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Expense Reimbursements

Employee Expense Reimbursements

Visitor Expense Reimbursements

Special Non-resident Visitor Considerations

Reimbursement from Petty Cash

Resources

Contact Information

 

Employee Expense Reimbursements

It is the policy of Northwestern University (NU) to reimburse NU faculty and staff and to pay outside vendors for necessary, appropriate, and approved travel, entertainment & courtesy, and other expenditures required to advance the academic mission of the University.  In order to obtain reimbursement for personal funds expended, and to account for any amounts expended using a travel advance, all expenses must be documented on the NUFinancials Expense Report which can be accessed via the NUPortal.

Upon completion, the Expense Report should be submitted to Accounts Payable for processing.  A complete Expense Report must include:

  • Original detailed receipts or other acceptable documentation for all expenses submitted on the Expense Receipts page(s) of the Expense Report
  • An Expense Policy Exception Request if any expense submitted for reimbursement is not in accordance with University policy
  • An employee check to Northwestern University for a refund of any unspent portion of a non-corporate card advance
  • All required signatures and approvals including ASRSP approval for sponsored project expenses

Refer to the Job Aid: Expenses Quick Entry Sheet to review the steps in the NUFinancials Expense Report process.

Reimbursement will be made via the employee’s normal payroll payment method, either direct deposit to the employee’s primary payroll bank account or by check.  For special situations, an employee may contact Accounts Payable to request a check rather than a direct deposit reimbursement.

Visitor Expense Reimbursements

It is the policy of Northwestern University (NU) to reimburse individuals who are not University faculty or staff, but who have incurred expenses for University-approved, business-related expenses, including transportation, lodging, and other travel or non-travel costs.

  • guest lecturers or researchers,
  • consultants,
  • prospective faculty or staff 
  • non-employee students
The department/school is responsible for informing the visitor of the University's expense reimbursement policies prior to his/her incurring of expenses, providing the visitor with the Visitor’s Expense Report form to document expenses, collecting from the visitor the vendor information required for processing the reimbursement, and having all visitor forms properly completed and processed. 
Follow these steps to reimburse a visitor for expenses:
  • The visitor provides vendor information, completes the Visitor’s Expense Report form, attaches all original detailed receipts, and submits the information to the department.
  • The department determines if the visitor vendor information already exists in NUFinancials.  Refer to NUFinancials training materials, Submit Request to Add/Update Vendor for details on looking up a vendor.
  • If the vendor is not in NUFinancials, the vendor information must be added.  Scan receipts and/or the completed Visitor’s Expense Report form to be attached to the vendor code request entered through the NUPortal.  Refer to NUFinancials training materials, Submit Request to Add/Update Vendor for details on adding or modifying a vendor.
  • The W-9 form is not required for reimbursements/refunds, unless the visitor will be reimbursed more than once. (The W-9 is required for individuals for payment of services, a speaker fee or an honorarium.)
  • Once the new vendor code has been processed, Accounting Services will send an e-mail containing the new vendor code to the individual who requested the new vendor.
  • The department submits the original approved and signed Visitor’s Expense Report form, receipts for all expenses, and an Expense Policy Exception Request for any expense submitted for reimbursement that is not in accordance with University policy to ASRSP (for sponsored projects) or to Accounts Payable for reimbursement to the visitor. 
  • Accounts Payable accepts scanned/attached signatures and documentation to the online voucher.   If a department does not have scanning capabilities original documentation may be submitted via campus mail.
  • Grant-related expenses and documentation must go to ASRSP for review and approval first before routing to Accounts Payable.
  • Reimbursement will be made via check to the visitor.

 

Important Note

For the Visitor’s Expense Report  scanned/attached signatures and supporting documents are preferred and acceptable. See http://cafe.northwestern.edu/training/materials.html

Type of Payment Request
Uses
Submission Method
Signatures Needed
Original?
Documentation Needed
Original?
Visitor's Expense Report Reimbursement of individuals who are not university faculty and staff, but who have incurred expenses for university approved, business related expenses, including transportation and lodging Online Voucher with attached electronic documentation Visitor, Department, Dean, or Principal Investigator, as necessary, on form, then NUFinancials workflow approvals related to chart string
no
 receipts or other support for expense
no

 

Important Note about Payment to Individuals

  • It is recommended to use the Contracted Services form, online voucher and paper form, for all honoraria.
  • If payments to an individual (honoraria or otherwise) total $600 or more in any calendar year, the IRS requires the University to issue a 1099 tax form to the individual.  To issue the 1099 tax form, the University needs the information collected when requesting a Vendor ID.  For more information on adding a vendor: http://www.northwestern.edu/financial-operations/policies-procedures/purchasing/purchasingviewvendors.html
  • Because it may be difficult for departments to know if an individual has received payments from other areas of the University to track if the cumulative payments have reached $600, it is recommended to collect and submit all necessary information for the Vendor ID.  Accounts Payable will distribute a 1099 tax form, as required.

Tips on Supporting Documentation

  • It is recommended that original documentation not submitted to Accounts Payable should be retained by departments for 3 years for audit purposes.
  • A Contracted Services Form, fully completed and signed, can serve as sole documentation, if appropriate.
  • PRS will be part of workflow approvals for all vouchers over 25K.
  • PRS will still require BD-1 or SSJ for Direct Payment Requests over 25K.

Scanning Tips

  • The recommended file format is .TIF and .PDF with a resolution of 200x200 DPI. 
  • You may attach one or more docs totaling no more than 1 MB file size.
  • Manage scanned documentation for file size and legibility.  Illegible files will be returned by Accounts Payable.
  • Clear adhesive tape should not be placed on top of important information when prepping for sending or scanning.  Scanners and fax machines do not read through clear adhesive tape, thus anything under the tape, while legible to the human eye, is not legible to the scanner/fax. (ex. do not tape over cash register receipts as the print disappears.)
  • Receipts with faint print should be copied and darkened for scanning.
  • Tape small receipts to an 8 ½ x 11 white sheet of paper.
  • Be sure to tape all four sides to white paper.
  • Do not use dark-colored highlighters to mark names, invoice numbers or important information.  The highlights scan as blacked out.
  • Do black out sensitive information such as Social Security Numbers.
  • Make sure no staples are used.  Those can damage the scanner.

Special Non-resident Visitor Considerations

non-resident independent contractor travel reimbursement is via Payroll when travel expenses are being paid in addition to an honorarium or a speaker fee.

Reimbursement from Petty Cash

No single expenditure of more than $100 may be reimbursed through the petty cash fund.  Amounts in excess of $100 must be reimbursed using an Expense Report.  Petty cash disbursements may be made for:

  • Emergency purchases
  • Freight, C.O.D.s, postage due
  • Authorized local travel or entertainment under $100
  • Payment of research participants up to $100 cumulative for the calendar year (with prior grant authorization from Accounting Services for Research and Sponsored Programs (ASRSP)).
  • Food purchases under $100 (note that tax is not reimbursable)
  • Card Sale refunds up to $25 each

An employee seeking reimbursement from petty cash should fill out a Petty Cash Pay-Out Form and submit it to the fund custodian with original detailed receipts.  The custodian will make the payout directly to the employee for approved requests.

Procedures for petty cash funds including fund custodian responsibilities are outlined in Cash Handling Policies & Procedures.

Resources

  • http://www.northwestern.edu/financial-operations/policies-procedures/forms/policy_exception.pdf

Contact Information

Questions about…

Processing of Employee and Visitor Expense Reports and reimbursements?

Contact Guy Wilson, Manager of Accounts Payable, at gwilson@northwestern.edu or 847-491-4445

Allowable expenses for sponsored programs?
Contact Jany Raskina, ASRSP, at y-raskina@northwestern.edu or 847-491-4697

Contact Angie Gwinn, HR Tax Compliance Supervisor, at 847-491-7204 or a-gwinn@northwestern.edu

Vendor maintenance?
Contact Elizabeth Gladic, Accounting Services Transaction Processing, at 847-491-5338 or e-gladic@northwestern.edu

Petty cash?
Contact Polina Khait of Accounting Services at 847-491-3870 or p-khait@northwestern.edu, Depository Services at 847-491-5790, or Accounting Services at 847-491-5337