Faculty and Graduate Student Expense Request
Welcome
Welcome to the new purchasing request form for SESP doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty. The intake form is in Microsoft Forms, and after that submission, any further updates and communication will be done in a MS List.
Faculty and Graduate Student Expense Request Form
Purpose
The purpose of this form is to collect requests from you, the customer, that solicit the necessary information to complete your request as quickly and efficiently as possible.
When you’re planning ahead
The preferred way to book your own travel is via one of Northwestern’s approved travel agencies that can direct charge your chartstring and you will not have to wait until after the trip to be reimbursed for expenses booked through Egencia.
Grad students: please request access first from Tina Foster.
After your travel is complete, you must submit a request with the rest of the expenses.
Faculty and graduate students are automatically given “Shopper” access to use the iBuyNU Marketplace. Shopping from here ensures direct charging your chartstring and no sales tax is charged. You can shop here and “assign the cart” to Tina Foster. (Net ID: TEF2406) You’ll be notified via email on the status of your order and there are no further steps (& no need to submit a request). Instructions.
Need a credit card? Expenses such as membership dues and conference registrations can be purchased using a corporate credit card that direct charges your chartstring. (You can request this service via the MS Form.)
Paying an individual? It’s best to start the request at the time the contractor is engaged – include the name and contact information of the vendor before the work starts. The longest part of paying an individual is getting a new vendor set up, so an early notification will reduce time between the end of work and payment. After the work is complete, you can update your request with the final invoice or signed form.
Finishing up
A great feature of the SharePoint site is the ability to edit/update a previous submission. If you had previously requested a conference registration, you can upload the rest of the receipts for reimbursement after the trip to the same submission.
A reimbursement is processed after personal funds have been paid out. These have to be within 90 days of the expense.
Important Information
Research Subject Payments
First things first: Human Research Policies & Guidance. The first step to paying research subjects is securing IRB approval. Once approved you will be issued a # (starts with STU), which you will need to include when requesting payments.
Do not issue payments out of personal funds. Do not buy gift cards out of personal funds. Please use university funds to purchase whatever is needed for the payments. This is the second step to payment subjects: Human Subject Payments Policy. The payment methods are listed on pages 3-4.
Options for paying research subjects:
When you are ready to request the funds for payments (stored value cards, gift cards, or credit at a survey site), submit a request via the SESP online form. You must have IRB approval at this time. If you are requesting a cash advance or stored value cards, please also submit the appropriate forms linked above.
Shopping
Faculty and graduate students are automatically given “Shopper” access to use the iBuyNU Marketplace. Shopping from here ensures direct charging your chartstring and no sales tax is charged. You can shop here and “assign the cart” to Tina Foster (Net ID: TEF2406). You’ll be notified via email on the status of your order and there are no further steps (& no need to submit a request). Instructions
Amazon has been implemented in iBuyNU. You will have the same shopping experience as you do when shopping at Amazon.com. The first time you access the Amazon Business Punchout directly, you will be prompted to create an account using your Northwestern University email address. This account set up is a one-time process. You will not be prompted to enter credentials after this initial set up. Review the Amazon Business FAQ guide.
Need a credit card? Expenses such as membership dues and conference registrations can be purchased using a corporate credit card that direct charges your chartstring. (You can request this service via the MS Form.)
Travel
For instructions on booking travel, the University’s Procurement & Payment Services travel website has all – or most – of the information you will need. Every trip that incurs expense has to be reconciled against an expense report that includes all expenses (whether reimbursable or pre-paid) along with a business purpose.
Booking Airfare and Hotels
Egencia is Northwestern’s preferred online travel booking tool. Northwestern’s partnership with Egencia streamlines your travel booking process and allows you to book travel directly by billing a chartstring. If you are a graduate student who requires access to Egencia, please reach out to Tina Foster for access and submit a request via the SESP online form.
Hotel Rates References
As stated in Northwestern’s Travel and Entertainment policy, “Travelers must book standard accommodations in reasonably priced, commercial-class hotels and motels.” Please see Hotel Rates References for additional guidelines.
Membership Dues and Conference Registration
Pay for membership dues and conference registration using a university corporate card. Start a new request for this and then submit the rest of your expenses after the trip.
Poster Printing
Quartet Digital Printing on the Evanston and Chicago campuses meets the in-house digital printing needs of Northwestern University. You can pay for poster printing directly using a chart string. If you are unsure of funding chart string, please see your program administrator.
To place an order, email your project information, chart string, and camera-ready digital files to: