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Accessing Internal & Revenue Funds
All financial transactions for student organizations that utilize internal and revenue funds are managed through Campus Groups (external accounts are not part of Campus Groups). Both the President and Treasurer of each organization are given access to the Treasury section by default. Treasurers and Presidents are required to undergo annual training on the financial operations within Campus Groups and the specific policies governing use of funds. Completion of financial training is required by September 30 each year to maintain access to funds. Officers are strongly encouraged to complete training before spending funds, when possible.
Payment from Internal Funds
To utilize internal funds, a payment request must be completed in Campus Groups under the "Budgeting" section of the Money tab in your portal. Please note that payment is made directly to vendors; students cannot be reimbursed for student organization related expenses, except travel.
Submission Timelines
Additionally, all of the payment types below take at least four weeks of notice to process, but up to six weeks of notice depending on the nature of the payment.
- Payment requests for Purchase Orders and Purchasing Card expenses must be submitted at least four weeks before your item or service is needed.
- Payment requests for travel must be submitted at least six weeks prior to the travel date.
- Payment requests for Diner's Club expenses must be submitted at least six weeks before your item or service is needed.
Internal funds must be spent as budgeted. If an organization wishes to spend internal funds in a way other than budgeted a Reallocation Request must be completed first. The Student Government Association Finance Committee must approve reallocation when the amount being reallocated exceeds 25% of the organization's budget. Requests are cumulative, so all requests count toward the 25% cap and once the cap is reached, future requests require approval from the board.
NOTE: Sometimes requests require additional funds (shipping or unknown fees, for example). In these cases, CSEI can spend up to 10% over the orginal amount of the payment request. If the cost of your request exceeds the original amount by more than 10%, your request will be rejected and you will need to submit a new payment request. If funds are not available, your group will need to reallocate.
Payment from Revenue Funds
To utilize revenue funds, a payment request must be completed in Campus Groups under the "Budgeting" section of the Money tab in your portal. Revenue payment requests also involve the extra step of creating a one-time budget item for the expense. Please see the step-by-step guide for revenue payments for additional instructions on that step. Please note that payment is made directly to vendors; students cannot be reimbursed for student organization related expenses, except travel.
Types of Payments
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Purchase Order Payments
Purchase Order (PO) payments are used when an organization needs to pay a vendor that has agreed to the State of Maryland’s 6-8 week payment timeline and had provided an itemized, tax-exempt invoice for the goods or services rendered.
PO payments need to be placed in advance of an event or order so that the purchase order itself can be provided to the vendor as proof of forthcoming payment. Please place such requests four weeks in advance of the event. In these instances the PO will generally be processed for payment once the goods or services are actually received.
For PO payments, be sure you have the proper vendor (payee) name and address, the exact amount of the expenditure, and the tax ID number (FEIN or SNN) of the vendor. Please upload any invoices or contracts to the Payment Request. Remember, contracts will need to be reviewed and signed by the Procurement Office. Students may not sign contracts on behalf of the University or student organizations.return to payment types | return to top
Purchasing Card Payments
Purchasing Card (P-Card) payments should be submitted when your organization wishes to order from an online vendor or a vendor who will accept phone-or-fax-based credit card payments. The vendor involved must recognize the University’s tax-exempt status. Certain types of vendors are not eligible due to state regulations, this generally includes vendors classified as entertainment, accommodation/hotel/hospitality, transportation, or as a restaurant/caterer by the IRS.
P-Card payment requests should be placed at least four weeks in advance of the date goods/services are needed. It is advisable to allow extra time for delivery of goods (especially from online vendors), customized and imprinted items, and vendors whose classification eligibility may be in doubt.
P-Card requests should include a detailed list of the items and quantities to be purchased, including (for web orders) links (URLs) that direct to the specific products on the vendor’s website, whenever possible. Please do not send links to completed “carts” or login information to an account on the vendor’s site. For telephone or fax orders, upload appropriate invoices and order forms to Campus Groups.
When entering the requested amount for a P-Card payment, be sure to account for shipping and price fluctuations which may occur between the time of list submission and order placement. CSEI will allow a variance of 10% above the requested amount before requiring re-approval of the request. If necessary, you may make an appointment (once all approvals are complete) to sit with the CSEI staff member who is placing your order, so that any questions can be resolved immediately.
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Travel Reimbursement Payments
Travel-related expenses require additional time to process and require significant planning on the part of the organization. Travel-related expenses are the only expenses for which a student may be reimbursed. A Travel Reimbursement payment request should be submitted whenever an organization agrees to reimburse an individual’s transport fare (e.g. airfare, train fare), parking, toll fees, mileage, registration fees, hotel, or food. The expenses must related to an organization sponsored or approved event and the individual being reimbursed must provide appropriate, itemized receipts for the requested reimbursement.
A state expense form must accompany all travel reimbursement requests. The form should be signed by the individual requesting reimbursement and the president or treasurer of the organization (under immediate supervisor). The SSN of the person being reimbursed is required. Once completed and signed, the form should be uploaded to the Campus Group request along with all receipts. CSEI will sign in the final approval space when processing the payment.
Note that for students reimbursed from organization funds, meal reimbursement may be claimed up to the appropriate per-diem rate for the meal period involved, however itemized receipts totaling at least the amount claimed must be included. Alcoholic beverages cannot be reimbursed.
Travel reimbursement requests should be submitted within five (5) business days of the conclusion of the travel to allow ample time for processing, approvals, and any corrections that may be needed. It is essential that submission of reimbursement requests is timely, as requests that are out of date cannot be processed. CSEI reserves the right to deny any reimbursement request for travel that occurred more than thirty (30) days prior to the request date and/or for travel that occurred in a prior fiscal year. Reimbursement can take up to eight (8) weeks from completion of all approvals.
Note: For any student organization travel request (in state or out of state), an officer of the requesting organization must meet with a CSEI Team member prior to paying for or booking any travel. Payment requests must be received at least 6 weeks prior to travel date. Late or incomplete requests may be denied. Any travel that has been paid for prior to submitting a payment request or that does not align with CSEI policy on student organization travel may not be honored by CSEI for payment and will become the responsibility of the purchaser.
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Transfer Payments
A Transfer Request should be completed when an organization needs to provide funds to a campus office or department. This includes paying a UB office for services or supplies received (such as security or facilities costs) and providing funds to co-sponsor an event for which an office or department originally paid. Transfer requests may not be used to transfer money between student organizations.
Be sure to upload the invoice for the transaction, even if your funds are only paying part of it. If you were provided an IDB (inter-departmental billing) form for the transaction, upload that as well. CSEI will complete the appropriate chart fields for your organization on the IDB if they are missing.
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Diner’s Club Payments
A Diner’s Club Request is used when an organization needs to purchase goods or services from a vendor that requires payment upfront, but the vendor is not eligible for a P-Card request due to its IRS classification. Examples include movie, theater, and sporting event tickets, hotel rooms, food, and certain types of transportation.
Diner’s Club requests are not intended to replace PO requests that were not submitted in a timely manner. In fact, it is best to allow a minimum of six weeks advance notice to complete Diner’s Club transactions due to the complexity of the request and approval process involved and the need for another campus office to physically complete the transaction. (At a minimum, requests must be placed four weeks in advance.)
It is important that organizations research vendors and expenditures appropriately before placing a Diner’s request. If a vendor is willing to accept a PO or eligible to accept P-Card payment, the Diner’s request will be cancelled and a new request will need to be started from the beginning of the process. Complete and detailed information is also essential, including train/flight numbers (not just times) for fare-related expenses, specific contact information for phone-related transactions, and specific URLs for web-related transactions. Missing information can cause a Diner’s request to be delayed or cancelled.