Purchasing and Travel
Please note that all orders, requests for reimbursement, and balance inquiries should be directed to Angela Corless.
Purchasing Tips
- Always sign your orders/check requests/travel reports.
- Only charge research-related items to the grant.
- Please refer to the examples of allowable and unallowable expenses below. If in doubt, please check with the Training Grant Coordinator to see if costs are allowable.
- Sponsored Projects requires a 2-3 sentence scientific justification for general purpose items, such as computers.
- Please do not put off all of your purchasing until the end of the year. A large number of purchases and high-cost purchases at the end of the fund cycle raise red flags to internal/external auditors and SPA.
- Original, itemized receipts (credit card receipts are not acceptable) are required for all reimbursements.
Travel Tips
- Trips should be approved by both the trainee’s mentor and Program Director prior to travel arrangements being made. The Program Director’s approval is required on all travel expense reports.
- For airfare, US flag air carriers must be utilized. First-class airfare is not chargeable to the grant.
- Rental car insurance fees are not reimbursed by the University as the WUSM has a policy which covers rental cars. Rental car upgrades must be justified.
- Hotel fees should be for single rooms and taxes only. Multi-person rooms are allowed if this reduces costs for the trainee. Entertainment expenses such as in-room movies, etc... are not chargeable to the grant. Phone and internet expenses charged to the grant must be business-related.
- Fifty dollars/day for meal expenses is considered reasonable. A single meal expense exceeding $50 is not allowable on the grant. If a meal does exceed this amount, then the dollar amount over $50 must be charged to a department account (please provide).
- If costs for a hotel room or meal are being split between Washington University employees, please provide your Coordinator with the name, department, and Travel Expense Report number (or departmental contact) for the other employee(s).
- Original, itemized receipts (credit card receipts are not acceptable) are required for all reimbursements.
Examples of Allowable/Unallowable Expenses
| Allowable Expenses |
Unallowable Expenses |
| Animal expenses and clinical research participant reimbursements |
Entertainment expenses (staff meetings, alcohol, etc...) |
| Books |
First class travel |
| Chemicals, reagents, radionucleotides, etc... |
Membership dues or fees |
| Computers (must be purchased by January) |
Rental car insurance (University covers) |
| Equipment and maintenance contracts |
Travel on an international air carrier |
| Publication costs |
|
| Radioactive waste disposal |
|
Purchasing and Travel Forms
- Lab Requisition (PO) : use to purchase an item through the University (tax-exempt).
- Check Request: use to be reimbursed for an item that was already purchased (taxes on the item will not be reimbursed as the University is a tax-exempt institution).
- Travel Advance: use to have a check cut prior to a trip for travel-related items/services (airfare, car rental reservation, hotel, meal expenses).
- Travel Expense Report: use upon return from a trip (due within 15 days of the trip's end date) to document all travel expenses.
Policy References