• For departmental charges:  the person responsible for the budget being charged must approve.  Department heads may designate another individual to be responsible for payments.
• For personal reimbursements or MBNA payments:   Supervisor approval is mandatory.  Individuals may not approve their own reimbursements, even if they are the budget manager of the budget being charged.
• For Grant payments:  LuAnne Sledge must approve.

Note for supervisors using Banner's online approval process:  approval on screen FOAUAPP may take the place of an original signature if you wish.

Business Expense Reimbursement
Employees submitting vouchers for reimbursement of business expenses must attach original receipts (see Supporting Documentation section below) for all expenses greater than $25 and must include an explanation of the business purpose for each expenditure.  Vouchers for travel, including airline tickets, meals and entertainment, must also identify the person(s) included in such expenses.  All personal reimbursements must have the approval of the department head or other authorized individual - individuals may not approve their own expenses. 

Corporate Credit Card Policy
Card expenses should be for Davidson College business only.  Personal expenses may not be charged to the College card.

Cash advances on the Davidson College Visa Card are not allowed.

When preparing a voucher for payment, original receipts for all charges in excess of $25 should be attached to the statement (see supporting documentation section below for more information). In addition, please provide a meaningful explanation of the business purpose of each expense.  For meals & travel, also include a list of any additional persons included in such expenses.  Sample Summary Form.

If you are missing a receipt, make note of that beside the charge and include an explanation of that charge.

 It is very important that your current charges get paid each month. Accordingly, please send your vouchers to the Accounts Payable office two weeks prior to due date. Your department head or supervisor should sign each statement as evidence of approval for payment. If you are on an extended travel schedule, please make arrangements with your supervisor or department head for your bills to be paid in your absence.

Please follow the guidelines on the back of your statement if you need to dispute any charges.

You may contact the Accounts Payable Coordinator at 704/894-2206 with questions concerning payments.

Any requests for permanent or temporary credit limit increase for a cardholder must have department head or supervisor approval, and may be sent via e-mail to Ed Kania or Nancy Barrier for processing.

If you leave employment with Davidson College, you must return your credit card to Nancy Barrier in the Business Services office by your last working day.

Please call customer service at 877/543-4453 for the following:
* To report lost/stolen card (please report as soon as possible).
* Questions regarding card denial.

Deadlines

For payment on Friday the following deadlines are in place, all invoices to be paid (both those to be entered by our office and those entered by other departments) must be in our office by Tuesday at 5 p.m.  Additionally, online approvals must be complete by Tuesday at 5 p.m.

We will send out an email if our deadlines change.

Gift Certificates

Gift certificates issued to College employees are considered taxable wages and are subject to withholding, regardless of the amount of the gift certificate.

IRS regulation 1.132-6 states that "a cash equivalent fringe benefit (such as a fringe benefit provided to an employee through the use of a gift certificate or charge or credit card) is generally not excludable under section 132(a) even if the same property or service acquired (if provided in kind) would be excludable as a de minimis fringe benefit.

Also, the IRS ruled, in Taxpayer Advice Memorandum 200437030, that a holiday gift coupon, even if it can be used only for a designated item at a designated store and cannot be converted to cash, is taxable to employees. The IRS concluded that such an employer-provided "gift coupon" operated in essentially the same way as a cash equivalent fringe benefit and therefore constituted taxable wages to the employees.  Because cash and cash equivalent fringe benefits like gift certificates have a readily ascertainable value, they are not unreasonable or administratively impractical to account for and therefore, do not constitute de minimis fringe benefits.              

Payment to Non-U.S. Citizens
Since some non-residents are prohibited from working in the U.S. and/or being paid compensation, it is imperative that you contact our office as soon as you are aware that you will be paying a non-U.S. Citizen, even for reimbursement of expenses.  We require all visitors to complete a Foreign National Information Form to assist our office in researching the payment.  The information on this form will help us to determine whether payment is legal, and if so, which IRS forms must be completed (in general, Form W-8BEN, Form 8233 - if applicable - and Form W-7 if the person needs a U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.)  We must have a social security number or a U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number before a check can be issued.

Please be aware that if we are making a payment to a U.S. person, but we know this person is receiving the payment as an agent of a foreign person, we must treat the payment as being made to the foreign person, and follow all the applicable procedures.

In general, we must withhold tax of 30% unless a tax treaty exists between the United States and the recipient’s country of residence. (This 30% tax is in addition to the North Carolina 4% personal services tax, discussed above.) If a person wishes to take advantage of a tax treaty, he or she must complete a Form 8233 and provide it to us in order to avoid withholding. This form must be mailed to the IRS 10 days prior to payment to the individual.

Please contact Rene Baker at x2461 or Debbie Barnette at x2067 to obtain the forms, and/or to determine the tax consequences prior to making payment arrangements with these individuals.

If you would like more information on payments to non-U.S. Citizens, please follow this link to Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Corporations.

We have also prepared 3 memos to assist you:

(1) NRA Overview Memo - this gives a brief description of the regulations we must comply with;

(2) NRA Policies and Procedures - this provides a step-by-step list of instructions to follow when paying a non-U.S. citizen;

(3) NRA sample letter - you may tailor this to your department's specific situation.

Payments to Out-of-state Vendors and Individuals
Payments for services (i.e., speakers, entertainers, etc.) rendered by most non-North Carolina individuals and companies are subject to a 4 percent withholding under North Carolina law. Payments should not be increased to offset this withholding. Please contact Latoya at x2206, Susie Fuller at x2066, or Ed Kania at x2208 prior to making payment arrangements with any questions concerning the withholding requirements for non-North Carolina recipients.

This requirement is applicable to vendors who receive $1,500 or more from us in a calendar year. Please tell Latoya in advance if the voucher is for a one-time payment under the limit. Please note that reimbursement for expenses is not subject to this withholding.

Payment Schedule
Business Services processes vendor invoices, employee expense reports and reimbursements on a weekly basis, with checks ready after 2 p.m. on Fridays. To ensure that checks/direct deposits can be processed by these dates employees and departments should submit invoices and vouchers in time to be received in our office by 5 p.m. Tuesday.  Additionally, invoices not entered by our office must be approved by 5 p.m. Tuesdays.  Vouchers/approvals not meeting this deadline will result in the invoice not being processed until the following week.

Due to the large volume of AP payments processed, please submit payment requests as far in advance as possible. Since checks/direct deposits are processed weekly, special off-cycle payments will be processed only for emergencies, and must be approved by the Controller, Ed Kania. Please submit such requests via e-mail (edkania@davidson.edu) whenever possible. A $25 processing fee will be automatically charged to your budget.

Requesting a Check or Direct Deposit Payment
(All faculty & staff expense reimbursements will be paid via direct deposit. Funds will be available on Friday morning, and a direct deposit slip will be sent to you through campus mail.)

1. Complete A/P voucher. You must include the vendor name, amount, general ledger account number to be charged and an original authorized signature approving payment. Please remember that supervisor approval is mandatory for personal reimbursements and VISA payments.  Also, all grant-related expenses must be approved by LuAnne Sledge.   If possible, include vendor number.

2.  Documentation supporting the expense (receipt, contract, letter of agreement) and a description of the expense which clearly indicates the business purpose, must be included with the voucher.  Vouchers without this information will be sent back to the person requesting payment.  For more information, see the supporting documentation section below.  
3. Submit completed voucher to Accounts Payable by Tuesday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in Friday's check run. Vouchers received after Tuesday at 5 p.m. will not be processed until the following week.
4. Include a completed New Vendor Request/Substitute W-9 Form if payment is to a vendor not currently in Banner.
5. Include a completed Non-US Resident Information form ("orange form") if payment is to a non-resident (i.e., foreign) individual OR if payment is to a U.S. agent who is receiving payment on behalf of a non-resident.

6. Checks will be ready after 2 p.m. on Fridays.

Note:  In general, checks will be mailed to vendors from our office.  If you need a letter or other documentation to be mailed with the check, please submit 2 copies to our office - one to be mailed with the check and one for our files - and an addressed envelope.  In the rare chance that you need to hand deliver a check to a vendor, please send an email to "Checks to be Pulled" (type that in the "To" field and the address will appear) and list the checks you need to have pulled and whether you will pick them up or would like them sent via campus mail.

Sales Tax
Although Davidson is exempt from Federal and State income taxes, we are required to pay North Carolina sales tax on all purchases. We are eligible for a refund of sales tax we have paid to North Carolina vendors, but the only way we know that sales tax has been paid is if it has been properly broken out on the Accounts Payable voucher prior to data entry into Banner.  (Please note that we are not eligible for a refund of sales taxes paid to other states.)

To help us recover the maximum amount, please break out sales tax when completing vouchers. The benefit to your department is that your budget will not be charged for in-state sales tax if it has been properly segregated on the voucher.

For additional information please contact Debbie Barnette at x2067 or Latoya James at x2206.

Supporting Documentation 

To prevent duplicate payments and satisfy auditing requirements, all expenses greater than $25 must be accompanied by original documentation such as receipts, invoices, contracts, etc. and an explanation of the business purpose of such expense.  Copies of receipts will be accepted in emergency situations, however; an explanation of why the original is not provided must be included with the voucher.  

• Awards - documentation must include a description of the award and the person to whom the award is being presented.

• Conference Registration - Documentation must include a copy of the conference flyer/registration statement, or a statement providing the date, purpose and agenda of the conference

• Honorariums/Contractual Expenses (including guest lecturers, consultants and other independent contractors) - Documentation must include a copy of the contract that includes the full name and address of the vendor/individual to be paid, the agreed upon fee/hourly rate, and a full description of the goods/services to be provided.  If travel expenses are also being paid, these expenses should be supported with original receipts/invoices.

• Meals - Documentation must specify the business purpose of the meal and identify the person(s) included in such expenses

• Mileage - please document how the mileage reimbursement was calculated.  As the mileage rate includes compensation for gas and depreciation, employees may not request mileage reimbursement and additionally request reimbursement for gas.

• Order, Registration and Subscription Forms - these forms serve as valid documentation for prepayments and should accompany the check request.

In order to comply with IRS regulations and avoid penalties, we must have a tax identification number (TIN, Employer Identification number or Social Security Number) for each unincorporated vendor.  The vendor is required by law to provide us with their correct TIN.   We collect this information on the New Vendor Request/Substitute W-9 Form.  No checks will be issued until this completed/signed form is obtained.

Payments to 1099-able vendors must be made through our Accounts Payable system so that we may comply with IRS regulations.  Individuals may not pay a vendor directly and then request reimbursement for that payment.