Purchasing & Spending
Purchasing and spending money is part of managing finances as a student organization. The Authorized Signers are responsible for the overall purchasing activity for the student organization. The Authorized Signers may not be the same as the individual that is planning events and initiatives for the organization, so it is very important that the Authorized Signers educate these members on the information, documentation, and receipts/invoices needed to pay for goods and services in a timely manner.
Defining Terms
When purchasing goods and services, you interact with suppliers, University entities, like the University Contracts Office, and more. Before you begin to spend or purchase prizes and gifts, you first need to understand the difference between goods and services, and their relationship to the suppliers.
- Goods refer to physical and tangible items.
- Services are when someone/something provides skills, support or labor.
- Suppliers are the people or businesses being paid for goods or services.
How can I purchase goods?
- P-card - University credit card that is held by SIT staff members for use by student organizations. A limited number of organizations are allocated their own cards based on their annual spending patterns.
- Purchase Order - Any purchase ≥ $5000 must be paid via Purchase Order. Any company that requires a check or bank transfer must be paid via purchase order
- On-Campus Purchase - On-campus vendor purchases, such as the Bookstore or Entropy
- JE Transfer - Electronic transfer of money between 2 on-campus accounts (ex. transfering money to another student org)
- Expense Reimbursement - Out of pocket purchases, receipts submitted for reimbursement
How can I purchase services?
- P-card
- General services like printing or small rentals
- Must cost less than $5,000
- Purchase Order - Any purchase ≥ $5000 must be paid via Purchase Order. Any company that requires a check or bank transfer must be paid via purchase order
- JE Transfer - Electronic transfer of money between 2 on-campus accounts (ex. transfering money to another student org)
- On-Campus Purchase - On-campus vendor services, such as an FMS work order, university catering services, or Media Tech
- Payroll - If a student has a job on campus, they can be paid for services from your org's funds through university payroll/Workday
Important Note: You CANNOT be reimbursed for services. A contract is REQUIRED for services provided on campus
Special Types of Purchases & Spending
In addition to the everyday spending your organization does, you may want to utilize additional spending options, like making Amazon purchases, capital and travel purchases, external donations, and even purchases like hazmat/hazardous materials and prizes/gifts/awards.
Make an Amazon Purchase
Make a Capital Purchase
Capital purchases are items, typically equipment or uniforms, that the organization expects to use for multiple fiscal years. Capital purchases are not transferred as part of your JFC allocation but are housed separately in the JFC Capital account. Organizations can request to spend from the Capital Account via the Common Funding Application.
Make an External Donation
JFC funds cannot be donated to external organizations and gift account funds cannot be donated to an external organization, unless that was the explicit reason the donation was made (eg Greek Sing donations made to a particular chapter). Organizations can donate revenues including ticket sales or other fundraing sales revenue.
To make a donation to an external organization, send a completed payment request form to Student Involvement and Traditions' Finance Team. A member of SIT's Finance team will confirm that your organization has funds that are eligible to donate.
Make a Travel Purchase
Make a Purchase with a CMU Vendor
When you make a purchase with a CMU vendor we can pay directly with your organization's Oracle string and avoid reimbursement queues and credit card fees that are associated with p-cards. Below is a list of CMU vendors where you can use your Oracle String for payment. Request your Oracle string to pay these vendors via the On-Campus Purchase Request form.
- CMU Catering/Chartwells - view the student catering menu for reduced price options for student organizations
- TartanInk printing and copying services
- Entropy convenience store
- Media Services
- CMU Bookstore
Pro Tip: many on-campus restaurants and coffee shops will also accept your Oracle string for payment and are convenient options for meeting and event food
Make a Hazmat/Hazardous Materials Purchase
Student Involvement and Traditions staff must be notified prior to making any hazardous material purchases. Student Involvement and Traditions partners with CMU’s Environmental Health & Safety department to ensure all hazmat purchases are shipped safely, accounted for, and stored properly. This helps the University to maintain safety on campus.
Hazardous materials include, but are not limited to: propane, epoxy, lighter fluid, acetone, aerosol sprays, paints and dyes, etc.
For questions about hazardous materials, please email the Student Involvement and Traditions Finance Team.
More Purchases & Spending Options
prizes/gifts/awards
Organizations are encouraged to meet with a Student Involvement and Traditions Finance Team member before giving out any prize to ensure paperwork and tax implications are clearly understood. There are different rules that apply for cash prizes, gift cards, and physical items - and organizations might choose to make decisions about prizes based on the processes required.
- Tangible gifts valued at under $100 (ex. a sweatshirt, small bluetooth speaker) may be awarded without creating tax implications for the recipient. It is recommended that organizations give out these types of prizes to minimize paperwork and turn around time.
- All Prizes, Gifts, or Awards will require the names of the winners to be submitted to the SIT office to ensure that there is no conflict of interest in how prizes and gifts are awarded.
- Any Prizes, Gifts, or Awards valued over $100 will require tax documents to be completed by the recipient to ensure that the recipient does not receive an amount that would be considered taxable income.
- Gift Cards and Cash of any value will require a tax form to be completed by the recipient so that if the recipient does receive taxable income, their information is available to report the taxable income. Failure to submit prize paperwork in a timely fashion will delay, or sometimes prevent, prizes from being paid.
raffles/drawings
Raffles: Under Pennsylvania state law, 50/50 raffles or raffles of any kind are prohibited without a license. Please contact the Student Involvement and Traditions Finance Team prior to your event if you plan to give away prizes or awards. Specific documentation may be required to ensure that the University remains compliant with the IRS tax law.
Drawings: If all participants have an equal statistical chance of winning, a drawing, not a raffle, may potentially be permitted. Orgs interested in doing a drawing should email the Student Involvement and Traditions Finance Team to ensure that the drawing is compliant with University policy.
Working with Suppliers
When possible, students should aim to use a supplier that the University has worked with before. Suppliers must have their information verified by the university before they can receive payments. To inquire whether a supplier is in our payment system, please email the Student Involvement and Traditions Finance Team with that supplier’s name. If the supplier is not in the database, then they will have to have their business and banking information verified by the university before a payment can be made via a system called PaymentWorks.
If a contract is required, organizations should try to work with suppliers who've negotiated a Master Service Agreement. These suppliers already have pre-established rates and terms with Carnegie Mellon University. Additionally, students can consider utilizing a supplier from the Supplier Diversity Program.
What is the timeframe for submitting a new supplier to the system?
It can take 4-6 weeks from the time supplier registration is submitted to establish a new supplier in the system. The 4-6 week timeframe allows the suppliers a sufficient amount of time to complete the registration via PaymentWorks and also allows Accounts Payable to verify tax information and banking information that is submitted before entering the supplier into our system.
If a supplier is already set up, they do not need to complete the supplier registration, unless it's been 1.5+ years since they've worked with the university. To find out if a supplier is already established, please email the the Student Involvement and Traditions Finance Team.
Contracts & Services
Contracts & the University Contracts Office (UCO)
Any service that is provided on campus or as part of any official Carnegie Mellon University-sponsored event must have an agreement that is signed and executed by an authorized university official.
The types of transactions that require a contract include:
- Entertainment Performance Agreement
- Consultant Agreement
- Professional Services Agreement
- Speakers Agreement(s)
- Hotel, Banquet and/or Conference Services Agreement
- Non-Disclosure Agreement
How long does it take to get a signed contract?
Does paying another CMU student for a service count as a contract? How do I pay another student?
The university does not contract with current students.
If you need to pay a current student for a service, please submit a Payment Request form to StudentOrgFinance@andrew.cmu.edu. If the student has a current job in WorkDay, they will be paid through university payroll. If they do not, then they will be asked to be set up as a verified supplier via the PaymentWorks registration process before the university can issue a payment to them.
