TUC Expenditure Policies and Procedures

Policy/Procedure

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Advances

Though there is no significant change in the policy, please remember that all advances must be cleared prior to the end date of the project. The below link details procedure and rules on how to obtain an advance and clearing advances.

Advances

Signature Authority on a sponsored project or fund

A signature authorization form is required for each sponsored project and must be submitted prior to submitting expenditure or payment request to TUC. The link below details the use of the form and the levels of approval for different payment requests.

Signature Authority

Purchase Orders (PO)

An email was sent on November 9, 2023 regarding updated TUC Purchasing Policy. If you missed the communication, please visit this link TUC Purchasing Policy Update.

Additional to the notification sent last week, moving forward, all vendors must certify that they are in compliance with State of California Drug-Free Workplace Certification (STD. 21).

Independent Contractor

The procedure now requires :

Scope of work must explicitly and inclusively delineate all services expected of the independent contractor.
Request must also attach information pertaining to the Contractor’s expertise (e.g., curriculum vitae or resume of the contractor).
Requests must be submitted at least two (2) weeks prior to the expected dates of the services.

Any work performed by the contractor before a fully signed contract or agreement is executed can be considered as having been done at the contractor's own risk and as volunteer work. PIs are responsible to ensure that a fully executed contract or agreement is in place before the work is performed in any sponsored project. No contract work should be via TUC purchasing card or personal credit card.

TUC will be checking if a contractor is debarred or suspended prior to processing the request for independent contractor form.

Independent Contractor guidelines and form.

TUC Purchasing Card

TUC Purchasing Card Manual has been updated. Please note that non-PI cardholders must undergo a background check per CSU HR code 2017-17.

Hospitality

An email communication was sent out on September 11, 2023 stating the changes to the Hospitality policy.

Travel

Important reminders regarding travel:

Travelers must submit their travel claims via eTravel. The following exceptions may be done via paper form: expense claim with (1) multiple travelers; (2) multiple cost allocations; (3) allocated to a participant support account; and (4) only parking and mileage.
Agenda or program of the event must be attached to expense reports.
Travel Authorizations for domestic travel are required for all CSUN personnel/employees. Please see Travel Approval Procedures.
If asking for travel reimbursement, receipts are required for all expense line items of $75 or more.
Receipts are required for all travel charges expensed to a TUC P-card regardless of the amount.

Helpful links:
Travel Approval Procedures

Travel Guidelines

TUC Travel Quick Guide

Asset management in a sponsored project

Assets (equipment, communication, and computer devices) paid for by an externally funded grant or contract must be tagged for tracking purposes. The link below includes procedure on how items will be tagged depending on how they were purchased. List of assets will be shared with CSUN Asset Management, Financial Reporting, and Environmental Health and Safety departments.

Asset Management