Accounts Payable

• Request for Petty Cash Advance
• Petty Cash Replenishment or Close Request
• Request for Travel Advance
• Travel & Expense Report - Domestic
• Travel & Expense Report - International
• Check Request Form
• W-9 (Request for Taxpayer ID Number)
• Direct Deposit Agreement

The budget transfer request form and the expense correction/request for interdepartmental support form are available on the Budget & Planning page under Important Forms.

Purchasing forms are all available from the Purchasing office (A114 Altschul Hall), the Purchasing page, or on the myBarnard portal. Please visit Purchasing for more information.

For purchases for goods and services (including non-travel-related, out-of-pocket College expenses) over $500, please refer to the Purchasing Procedures. For purchases under $500, please follow the procedures for the Check Request forms below.

Check Request Form Procedures

In order for a Check Request form to be processed by Accounts Payable, the following documentation must be submitted to Accounts Payable:

1. Completed and approved Check Request form (instructions are printed on the form).
2. Actual invoice or receipt* (detailed, showing all items purchased, rather than the credit card receipt) for expenditure. A fully executed agreement (signed by both Barnard and payee) must accompany check requests to pay for services (e.g., speaking engagements) $500.00 or less.
3. The actual invoice or receipt must provide a detailed description of the purchase. Copies of receipts, receipts for credit card transactions, or actual credit card statements will not be accepted in the normal course. In the rare case that an actual receipt is not available, a copy of the receipt or credit card statement will be accepted under the condition that the employee sign a statement attesting that no actual receipt is available and that a duplicate charge will not be submitted. Employees who repeatedly avail themselves of the receipt alternative may have this privilege revoked.
4. Description of the academic or business purpose of the expenditure.

*Please tape all receipts on to 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper, and staple those sheets to the Check Request form. Please do not staple receipts to the Check Request form. Please not submit receipts in an envelope with the form for reimbursement. Staples can get caught on other staples; receipts can fall out of envelopes. Moreover, if Accounts Payable has any questions about the request submitted, it is easier to place multiple sheets in the document feeder, or to scan sheets of paper with the receipts taped on, rather than place multiple receipts on the glass of the copier for scanning.

Authorization of Check Request Form

All Check Request forms must be signed by an authorized employee, generally the budget officer for the department. For out-of-pocket expense reimbursements, the employee's supervisor must approve the Check Request form. For Department Heads, Vice Presidents and the President, the Vice President for Finance must review the Check Request form. Any issues or concerns regarding these expenses will be discussed with the Chief Operating Officer (or with the President with regards to the expenses of the Chief Operating Officer).

• When paying outside consultants or a guest lecturer for services, the tax address and either the Social Security number or EIN of the payee must be included. If the payee is an individual or entity Barnard College has not paid before, Accounts Payable needs an IRS form W9 to create a vendor profile for them in their payment system. Payment cannot be processed without a W9 on file.
• All payments to Barnard College employees (including Barnard student employees) for stipends, honoraria, or extra services to other departments must be paid through Payroll. 

Please use the payee's legal name on a check request. Please do not use nicknames.

Digital signatures are not allowed on any check requests, advance requests, or expense reports. Finance/Accounts Payable requires original signatures.

Please note Barnard College is tax exempt; therefore, sales tax paid on goods and services (restaurant meals are an exception) in New York State should never be included in amounts to be paid or reimbursed. However, if a member of the Barnard community purchases items outside of New York State and is charged sales tax, the College will reimburse for those taxes paid. Tax exempt forms may be obtained from myBarnard under the myFinance tab or requested from either the Purchasing or Accounts Payable departments via email before purchases are made.

Deadlines

Check Request forms should be submitted on a timely basis to Accounts Payable for processing. Requests for checks are normally processed within ten (10) business days of receipt.

All requests for payment of or reimbursement of expenses must be submitted to the Finance & Operations office within the fiscal year the expense was incurred (e.g., expenses incurred between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, or Fiscal Year 2021, must be submitted to Finance by the end-of-fiscal year deadline, July 5, 2021).

Policies

• To request a travel advance, submit a Travel Advance Request Form to the Finance & Operations Office. If you do not use the entire advance, please submit the remainder of the funds (either in cash or a check made payable to Barnard College), along with your expense report, to Finance & Operations, 115 Milbank Hall.

• If you include receipts which only require partial reimbursement, please give a detailed explanation as to why.

• Please see Barnard College Expenditure Policy  for acceptable travel expenses.

Domestic Travel

• Fill out a Travel & Expense Report Domestic Form*.  Please do not neglect to fill in the field titled Overall Business Purpose and include documentation stating the College-related purpose of the trip (e.g., an email confirming conference registration, a flyer with conference information).

• Please include all receipts for tolls, airfare (if applicable), mass transit, parking, baggage fees, lodging (if applicable; please include the itemized hotel receipt/guest folio), meals consumed, and gas. If you used EZ-Pass, please provide a printout from your EZ-Pass statement. 

• For meals consumed, please submit the itemized restaurant receipt (the receipt showing the food, drinks, and prices of each). If the meal was paid for with a credit or debit card, please also submit the credit card receipt if tip was paid and you would like to be reimbursed for it. Please note we do not accept credit card receipts in lieu of the restaurant receipt without an explanation as to why the restaurant receipt is not available. 

• For mileage reimbursement, please provide a printout from MapQuest, Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, etc. explaining how far you drove. Current mileage rates are set by the IRS. The 2020 mileage reimbursement rate is 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from the 2019 rate of 58 cents per mile for business miles driven.

*You may also submit your request for travel reimbursement on a Check Request Form if you are requesting reimbursement for nine or fewer expenses. 

Please tape all receipts on to 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper, and tape those sheets to the either the Travel & Expense Report or Check Request form. Please do not staple receipts to the form or report. Please not submit receipts in an envelope with the form for reimbursement. Staples can get caught on other staples; receipts can fall out of envelopes. Moreover, if Accounts Payable has any questions about the request submitted, it is easier to place multiple sheets in the document feeder, or to scan sheets of paper with the receipts taped on, rather than place multiple receipts on the glass of the copier for scanning.

Please note the College does not reimburse for gas if one requests reimbursement for mileage. Fuel purchased for private vehicle usage is included in the Federal Mileage Reimbursement Rate.
                            

Foreign Travel

• Fill out a Travel & Expense Report International Form. Please do not neglect to fill in the field titled Overall Business Purpose and include documentation stating the College-related purpose of the trip (e.g., an email confirming conference registration, a flyer with conference information). 

• Please include all receipts for airfare, baggage fees, mass transit/taxis, lodging (please include the itemized hotel receipt/guest folio), and meals consumed (include tolls, parking, and gas if applicable).

• Barnard will only reimburse in U.S. dollars, regardless of the currency your expenses were paid in.

• For cash purchases, please use the rate of exchange for the date of purchase, not what the current rate is at the time of reimbursement. We recommend Oanda.com's currency converter. Please provide documentation as to where you found your rate of exchange (e.g., website, bank, currency exchange, etc.).

• For credit card purchases, please use the rate of exchange as calculated by your bank/credit card company; you do not need to use the foreign currency worksheet included in the international travel and expense report to calculate the rate of exchange. Please include the original receipts as well as the pertinent pages from your bank/credit card statement showing the charges in USD and note those amounts on the first page of your travel and expense report.

• If requesting reimbursement for a financial institution charge for using foreign currency, please provide documentation of this charge (bank or credit card statement).

All requests for reimbursement of expenses must be submitted to the Finance & Operations office within the fiscal year the expense was incurred (e.g., expenses incurred between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, or Fiscal Year 2021, must be submitted to Finance by the end-of-fiscal year deadline, July 5, 2021).

If you have any questions, please contact the Finance & Operations office at 212-854-2010.

Policies on Using a Petty Cash Fund

Certain departments are authorized to use a Petty Cash fund for making small disbursements. Policies on the use of petty cash funds are as follows:

• The department should maintain the fund in a locked petty cash box, which should be kept in a locked cabinet, desk or closet.
• The following items should not be paid from the petty cash fund:
  • Equipment purchase
  • Service payments (e.g., wages, consulting fees)
  • Advances
  • Registration fees and dues
• A petty cash fund should not be used to cash checks.
• One person from a department should be designated as the petty cash fund custodian, and cannot draw from the fund without the Department Head's approval.
• If the employee who established the petty cash fund leaves the College or changes departments, the petty cash account must be closed out and a new one opened.

Petty Cash Fund

To establish a new petty cash fund, a Request for Petty Cash Advance should be completed and submitted to the Finance Office (115 Milbank Hall) for approval.

Petty Cash Replenishment

To replenish the fund, a Petty Cash Replenishment or Close Request is prepared for the amount of petty cash spent. The form is then submitted to Accounts Payable (115 Milbank Hall) with the actual receipts taped on to 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper, and those sheets stapled to the Petty Cash Replenishment or Close Request form. A check to replenish the petty cash fund will be issued to the petty cash custodian within ten (10) business days of receipt of the request. 

Petty Cash Close

To close a petty cash fund, a Petty Cash Replenishment or Close Request is prepared for the amount of petty cash spent. The form is then submitted to Finance (115 Milbank Hall) with the actual receipts, plus all or any unspent cash. The total of the receipts plus the unspent cash must equal the amount of the petty cash advance(s) issued.

Please note Barnard College is tax exempt; therefore, sales tax paid on goods and services (restaurant meals are an exception) in New York State should never be included in amounts to be reimbursed. However, if a member of the Barnard community purchases items outside of New York State and is charged sales tax, the College will reimburse for those taxes paid. Tax exempt forms may be obtained from myBarnard under the myFinance tab or requested from either the Purchasing or Accounts Payable departments via email before purchases are made.