Payments $10,000 and Over
Pre-Approval Needed
The University has a certain set of procedures in place to properly handle and process purchases over $10,000. For payments between $10,000 and $50,000, student organizations will work with SOAS and ASAP to secure the best price for the goods and/or services. Payments over $50,000 will require a formal bidding process. UM's Procurement department has this policy in place for three reasons:
- Protection - Procurement will review documents to protect you as an individual, your group, and the University of Michigan
- Stewardship - Students who hold positions within their organization at UM should be expected to know how to navigate policies when they graduate
- Education - As Authorized Signers, students should gain transferable skills on how to properly manage large payments
Even if the service/good is split between multiple payments, it must go through this process.
For the full $10,000 and Over process, please see the SOAS Guidebook.
Awards & Prizes
An Awards & Prizes payment is awarding money to an individual based on judging criteria. For example, your group holds an essay competition, and you want to award the top 3 finalists a cash prize.
Possible Financial Aid Issues: Any Prizes, Gifts, and Awards issued to students will be reported to the Office of Financial Aid. It is up to the student to confirm that it will not affect their Financial Aid. The Office of Financial Aid can be contacted at [email protected].
A member of your group may not pay for these services upfront and later be reimbursed. If this occurs, we will be unable to reimburse that individual.
Any Awards & Prizes payment is considered taxable income.
Physical Prizes, Gifts, and Awards
If your student organization is purchasing any physical Prizes, Gifts, and Awards, please use and complete theSOAS Prize Acknowledge Form Template. Specific instructions on how to use this form are written on the form itself.
For the full Awards & Prizes process including taxes, please see the SOAS Guidebook.
Donation
A Donation is giving money to an organization while not receiving any goods or services in return. For example, your organization donates money to a particular charity.
Both VSOs and SSOs are allowed to make donations. SSOs should verify with their sponsoring department that they should process their donation through SOAS. VSOs are permitted to donate out of their regular SOAS account. DF accounts are no longer required. Only donations to charities are allowed; donations to individuals are not permitted.
Members of student organizations are not allowed to front the money for this type of transaction and then be reimbursed.
For the full Donation process, please see the SOAS Guidebook.
Reimbursement
A Reimbursement is a payment to an individual who fronted money for goods. For example, if a member of your group went to the art store to buy craft supplies for posters on behalf of your group, you would need to reimburse them.
Student organizations may NOT purchase and/or be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, firearms, ammunition, gasoline/fuel, or pay for traffic/meter violations. You can read the full policy in the SOAS Guidebook.
Multiple purchases made by an individual can and should be submitted on the same reimbursement request. We recommend submitting requests within a 30-day time frame for one payee. For example, if a payee makes three purchases over the course of 2 weeks, they should be submitted as one reimbursement request. It is still the authorized signers’ responsibility to submit any reimbursement requests in a timely manner.
Please note that you cannot submit a Purchase Request for yourself.
You may not be reimbursed for fronting money to an individual who provided services (i.e.- DJ, choreographer, etc.) or for an honorarium. Please follow the Services Rendered payment process.
SOAS is unable to mail a reimbursement internationally. Please contact our office for assistance with processing your request.
For the full Reimbursement process including mileage policies, please see the SOAS Guidebook.
Services Rendered
A Services Rendered payment is the payment to an individual for the services they provided. For example, your organization hires a DJ for a group function or a choreographer for a performance.
Check with the person providing the service to see how they are registered with the IRS. If they're registered as an individual, please proceed with this process. If they are registered with the IRS as a company, please use our Vendor Payment process.
Any Services Rendered payment is considered taxable income.
We do not recommend paying one person on behalf of a group. Please process each payment individually if you need to pay multiple people.
A member of your group may not pay for these services upfront and later be reimbursed. If this occurs, we will be unable to reimburse that individual. You may also use this process to pay an honorarium (not allowed to be paid upfront by an individual).
For the full Services Rendered process including taxes, please see the SOAS Guidebook.
Shortcode
You can use your shortcode to make purchases at surrounding businesses. Popular businesses that student organizations use are Underground Printing, FedEx, Graduate Hotel, and Golden Limousine, to name a few. See the SOAS Guidebook for more details on Univesity Suppliers.
When you use your shortcode, you do NOT need to submit a Purchase Request.
Giving the vendor your shortcode is the authorization to charge your organization. It is the equivalent to swiping a credit card or paying in cash.
Orders Placed by Non-Authorized Signers
Only Authorized Signers can make purchases using their Shortcode. If an order is placed by someone who is not an authorized signer, we lose our ability to request credits in addition to other compliance concerns.
For the full Shortcode process including required supporting documentation, please see the SOAS Guidebook.
Transfer
A Transfer is sending money from your SOAS account to another group on campus.
For example, your group partners with another organization for an event, so you need to give them $100 for supplies that were bought.
This is ONLY for transferring funds from one student organization to another student organization.
For the full Transfer process, please see the SOAS Guidebook.
Vendor Payment
A Vendor Payment is a payment to a company for a good/service where no individual has to front the money. A check will be created by the University using your SOAS funds and sent directly to the vendor.
Check with your vendor to ensure they are registered with the IRS as a company. If they are not registered with the IRS as a company, please use our Services Rendered payment process.
If the vendor is a University Supplier, the ticket request will be canceled and you’ll be directed to use the Shortcode Process. To find a full list of Univeristy Suppliers, you can visit Procurement's website.
For the full Vendor Payment process, please see the SOAS Guidebook.