How to Use Your Funds

Pcard Request:

When student organizations are not able to pay for large purchases upfront, the student organization can request that the purchase be made with the OSA Pcard. The student organization is still responsible for the expense, but this process avoids student reimbursements. Due to processing time, please start this process at least two weeks before P-Card needs to be used. 

Criteria:

  • An authorized signer request the use of the Pcard
  • The use of the Pcard is dependent upon availability and is subject to change.
  • The purchase must be over $150 and under $5,000. 
  • The Pcard request must be completed at least 10 business days before the purchase is needed. 
  • Any materials purchased with the Pcard must be delivered to an on-campus address.
  • All receipts from the purchase must be sent to Katelyn Killewald at [email protected] as soon as they are received. Failure to send receipts in a timely manner could result in loss of future Pcard use.

Process:

  1. Email [email protected] with the p-card purchasing requests
  2. In the email, please add what the organization needs to be purchased, where the items are going to be shipped to, the total amount of the request, a phone number in case of questions, and the shortcode the money will be coming out of. 
  3. Due to COVID, the purchase will have to be approved by a Unit Head. Once approved, Katelyn will set up a quick Virtual meeting to make the purchase with the Pcard information. 

Travel Advance Funds Request:

Student organizations can request Travel Advance Funds for travel expenses incurred while away from Ann Arbor on an organizational activity. These funds come from the organization’s SOAS account and are processed through the Office of Student Affairs so that students do not have to personally cover large traveling costs upfront.  Please note that this process MUST be completed by an Authorized Signer. Due to processing time, please start at least two weeks before departure for advances under $5,000, and at least three weeks for advances over $5,000.

Process:

  1. Email Mariah Fiumara with a budget for your trip. This budget should include any expenses that the travel advance will need to cover.  A meeting with OSA and the person requesting the advance will then be scheduled.
  2. During the meeting, the budget and the travel advance process will be reviewed.
  3. If everything is in order, after the meeting the authorized signer will be entered into the university’s vendor system in order to receive the advance.
  4. Once the student has been authorized (this could take a few days) then they will be contacted to come to the office and pick up paperwork which they can then take to the credit union to receive the funds.  
  5. During the trip, the authorized user will be personally responsible for the advanced funds. This includes, controlling access to the funds, maintaining a ledger to show how the funds have been used, and keeping track of all itemized receipts for every purchase.
  6. Within two weeks of returning from the trip, the authorized user will return to the Office of Student Affairs the hard copies of the receipts, a digital PDF of the receipts, the digital ledger, and a list of trip participants.
  7. OSA will then reconcile the expenses. After the student and OSA have agreed on the final expense number, the student will return all unused funds via check.
  8. After the check from the unused funds has been processed the student will return to OSA to review the final reconciliation and sign. Then the student will transfer all of the used funds back to OSA through a SOAS transfer and send a screen capture of the transfer to OSA Staff.