Grant Financial Services
In helping to manage the finances of grant-funded projects, the Grants Team will help review the allowability and allocability of all purchases on grant accounts. For further information, please visit the pages below:
FSO’s policy guidelines for state, local, and sponsored accounts
Administrative information for research projects
A note about UAFinancials: in order to access UAFinancials, your connection must be secure. This means that you must be using a physical connection to catnet like an ethernet cable, be logged into UAWifi, or be using a VPN. If you’re unsure what this means and need help, please contact COE Tech Support.
PCard Procedures
PCards, or Purchasing Cards, are credit cards for University business purposes that bill to a specific account. They can be used to purchase supplies for a grant without using purchasing orders and reimbursements. Per University financial policy, PCard purchases are limited to $10,000 including fees. The Grants Management Team limits individual purchases to a maximum of $3,000, but you can request to make a larger purchase in advance if needed.
The Grants team has a PCard that can be used by any grant within the College to make an allowable purchase; to do so, please make an appointment with your Portfolio Coordinator, as the PCard cannot leave our office.
Read the University’s guidelines for PCard use.
An expenditure is considered reasonable if: 1) the nature of the goods or services acquired and the amount involved reflect the actions of a prudent person under the circumstances, 2) the expenditure is appropriate given the purpose of the University, and 3) reimbursement for or direct payment of the expenditure is not otherwise disallowed by any University policy.
Some types of travel expenses (e.g., airline tickets, conference fees) can be charged to a PCard. Others (e.g., gasoline in a personal vehicle, meals while traveling, hotels) cannot. Consult with your Portfolio Coordinator to determine what will best fit your needs.
Some grants don’t allow for this kind of expense - get prior approval from your Portfolio Coordinator. If you can charge business meetings to your grant, your Portfolio Coordinator will need an agenda, a list of attendees, and an itemized receipt in order to authorize the transaction.
If participant support is an approved part of your grant’s budget, the PCard can be used. Work with your Portfolio Coordinator to ensure that all necessary documentation is completed promptly. You will be asked to provide a list of participants, a detailed business purpose, an itemized receipt, and other documentation as needed.
Travel Expense Procedures
You may need to travel for grant-related purposes, perhaps to a conference or in order to visit a site.
International travel, if not originally included in the grant budget, must have prior Program Officer approval. This approval must be given in writing to the Fiscal Officer (Margo Sallet) for international travel to be authorized.
All travel will also require a fully approved travel authorization prior to departure. Your Portfolio Coordinator can assist you in this process.
As soon as the trip is over. Examples of necessary documentation may include original receipts for purchases (e.g., airline tickets or Uber rides), odometer readings for travel in a personal vehicle, itemized receipts for hotel stays, etc. Ask your Portfolio Coordinator ahead of time what they’ll need from you. Receipts received 60 days or more after the charge was incurred may be considered non-qualified and become taxable income to the employee.
We would be happy to! Contact your Coordinator as soon as possible so they can help research the most cost-efficient accommodations.
Yes, if travel is university-related business, a travel authorization is mandatory.
Yes, if the conference is included in the budget and authorized. If the conference is not included in the budget justification, talk with your Portfolio Coordinator about your options.
Generally no, unless the membership fee is required in order to register for a conference. However, the fact that the registration cost might be cheaper for members does not mean that the membership fee is required in order to register. If the membership period exceeds the life of the grant AND is required to register for a conference, the membership fee must be prorated. For example, if the grant ends on 6/30 and the membership period is from 1/1-12/31, reimbursement can only be for 50% of the membership cost.
A Travel Advance is a disbursement of funds prior to travel, based on an estimate of the trip’s cost. Oftentimes, a Travel Advance is used to remove the burden of paying for travel expenses and waiting for reimbursement upon return. Travel Advances should be requested a minimum of 2 weeks before your trip, and must include an itemized estimate of costs.
Much like requesting a travel reimbursement, all documentation should be presented to your Portfolio Coordinator as soon as you return from your trip, but no later than 5 days after. If further reimbursement is required for costs exceeding the amount of the advance, it will be processed exactly like a travel reimbursement. If there are unused funds from the Travel Advance, they will be due immediately upon return.
Federal guidelines require sponsor approval prior to any international travel. There are many procedures to be followed in advance to an international trip, including ITAR, export control, etc. Read more on the international travel policies.
Your portfolio coordinator will be able to wlak you through this process as well as agency specific requirements such as the Fly America Act. Please note that it can take up to 2 months for all approvals of international travel to finalize. Pleae work with your coordinator early in the process to ensure smooth progression.
Operational Advances
An operational advance is a cash advance that can be requested to facilitate payment for both participants and subjects of grant-funded research. Please work with your Portfolio Coordinator to obtain the Promissory Note and specific instructions on administering the stipends. A copy of the IRB’s approval letter is required. Please work with your portfolio coordinator to discuss various options in administering participant and subject pay in light of the current Covid-19 environment.
Read FSO’s operational advance policies.
If the amount paid is under $50 in a calendar year, you’ll need only their name and signature (or the name/signature of their legal guardian).
If the amount paid is over $50, you’ll need to record their address and social security number in addition to their name and signature.
REDCap is a secure, online database that can be used to collect and record this information as an alternative to hard copy receipts.
At minimum, receipts should be turned into your Portfolio Coordinator every 60 days. Funds can be replenished at that time if needed.
The employee who signed the Promissory Note is responsible for the funds. If receipts cannot be provided and the expiration date of the Promissory Note has passed, the University will make all attempts to contact you prior to garnishing wages. This method of reconciling is frowned upon and may result in a loss of future operational advance privileges.
Prior approval from either IRB or Accounts Payable is required in writing. Please work with your portfolio coordinator to determine acceptable payment methods and documentation.
Upon completion, final receipts must be turned in to your Portfolio Coordinator with any unused funds, in the form of a check or money order.