Financial Information Services Financial Information and Services

The University of Chicago

Office of the Comptroller

  Form Name:

Direct Payment Voucher
  Form Number:     Comptroller Form No. 88R (6/96)

Purpose:

The Direct Payment Voucher (DPV) form is to be used by departments to process payments for the following categories of non-salary expenditures:
 
1. Selected Items That Do Not Require a University Purchase Order

According to Financial Policy #1201, purchases of goods and services should be processed through Central Procurement Services (CPS) or one of the University's designated procurement centers.  However, certain specialized items, regardless of the dollar amount, can be processed for payment on a Direct Payment Voucher (DPV).  For a detailed list, refer to Selected Items That Do Not Require A University Purchase Order for Payment. If a particular good or service is not listed and you want to know if the item can be paid on a Purchase Order, please call CPS Client Services at 702-3330 for instructions prior to making any commitment with the supplier.

2. Non Travel Related Reimbursements to Individuals

The University will reimburse employees for small dollar, business-related purchases and expenses. Refer to Financial Policy 1201, Authority and Responsibility for Procuring Goods and Services.   The faculty or staff person who makes the purchase must pay the vendor directly either by cash, personal check, or credit card, and must submit the original paid receipt with the DPV.

Note: The procurement of goods and services in excess of $500, with the exception of those items referred to above, in Category 1 , must still be requisitioned through either Central Procurement Services (CPS ) or other authorized procurement centers. 

An individual may be reimbursed for miscellaneous business related expenses such as highway tolls, off-campus parking, cab fares, postage, etc.  In addition, an individual may be reimbursed for meal expenses incurred while conducting official, University business.  All payments for business meals must be charged to a FAS sub account in the 3000-3099 range.  For a detailed list of University, authorized reimbursable items refer to Reimbursements To Individuals Quick Reference Guide. 

3. Electronic (Wire Transfer) Payments

Effective Monday, May 3, 2004, when requesting an electronic disbursement each beneficiary (payee) must provide in an e-mail or on company letterhead the following information:
  • Write WIRE TRANSFER on the top of the DPV or invoice.
  • For Domestic transactions, Beneficiary bank name and complete address, ABA Bank Routing Number, Beneficiary account name and account number.
  • For International transactions, Beneficiary's receiving bank name and complete address, SWIFT (also know as BIC) Code Beneficiary account name and account number, and type of foreign currency if not US dollars.

Depending upon the type of payment, departments must complete either a Domestic or International Wire Transfer Request Form in addition to one of the standard payment request forms; Direct Payment Voucher (DPV), Accounts Payable Voucher (APV), Purchase Order or Travel Expense Voucher (TEV) Form. The Beneficiary's letter or e-mail must be attached to the appropriate Wire Transfer Request Form. Please note; an electronic payment will not be processed until all information is received.

Sufficient time must be allowed for the payment to reach the beneficiary's bank, particularly for international transactions. The process may take anywhere from three to five days from the date of submission to the Comptroller's Office. As a general rule, all Domestic electronic transfers are usually done as ACH (Automated Clearing House) transactions that take two to three business days from the date the transaction is submitted to the Northern Trust Bank to reach the beneficiary's bank account. International transactions may take considerably longer, depending on the final bank destination. However, a domestic transaction may be requested as a NEXT DAY RUSH WIRE for an additional charge of $100.

An Electronic Payment Request received in the Non-Salary Disbursements Department by no later than noon will be transmitted to Northern Trust Bank on the following day.

For questions regarding Electronic Payments, please call NSD at 702-5372.
4. Independent Contractors and Other 1099/1042 Reportable Items

IRS 1099/1042 reportable payments to individuals and entities for consulting, catering, special events, honorariums, one-time lectures, rent, leases, royalties and research subjects are also processed on a DPV.  Refer to the Payroll Home Page for complete instructions and required supporting documentation.


Obtain From:  Office Max, A Boise Company.
         
Submit To: Submit items from categories 1 - 4 to Comptroller's Office, Non Salary Disbursements Section (formerly Accounts Payable).

Submit items from category 5 to Comptroller's Office Payroll Department, Independent Contractor Section.

 

Policies and Special Requirements:

Supporting Documentation Standards
  • Each Disbursement MUST be supported by detailed documentation and/or an explanation to demonstrate that the payment is a University business related expense which complies with all: Federal, state, and local laws or regulations, University policies and procedures and, Sponsored project contract and agreement terms

    Note: Some grant and contract agreements and departmental policies are more restrictive than University policy. Therefore when applicable, these restrictions override University policy.

  • The University may only reimburse "reasonable and prudent" business expenses. Therefore, individuals cannot be reimbursed for expenses that are:
    • Personal in nature
    • The responsibility of another entity (i.e., another university)
  • In order to be reimbursed for any business related expense the individual must submit a paid invoice, register receipt, and/or credit card receipt directly to the Comptroller's Office with each Direct Payment Voucher.  For a complete list of University requirements, refer to Supporting Documentation Standards.

Business Meals

The University will reimburse faculty and staff (including their guests) for meal expenses incurred while conducting University business.  In order to comply with IRS regulations, the following MUST be submitted with each reimbursement request.

  • Original receipt in all cases, regardless of dollar amount
  • Date and place of the meeting/activity
  • Specific purpose of the meeting/activity; please refrain from using general terms such as, University or Department business.
  • The names of individuals attending the meeting/activity; individual names are not required if a group of more than 10 people is involved and can be identified as a single body.  If an individual attending the meeting is not a University employee, provide the name of the company or institution that the individual represents.
  • Note: All payments for business meal must be charged to a FAS sub account between the 3000 to 3099 account range.

Quadrangle Club Payments

Original receipts (chits) are required documentation for processing Quadrangle Club payments.  For business meals, the specific business purpose and a list of the attendees, must be provided for each chit.  Please be advised, reimbursements of club membership dues are not allowed.  For additional information, refer to Financial Policy, #1209.

Note:   Due to the volume of payments to the Club, all payments are sent directly to the Quadrangle club.  In lieu of enclosures, a reference to the club members' number is included in the Check Description section.  To ensure that proper credit is given to the appropriate club member, we ask that only one member be referenced/paid per DPV.

Unpaid Balances

The DPV amount requested must reflect current charges only.  Charges carried over from a previous bill or statement will not be paid without a detailed explanation of charges, i.e., a copy of the invoice(s).

Lost Receipts

If an individual misplaces a receipt, he/she must provide a signed statement acknowledging that 1) the receipt(s) was lost, 2) a description of the item(s) that was purchased, and 3) the individual is not being reimbursed from any other source.

Note:  In order to reduce the possibility of supporting documentation being separated from the original DPV, tape all small receipts onto a letter size page.

IRS 1099/1042 Reportable Payments

In order to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service which governs the reporting and withholding of income taxes, all payments for Independent Personal Services, such as but not limited to: wait staff, catering, and consulting services must be issued by the University directly to the payee. Individuals may not be reimbursed for these types of payments under any circumstances.  For additional information, refer to the Payroll Home Page.

Unallowable Costs

Some payments that are reimbursable under University policy must be charged to an Unallowable FAS account or sub account as defined in Financial Policy 1013, Unallowable Costs. This is due to the facts that, regardless of funding source, all payments must comply with the unallowable cost provisions in OMB Circular No. A-21 (A-21). Those provisions prohibit the University from charging federal funds, either directly (i.e., charges to Ledger 5) or indirectly (i.e., charges via cost pools), for any unallowable costs.

I have reviewed the SPECIAL NOTES AND REQUIREMENTS.