Funding & Spending

Please contact isefinance@vt.edu for guidance as needed.

When you need to buy something...

Rule 1 - Never buy equipment, supplies, software, or other non-travel related items on your own expecting reimbursement. Purchasing policies and procedures do not support this activity. The only time you can pay and expect reimbursement is for meals and other allowable expenses while in travel status, all of which will be reimbursed based on the university policies and procedures.

Rule 2 - Always submit a purchasing request and the finance team will make the purchase on your behalf through the Virginia Tech electronic procurement system.

Rule 3 - If the finance team cannot make the purchase through the Virginia Tech electronic procurement system (i.e. the vendor does not accept a Virginia Tech purchase order) the finance team will buy the item on a Virginia Tech purchasing card.

Purchasing Form

What does it all mean?

For a better understanding of the different funding sources, please view The Color of Money Handout (designed and owned by the Fiscal Training Program).

The Colors of Money.pdf

Allowed on E&G

External Seminar Speakers (Honorarium payments)
Supplies and Materials
Travel
Food
Publications

Not Allowed on E&G

Scholarships & Fellowship Payments
Donations
Flowers
Alcohol
Personal Expenses

E&G resources may only be used to cover food when prior approval by the Controller’s Office is provided. Contact the ISE Finance & Operations Team (isefinance@vt.edu) to obtain food approval.

For costs to be supported on E&G funds, the event must include a form of programmatic activity/content. In addition, any tangible items received by the event goers must be less than $10 per recipient. For tangible items exceeding $10, Virginia Tech Foundation funds will be used to support the initiative.

If approved and purchased, receipts must be submitted to isefinance@vt.edu within 10 business days of the event in order to comply with prompt pay procedures. Receipts submitted after this timeframe will not be reimbursed. Departments, or individuals, will be responsible for these amounts.

If unclear as to whether an expense is allowable or if there are concerns about resource balances, please contact the ISE Finance and Operations Team and we will work with the Controller’s Office to navigate discussion on your behalf.

Event Planning/Conferences

Invoices: Many vendors/restaurants will invoice Virginia Tech for meals/events directly and isefinance@vt.edu is happy to engage with any vendor/restaurant to guide conversation and action needed. When invoices include alcohol, those charges are separated out and funded on a VTF fund on the back end.
Reimbursements: If you incur unavoidable personal expenses from a meal or event, isefinance@vt.edu will submit your reimbursement request within 2 business days of receipt. The Controller’s Office procedure requires payment within 10 days of receipt of a reimbursement request once received by their unit.
Contracts: Every contract coming in to the university must be reviewed by legal counsel before signature, requiring an ample amount of lead time. The terms and conditions in contracts provided are often not acceptable to VT, requiring legal counsel to review/negotiation, and in compliance with the university signature authority policy.
Options: With advance notice, the finance team can likely find a workable option to support desired events (i.e. vendor establishment and invoice, travel advance depending on eligibility, Bank of America corporate travel card).

Having an individual cover any expenses is always the last resort.

FAQ's

How do I hire a wage employee? Complete a Wage Position Request which will prompt the ISE Finance and Operations Team to take wage hiring action.
Can the department sign a vendor contract? If the vendor is in HokieMart, Virginia Tech can issue a Purchase Order off hte quote and the VT terms and conditions will apply. The quote can be submitted through a Purchase Request in the ISE HUB. The PO will then be routed to the vendor for fulfillment.
Can I purchase Polo shirts with my lab's logo for my grad students? The shirts for students are only allowable on state funds if they are part of a required uniform that they must wear for the department. Otherwise they are considered gifts and would need to be purchased on VTF funding.
Can I provide financial support for professional society's event (best paper competition)? Financial support would be considered a donation which is not allowable. However, if we are paying a sponsorship for the event we could get that approved on state funds if we were receiving something in lieu of the sponsorship such as conference/event registrations, a booth or table to promote ISE/VT, or other similar items.
Can I buy supplies for my project and be paid back? No. There are university purchasing procedures in place to prevent these types of transactions.

Catering

Questions regarding purchases or catering can be directed to the finance team.

If food is approved, per diem rates (maximum cost per person) will apply for meals. Meal per diem is the sum of the cost of food, tax, and gratuity divided by the number of attendees. Costs in excess of per diem will be funded on Virginia Tech Foundation resources. Rates:

Breakfast: $13
Lunch: $15
Dinner: $26

If hosting a business meal, please email the ISE Finance and Operations Team (isefinance@vt.edu) for rates.

20335r.pdf

Managing Purchasing

Purchasing in HokieMart

Purchases made in Hokiemart can be entered as a Shared Department request and charged directly to the ISE operating fund number. To do this, change the “Prepare for” user to (Last name) Department, (First Name) Shared. This will route the requisition to ISE finance for approval. Please make sure that all required documentation is attached in Hokiemart.

PCards and Travel

For purchases made on department PCards and Travel Reimbursements, charges can be entered into Chrome River and charged directly to the ISE fund number. They will be routed to the ISE finance team for approval.

Equipment

Supplemental insurance should be added whenever we ship equipment worth more than a couple hundred dollars for protecting against potential loss.

Catering in HokieMart

Catering requests made in Hokiemart can be entered as a Shared Department request and charged directly to the ISE operating fund number. To do this, change the “Prepare for” user to (Last name) Department, (First Name) Shared. This will route the requisition to the ISE finance team for approval. Please make sure that all required documentation is attached in Hokiemart.

Prior approval from Accounts Payable will be required. This should be done by adding a comment to the Requisition PRIOR TO COMPLETING THE ORDER.

- When in the search box choose to send this email to (First name) Catering (Last name) Approval. This will route the email to the group in AP who will be processing orders and giving you the needed approval.
- Comment should include the name of the event, business purpose and if there will be attendees outside of Virginia Tech.
- Once your comment has been added, you can complete the order as normal.
- Once AP has approved the order, the ISE finance team will approve the requisition.

Related Policies and Procedures

Please visit the Virginia Tech Policy Library for a comprehensive list of policies and procedures.

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