General Finance Policies

• Check out the PCard with the Department Coordinator. 
• During the busy season, feel free to reserve the PCard in advance.
• Turn in all itemized receipts showing proof of payment and supporting documentation and include:
  • Complete business purpose (Who, What, When, Where, Why)
  • All Business Meal Limits (including food, tax, tip & alcohol) must adhere to policy, or will need to be paid back to the University:
    • Stanford requires that all alcohol limits be reasonable.
    • Department sponsored meals must be within our internal budget (outlined below under “Business Meals”). 
• For a complete list of what can be put on the PCard check here. If you are still unsure check in with the Department Coordinator or the Finance & Administration Manager first.

All receipts must be turned in within 2 days for PCard purchases.

• Turn in all receipts showing proof of payment to the Finance & Administration Manager.
• All receipts must be itemized and include:
  • Complete business purpose (Who, What, When, Where, Why)
  • Proof of payment
• A breakdown of expenses is required. For more than 3 expenses a spreadsheet is required; sample spreadsheet. 
  • Students requesting reimbursement must have their faculty advisor sign a completed Student Certification form.
• Expenses submitted after 60 days may still be reimbursed, as taxable income to the beneficiary per IRS policy.
• Any expense that falls outside of University & Department policy will be deducted from the total amount being reimbursed.

All receipts must be turned in within 10 days of purchase or completion of travel.

• Who made the purchase
  • If the reimbursement is to a Stanford affiliate, include their SUNet ID
  • If the reimbursement is to a non-SU affiliate, provide a personal email address
  • If others were also involved in the activity:
    • For Stanford affiliates: First & Last Name and SU affiliation (faculty, staff, student, postdoc, etc) and their connection to the activity
    • For non-SU affiliates, First&Last Name, Institution, and their connection to the activity
    • For more than 10 attendees, individual names are not needed, but rather the group description and estimated number of attendees (ie: 15 XX lab members, 20 Ling grad students, 12 Ling faculty members)
• What was purchased
  • For meals, include type of meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack)
• When did the purchase/activity take place
  • Specific dates required; including start/end times is recommended for events
  • For travel, all inclusive dates 
• Where was the purchase made
  • Merchant name, Restaurant Name & City, Website, or all travel destinations and dates spent in each location. 
  • When the activity takes place on campus, provide the building name or number
• Why: How does it benefit the Department, your research, sponsored project, and/or teaching at Stanford? Please be as descriptive as possible
  • For meals, include the topic of conversation or shared project discussed
• Funding source 
  • If split between/among accounts, note the reason for the split allocation, and the specific benefits to each funding source (the why) should be listed separately
• See Examples of How Staff Use The Checklist Information to Write Business Purposes for examples of full business purposes

When submitting documentation, provide all itemized receipts, travel documentation/comparisons, and supporting documentation. 

Keep all documentation until your reimbursement has been paid, as additional questions may come up from staff or the Finance Management Team that requires you to reference or resend them.

What do we mean by itemized receipt? Check to make sure your receipt includes the following:

• Where did you purchase from? (e.g., name of store) 
• When did you purchase? (e.g., date of transaction) 
• What did you purchase? (e.g., the receipt lists each item) 
• How much? (e.g., the receipt lists each item's cost AND the total amount)

What additional supporting documentation should be provided (when applicable):

• Attendee lists for meals — include the full name and Stanford affiliation of each attendee.
• Approval or exception documentation — such as notices approving an exception to PCard use or other required approvals.
• Event announcements — the flyers or  emails that were sent out. 
• Flight Comparisons — should be made during the travel booking process. Required when the most economical method of transportation was not selected or when a flight itinerary includes stops unrelated to university business. Please see the flight comparisons tab below. 
• Other documentation supporting the business purpose or expense — when applicable.

• A business meal must have a business purpose which defines the specific connection to the university mission, includes the outcome of the meeting, and must be deemed reasonable and necessary under University policy.
• Receipts for Department- and research-funded meals should only include expenses incurred by Department of Linguistics members and invited speakers. They should not include family members/friends, even if their meal were to be reimbursed, or not included in the Department bill.
• If a spouse/partner works in a field related to the invited speaker’s, their attendance at a meal should be pre-approved by a faculty event organizer and the business purpose notes will need to include details about the benefit to Stanford for the spouse/partner’s attendance.
• Department-funded meals have budget limits, which determines the number of attendees. Additional attendees invited by a faculty member will need to be covered by the faculty member’s research account. 
• All business meal limits (including food, tax, tip & alcohol) must adhere to the policy, or will need to be paid back to the University:
  • For department sponsored meals, each attendee can have at most one alcoholic beverage or mocktail. 
  • For faculty-sponsored research meals, Stanford requires that all alcohol limits be reasonable. 
  • Tips can be no greater than 20% of the subtotal (unless the restaurant mandates a higher service charge).
  • Do not use auto-populated tips printed on receipts due to their unreliability.
• Colloquium meals attendance limits:
  • Lunch: 5 people including the speaker
  • Dinner: 6 people including the speaker (this is also the maximal size for a whole group conversation)

Travel meals may be reimbursed for travel more than 50 miles away from home or Stanford, whichever is greater.

Stanford University affiliates have two options to claim travel meals while traveling for Stanford business; one option must be selected for the entire duration of the trip:

• Per diem 
  • The University uses the per diem rates established by the U.S. Government - domestic per diem rates & federal per diem rates by location 
  • If you are a student requesting a meals per diem from your Travel & Research Funds, follow the policy in the Linguistics PhD Handbook.
• Against actual receipts
  • The traveler may claim a daily maximum: 
    • Domestic: $110/day
    • International: $160/day
• All meals provided by a conference must be deducted from the per diem or daily maximum claim.
• If expenses are being paid from a faculty member’s research account, you should confirm allowable amounts with them.

Non-Stanford-affiliated guests (visitors) may only submit actual receipts and follow the Daily Maximum guidelines (per diem is not allowed for visitors). 

For travel more than 350 miles, commercial air travel is generally the most economical and practical; however, other forms of travel, such as bus, rail, or ship, may be allowed in certain circumstances. 

For travel of 350 miles or less, ground transportation by personal car, bus, shuttle service, ride service, taxi, rental car, or a combination of these is likely to be the most economical.

• If you are a PhD student using your Travel & Research Funds, follow the policies in the Linguistics PhD Handbook.
• Employees are highly encouraged to book all travel, using Stanford Travel which has negotiated rates with four booking channels: Egencia, FCM, United Corporate Direct, and Student Universe. The individual incurring the expense is responsible for paying or reimbursing Stanford for any non-compliant expenses. 

• Economy Class is required for domestic travel. Business Class flights are allowable for international flights greater than 8 hours (2/3 of airfare cost must be recorded to an unallowable expenditure type).
• If you are adding any personal time to the trip, outside of the Stanford related dates, a flight comparison is required showing what the cost would have been for only the Stanford related dates. This must be pulled at time of booking to receive a reimbursement, per department policy.
• See Fingate for more information on Airfares.
• The University will cover certain ancillary airline fees.
• Flights no longer need to be booked through the Stanford Travel Program, but for international travel, travelers must then use the itinerary-forwarding service to add their flight reservation to the Travel Registry.

Stanford requires a flight comparison from any traveler when:

• Any personal travel days are combined with business travel
• You are taking an indirect route for personal or business travel
• You are selecting an airfare that is outside of policy
• You are not selecting the most economical transportation option (i.e. rental car instead of airfare)

A flight comparison shows what a compliant business-only trip would have cost at the time you booked your travel. The comparison should include:

• Business travel dates only
• The most direct route
• The appropriate fare class (typically coach/non-refundable)
• Comparable flights available at the time of booking

The traveler must pull this information prior to booking or their reimbursement will not be processed. Department Staff will not be responsible for pulling required flight comparisons. See staff ahead of booking with any questions about how to get proper comparison documentation. 

Travelers are expected to select the most reasonable and economical mode of ground transportation. Acceptable options include airport transportation, driving one's own car, renting a car, ride-share services, taxi, train. Specific policies are found on the ground transportation page.

No overnight stays are allowed when traveling 50 miles or less each way from Stanford or from home, whichever is farthest.

Exceptions can be requested through the H&S Dean's Office for the following criteria:

• The employee’s attendance is necessary.
• Per IRS guidelines, the employee must have adequate rest time. The University defines this as 7 hours. After commuting is considered, the employee will have less than 7 hours to rest at home.
• Special consideration shall be provided for travel to and from local hubs such as Berkeley and San Francisco. They require H&S Dean’s Office pre-approval; consult the Chair and DFO for guidance. 

• Accommodations are restricted to standard room reservations; upgraded options such as deluxe, premium, or suites are not permitted.
• Lodging rate maximum of $275 excluding taxes/fees, regardless of occupancy, must not be exceeded. Except for the following cities:
  • $450 - Palo Alto and vicinity (10 miles from city center) primarily for visitors
  • $385 - New York City, San Francisco, Austin, Boston, Honolulu, Los Angeles area, Washington DC
  • $330 - Chicago
  • International - based on federal per diem rates by location
• Conference Hotel: If staying at a conference hotel that exceeds the lodging rate maximums, a screenshot of the conference page showing it is a conference hotel and the rate is required to receive reimbursement. 
  • If a conference is hosted at an independent venue (e.g., convention center), the attendees will usually be provided a range of local hotels and will be expected to select the mid-point hotel cost wise.
• AirBnbs are not recommended.
  • Travelers who choose to stay at an AirBnB do so with the understanding that they are working with an individual host and any disruption to their itinerary is at their own risk and cost.
  • The AirBnB must be cheaper or comparable in cost to a hotel stay and have a host rating of 4+ stars and ten or more reviews.
  • The entire home must be booked; not individual rooms. 
• A per diem for lodging can be requested but rates are based on the Domestic Per Diem Rates & must align with these guidelines on Fingate.
• Lodging guidelines are based on nightly room rates regardless of occupancy.
• Lodging no longer needs to be booked through the Stanford Travel Program, but for international travel, travelers must then use the itinerary-forwarding service to add their reservation to the Travel Registry.

•  In general, the expenses of a spouse, family member or other person accompanying the business traveler are not reimbursable. Such expenses are only allowed if the accompanying person has a position with the University and is traveling to make a significant contribution to the furtherance of the University business. Assistance with childcare may be appropriate for spouses, family members or other people accompanying the business traveler. Exceptions to this policy are rare and must be approved in advance of travel by the H&S Compliance manager.
• Submit requests for any other exceptions that require H&S Dean’s Office pre-approval for spouse/partner/family member travel to the Chair and DFO.

Any purchase that does not comply with Stanford policies requires pre-approval from the Dean’s Office. Departments are expected to make such requests infrequently and only in extenuating circumstances. Please consult with the Chair and DFO to discuss whether requesting an exception is the best way to proceed or whether there are alternative options. Due to Dean’s Office deadlines, at least 3 weeks' notice to Chair/DFO is required for exception considerations.

If faculty would like to sponsor expenses for a student or post-doc, such as conference and/or research travel costs, they should notify Department staff ahead of time to help determine the most efficient way to process the funding for the student(s) or post-doc(s) and to ensure clear communication of financial policies and expectations before any purchases are made. 

If a faculty member’s research or grant account is funding your expenses, confirm allowable expenses and amounts with them prior to incurring them.