.
Advance (Foreign) Used to request advance for foreign travel. Travel is foreign when either or both the origination or destination location (any leg) is outside the U.S.

Foreign Events

All foreign transactions must be associated with a foreign event in the Expense Requests system. It is recommended that a Foreign Event be set up in My Events Preferences prior to entering a transaction related to that event. See How To: Set My Events Preferences.

A Foreign Event consists of an Event Name (created by the user), and Start and End Dates that define the duration of the event. A Foreign Event also consists of one or more activities. You must identify the country, types of activities in the country, and number of faculty, employees, graduate students, and undergrad students involved with each activity. There may be multiple countries in an event, and multiple activities in a country.

Once a foreign event is set up, you can apply it to multiple transactions related to that event (if needed).

FAQs

Q: If a visitor travels from outside the U.S. to Stanford, and is given honoraria for speaking at an event, should the honorarium be requested as a foreign or domestic expense?

A:  Foreign expense, because the honorarium was for an activity related to foreign travel (the travel originated outside the U.S.), even though the speaking event was in the U.S.

Q:  Is it possible to have a Foreign Event with an activity in the U.S.?

A:  Yes. The U.S. should be entered as the Country of Activity when the activity occurs in the U.S., and travel from outside the U.S. was required.

Advances are limited to the following categories and expense types regardless of dollar value. There is no Miscellaneous category for advances. Advances requests must be for travel or human subject incentive. For more information about advances, visit the Advances Topic Overview page.

Advance Category Expense Types Comments
Advance (Domestic U.S.) Travel Reimbursement For domestic travel advances only. Travel is "domestic" when the origin and destination locations (all legs) are within the U.S.
Advance (Foreign) Travel Reimbursement
Human Subject Incentive
For foreign travel advances and advances for human subject incentive when human subject activity is outside the U.S. Travel is "foreign" when the origin or destination location (any leg) is outside the U.S. A request for a foreign advance must be associated with a foreign event.
Advance (Human Subject) Travel Reimbursement
Human Subject Incentive

For funds to be used as human subject incentive (cash or non-cash), or to pay for human subject travel when the human subject activity is in the U.S. There is a maximum limit on the total amount of uncleared advances that an individual may have pending for human subject incentive payments at any given time.

Note:  If human subject activity is outside the U.S., use the Advance (Foreign) category, and select the Human Subjects Incentive expense type.

 

A beneficiary refers to the person benefiting from the expense. Every SU Payee transaction requires a response to the question, Is the payee the only beneficiary? If the response is Yes, all reimbursed expenses will be attributed to the Payee. If the response is No, then the preparer must add a line to the beneficiary table to enter the name or names of those who benefited from the expense.

  • Add beneficiary information if expenses benefited someone other than the payee, including GIFT Recipients and STAP Participants. There is no need to add Payee name as beneficiary since that is the default
  • It is recommended to calculate beneficiary amounts prior to creating the Expense Request
  • Total amount for all beneficiaries and payee total must equal the total expense report transaction amount
  • Beneficiaries included on an expense request do not receive payment from the processing of that transaction. Only payees will receive disbursements

The preparer must enter the Type, Beneficiary Name, response to Non-Resident Alien question (default is N/A - Not Applicable) and the USD amount attributed to the beneficiary. Whatever amount is not listed under specific beneficiaries will be allotted to the payee.

Beneficiary Type definitions:

  1. Faculty, Staff, or Student = Stanford (SU) Payee
  2. Visitor (found in Supplier Database) = any non-employee who has been paid previously by Stanford
  3. Other* = any guest not found in the Supplier Database or for all lists of beneficiaries over five names (including SU Payees)    
    For five individuals or fewer, enter each name per line
    For more than five individuals, enter an explanation in the free form field, such as,
          "# of beneficiaries, list attached" and attach the list of names as back-up
    or for Human Subject Advance clearing for more than five human subjects, "HS Advance ADVXXXXX protocol name or number"
    REQUIRED: For all beneficiaries, more than five:
    • Number of beneficiaries should be listed in Other field, i.e., 17 Department of Music staff, list attached or 21 Stanford Law School students, list attached
    • List of beneficiary names should be attached to the transaction backup
    • If a group includes 26 or more people, it is permitted to provide a general description of a group rather than listing each attendee (e.g., "all employees from Financial Management Services" or "the Ophthalmology Department and their spouses").

*Preparers should select beneficiary type, “Other” for transactions with:

  • Multiple beneficiaries
  • Business/travel meals that exceed five people
  • Office supplies for a department
  • Research lab supplies where the principal investigator (PI) is the beneficiary
  • Human subject participants, where names are confidential and cannot be listed in the business purpose

On the final page of the transaction before selecting Submit, the preparer must check a box to attest that the beneficiary information is accurate and supporting documentation will be attached. The total amount for Payee beneficiary and Non-Payee beneficiary will be shown on this final page.

Non-PO Payments are limited to the following expense categories regardless of dollar value. Some categories allow for a single request for payment to multiple payees.

Category: Expense Type Description Comments Multiple Payees

Conference Registrations:

  • Using STAP
  • Not Using STAP
Payment to an organization on behalf of faculty, staff, students, and/or visitors to attend a conference or meeting of professional benefit. STAP funds may be used

Enter all conference attendees and the amount of the payment applicable to each

Attach conference agenda to transaction

--

Dues and Subscriptions:

  • Membership
  • Dues and Fees
  • Subscriptions
Payment to an organization or publisher on behalf of faculty, staff, students, and/or visitors to maintain or further develop skills related to the job. These are generally individual subscriptions Enter all members or subscribers and the amount of the payment applicable to each --

Employee Training:

  • Using STAP
  • Not Using STAP
Payment to a training provider on behalf of faculty and staff (employees) for professional training and development Enter employee(s) attending training and the amount of the payment applicable to each --

Fees:

  • Entry Fees
  • Escheatment
  • Insurance
  • Other Fees
  • Permits
  • Stanford Card Plan
  • Taxes
  • Visa Fees
Legal fees, government fees, insurance premiums, insurance claims, DMV, taxes, utilities, SCP sales, entry fees to tournaments, escheatment fees, and other similar fees / charges not requiring an authorized University representative's signature Enter employee or non-employee beneficiaries of payment Yes

Food & Catering:

  • Food
  • Services
  • Alcohol
Payments for food and refreshments for Stanford University events, where a signature of agreement is not required by either party Providing the number of attendees is mandatory --

Honoraria:

  • Performed outside U.S.
  • Performed in CA
  • Performed in U.S.
A one-time gratuitous payment made as a gesture of goodwill and in appreciation to speakers or participants in special Stanford events. If a "fee for services" is required, the payment should be requested as a purchase requisition through iProcurement. -- Yes
House Dues House dues and other activities payable to a Stanford residential house -- Yes
Human Subjects An incentive payment to an individual for participation in a research project, survey, or study

This category is used to request direct payments of any amount to human subjects.

This category must be used for:

  • direct payments to human subjects of $200 or more
  • direct payments of any amount to human subjects who are non-resident aliens
Yes
Postage Payment made directly to a company or service (e.g., U.S. Postal Service) for stamps, parcel service, or adding funding to postage meters -- --
Prizes and Awards Award payment to non-Stanford affiliates and other organizations for recognition based on competition; Cash awards for contest winners and community partnership awards -- Yes
Refunds Return of funds to individuals and external organizations Can request refunds for SU Payees (faculty, staff, students, etc) and Non-SU Payees Yes

Relocation:

  • House hunting
  • Moving
  • Temporary living
Payments to moving companies and for temporary living expenses

Entry of Origin and Destination locations required

Enter beneficiary of relocation payment (e.g. the employee being relocated)

--

Royalties:

  • CA Income
  • Foreign Income
  • Non-CA Income
A payment made to an author, artist, composer or company for each copy of their work that is sold by the University or to an inventor for each article sold under a patent Can request royalty payments for SU Payees (faculty, staff, students, etc) and Non-SU Payees Yes

Special Request:

  • Fundraising
  • Shared PPV (High Wire)
  • Special Request
This category is for use only when no other category or purchase / payment option (such as iProcurement, PCard, or SmartMart) can be used Enter employee or non-employee beneficiaries of payment, if appropriate --
Tuition Grant Program (TGP) and Stanford Tuition Reimbursement Program (STRP) Benefit related expenses for HR use only -- --
Transportation Direct payments to transportation service providers when a signed agreement is not required Enter employee or non-employee beneficiaries of payment, if appropriate --

Visitor Reimbursements are limited to the following categories regardless of dollar value. When creating a new expense report for Non-SU Payee (Visitor Reimbursement), begin on the General Information screen by choosing the correct category based on the descriptions below. Visitors may be reimbursed for eligible out-of-pocket travel expenses and other eligible expenses.

Description
Athletics Use Only
Non-SU
Used only by the Athletics department for the reimbursement of visitor travel expenses
Expenses (Domestic U.S.)
Non-SU

Used to reimburse visitors for travel expenses in which both the origination and destination locations are within the U.S.

  • Travel is completely within the U.S.
Expenses (Foreign)
Non-SU

Used to reimburse visitors for travel expenses where the origination and/or destination locations are outside the U.S.

  • Travel includes an origination and/or destination location outside the U.S.
Human Subjects
Non-SU
 To reimburse Non-SU Payees for out-of pocket funds used for incentive payments to human subjects, or for human subject travel expenses

 

Expense Reports are used to report business and travel expenses (including TCard and receipt-based expenses) for the purpose of expense approval, and the allocation of expenses to the appropriate Project, Task, Award, and Expenditure Type (PTAE). An expense report may also result in a reimbursement to the Payee for eligible out-of-pocket expenses.

Each expense report will fall into one of the categories listed below. When creating a new expense report for an SU Payee, begin on the General Information screen by choosing the correct category based on the descriptions below.

Category Description
Athletics Use Only Used only by the Athletics department
Expenses (Domestic U.S.)
  • Travel expenses for which both the origination and destination locations are within the U.S.
  • Goods used in the U.S.
  • Services provided or consumed in the U.S.

See below for additional guidelines

Expenses (Foreign)
  • Travel expenses for which either or both the origination or destination location (during any leg of a trip) is outside the U.S.
  • Goods used outside the U.S.
  • Services provided or consumed outside the U.S.

See below for additional guidelines

Human Resources Only Used only by Human Resources staff
Human Subjects To reimburse SU Payees for out-of pocket funds used for incentive payments to human subjects, or for human subject travel expenses
Relocation Expenses related to employee relocation

Additional Guidelines for Determining Domestic vs Foreign Transactions

  Foreign Expense Domestic Expense Category
Travel Origin or destination (any leg) outside the U.S. Origin and destination inside the U.S. Expense Requests System > Expense Report
Goods (Paid for out of pocket) Used outside the U.S. Used inside the U.S. Expense Requests System > Expense Report
Services Provided or consumed outside the U.S. Provided or consumed inside U.S.

Expense Requests System > Non-PO Payment

– or –

iProcurement > Purchase Requisition/PO

Domestic Expense:

  • Travel is completely within the U.S.
  • If travel is not involved:
    • Expenses for goods purchased for use in the U.S.
    • Expenses for services provided or consumed in the U.S.

Foreign Expense:

  1. First, determine if the expense is during foreign travel – that is, the origination location or the destination location, during any leg of a trip, is outside the U.S.
    • If yes, the travel expenses and any other expenses (e.g., honoraria, conference registration, goods and services purchased, regardless of where they are used, provided or consumed) incurred or paid as a result of the trip are considered Foreign Transactions.
    • If no (not foreign travel-related), then go on to Step 2.
  2. Second, determine if goods are used, or services provided or consumed outside the U.S.
    • If yes, it is a Foreign Transaction.
    • If no, it is a Domestic Transaction.

This How-To offers instructions on how to itemize travel and business expenses when creating an expense report. The procedures apply to both TCard charges and out-of-pocket expenses. This How-To also covers how to itemize a partially personal TCard charge (specifying the portion of the charge that is business and the portion that is personal).

Itemize Expenses or Itemize a Partially Personal TCard Transaction

  1. Click Details for the expense line on the Transaction Lines or Travel Card Expenses screen
  2. Click Itemize
  3. Change the Itemized Receipt Amount field to the dollar amount of the business portion of the expense
  4. Enter description in the Remarks
  5. Click Add Another Row and repeat the process to itemize other business portions of the expense Any remaining amount not put on an itemized line will show as Personal Expenses.

See Demo: Itemize a Partially Personal TCard Transaction

When payments or incentives are made to a non-resident alien, tax withholding rules apply. The human subject or the Department must pay the 30% Federal withholding tax at the time the money is disbursed. See details and examples in the Topic Overview: Paying Human Subjects.

Each Supplier / Payee will have a default Payment Method of either Check or Electronic (ACH / Direct Deposit) in the database.

When Check is the default, Special Payment Types (Foreign Draft, Wire Domestic, and Wire Foreign) can be chosen, and additional delivery options are available for checks and foreign drafts.

  1. Select Rush Processing (Yes or No) (a fee applies if Yes selected)
  2. Select Special Payment Type
    • None if payment method should remain Check
    • Wire Domestic for electronic wire transfer to a US bank (additional fee applies)
    • Wire Foreign for electronic wire transfer to a foreign bank (additional fee applies)
  3. Select Delivery Option (for Check only)
    • US Mail (to Payee Address)
    • Redwood City (RWC) Will Call (available for Rush Processing only – to Redwood City campus, University Hall, 1st floor, Transaction Services U101, 485 Broadway Street, Redwood City, CA 94063)
    • Alternate SU Address (to a Stanford address you enter – e.g. your Stanford address if you want to deliver the check yourself, or mail to a payee address other than the one displayed for the payee)
  4. Enter Payment CurrencyExpense Amount and Expense Currency (for Wire Foreign only)
    1. Select Payment Currency (currency to be used to pay the payee) (see information icon for help with filling out these fields)
    2. Enter Expense Amount (total payment amount in Expense Currency)
    3. For Non-USD payment currency, convert expense amount to estimated USD when entering Transaction Line.
    4. Select Expense Currency – currency used to express the Expense Amount
  5. Select WIRE Account (for Wire Domestic for existing payees only)
    • If wire account is on file, select the wire account from the dropdown list
    • If a new wire account must be set up, select Need New Account Setup and enter the email address for the supplier/payee or the Authorized Agent who can provide the account information Supplier Enablement will use the email to contact the supplier or Authorized Agent for the new account number.

  1. Select Rush Processing (Yes or No) (a fee applies if Yes selected) When Electronic is the default, the Payment Method cannot be changed to Check, and Special Payment Types and Delivery Options are not available.
Last Updated: Oct 17, 2023

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