Travel, Purchasing, Account Set-up/Monitoring

Main email: eeb_finance@cornell.edu

Account Set-up: Notify EEB Finance immediately of new awards, donation/gift, internal transfer or any other source of funding income that you have or will receive. An accountant will advise you of the account number and the F&A and fringe attributes upon set-up. 

Pre-award account set-up may be available under the following circumstances: the funding agency allows pre-award expenditures, and the faculty member has adequate uncommitted discretionary funds available until the formal award is received. 

Financial Monitoring: Accountants perform a bi-monthly review of all transactions for accuracy and compliance. All account owners are required to review all transactions monthly for accuracy.  If charges are inaccurate (charged to wrong project, salaries don’t align with effort, item is unallowable, etc.), please contact EEB Finance immediately. Account activity can be accessed from the following links (contact EEB Finance for guidance):  PI Dashboard and Webfin2

Accountants provide all account owners with account statements for all active accounts on a quarterly basis.  They will work closely with account owners to confirm all on-going financial commitments in order to provide an accurate projection of account balances. 
 

Purchasing

• Services: Obtain quote/invoice for all services procured. Services rendered off campus may be placed on Pcards if within transaction limit. Obtain appropriate Contract for Services for individuals or entities performing work. Email, contact name, and address are needed for a purchase order. For agreements go to https://www.dfa.cornell.edu/procurement/tools-forms/forms/contracts.
• Event Space and Catering: An addendum for Facility Contract Agreement is needed (dfa.cornell.edu/procurement/buyers/commodities/catering)
• Pcard Limits: Requestor $500; EEB Admin $1,500; BSC $10,000 (see your accountant). A purchase order must be established for services above Pcard limit.

Supplies: Utilize Cornell preferred vendors for all supply orders if available through e-SHOP. Pcards may be utilized for supply orders when items are not available through e-SHOP. Purchase orders must be established for all capital equipment items above $5k and/or for vendors that don’t accept credit cards.

Sole Source Justification: Required for all transactions over $25,000 ($10,000 for federally funded contracts).  For information and form go to:  Sole Source Justification Link. *Note that all original itemized receipts must be obtained along with a detailed business purpose for all types of procurement items.
 

Concur: Work with EEB Finance to set up profile and upload travel applications to smartphone.  Make flight and hotel arrangements through Concur and use ExpenseIt app to send electronic receipts directly to your Concur profile. Corporate travel card available for eligible personnel; no personal liability and no out of pocket expenses; typically for faculty however non-faculty frequent travelers may be considered.

General Travel Guidelines

• Discuss all trip details with EEB Finance prior to making travel arrangements. Accountants will complete a travel schedule for Sally. 
• Adhere to Fly America guidelines for all federally funded travel.
• All meals reimbursed on a per diem basis for overnight travel. Receipts are required for day trips. Do not use corporate travel card to pay for meals and do not submit receipts with reimbursement package. *The only exception is with Hosted Meals. For the payment of business meals, the business purpose must include a list of the attendees, a detailed business purpose, as well as an itemized receipt with details of the order and confirmation of payment. Receipts are required if accidentally charged to corporate travel card.
• If a business trip includes any personal travel whatsoever within the duration of the trip then rate differentials for airfare and hotels must be determined and back-up documentation must be created prior to making arrangements. Back-up must be submitted with the reimbursement request upon completion of the trip. Contact EEB Finance prior to making arrangements for guidance.   
• You must complete the travel reimbursement checklist and submit to EEB Finance along with all required back-up documentation before any reimbursement can be processed. Even if there were no out of pocket expenses you must submit all relevant receipts as a reimbursement still needs to be processed through the system to record the expense and clear all accounting entries related to the travel. Copies of all agendas are required. If there wasn't an agenda, a note should be added to the reimbursement checklist. Hotel agendas are required. 
• Travel should be submitted within 60 days of completion to EEB Finance, per Cornell policy. 
• Travel reimbursements must be fully approved and processed within 6 months of the travel conclusion to avoid the trip from becoming a taxable event for the traveler.
   

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Travel Portal– Resources to aid travelers with bookings, compliance, discount rates, travel alerts, etc…

University Policy 3.2– Travel Expenses

University Policy 3.18– Charging Directly to Sponsored Projects Costs Normally Indirect

University Policy 3.14– Business Expenses (including definition of allowable and unallowable expenses) 

University Policy 3.20– Cost Transfers on Sponsored Agreements

University Policy 3.25– Procurement of Goods and Services

University Procurement Services Buying Manual