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FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

Discounts

The University has enrolled in a rewards program with Air Canada.  Please find the application form at: https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2018/08/air-canrewards-nov2017.pdf
University travellers may also take advantage of discounts available through the Canadian Association of University Business Officers
(CAUBO) for car, hotel and VIA Rail.  For more information go to https://www.caubo.ca/member-login/?redirect_to=%2fdiscover-caubo%2fmember-discounts%2fcar-rentals%2f

General

Questions regarding cancelling and stop payment of cheques should be directed to aphelp@mcmaster.ca.

For Purchase Order commitments please contact Accounts Payable – Purchase Orders at https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/contact-us/

Address format for McMaster inter-office mail:
Name of Payee
Address 1 = Department
Address 2 = Building and Room number
City = CAMPUS
Province = ONTARIO
Important:  You will receive a warning about the missing province and postal code. Acknowledge the warning and proceed.

The kilometer allowance is set out in the Reimbursements to Individuals for University Business policy.

https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/AP-01-Policy.pdf

To reissue a stale dated cheque (i.e. uncashed cheque older than 6 months) please send the stale-dated cheque, if available, back to the Accounts Payable department indicating to please re-issue.  If stale-dated cheque is not available please contact the Accounts Payable Department with the cheque information and Accounts Payable will re-issue the cheque.  Missing cheques must be older than 30 days in order to be reissued.

All transactions must first clear departmental workflow before they can be reviewed by AP and have cheques created and/or deposits made.  How long this takes depends on the departmental approvers.  Once received by Accounts Payable, transactions are generally processed within 5 business days and cheques are produced three times a week and direct deposits (for expenses) twice a week.  A copy of the Accounts Payable Payment Schedule is available at https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/services/accounts-payable-reimbursements/accounts-payable-about-us/accounts-payable-payment-schedule/

 

The US exchange rates are updated regularly and can be found at https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/services/banking-ecommerce/u-s-exchange-rates.  For all other currencies, please use the Bank of Canada conversion calculator found here: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/daily-converter/

Honorarium

For questions concerning honorariums and/or paying a visiting professor, please contact the Accounts Payable department at aphelp@mcmaster.ca.

Independent Contractor Questionnaire (ICQ)

An ICQ is required when payments are being made to individuals for services rendered.  The ICQ or Independent Contractor Questionnaire determines whether or not an employer/employee relationship exists between the individual providing the service and the University.  For complete definitions and procedures please refer to the Policy on Engagement of Independent Contractors.  For more information please visit:  https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/services/procurement/buying -for-mcmaster/buying-from-independent-contractors/

The ICQ (Independent Contractor Questionnaire) can be found in the Policy on Payments to Individuals vs Employees.  The questionnaire is a fillable Excel spreadsheet.  The for more information and the fillable form can be found here:  https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/services/procurement/buying-for-mcmaster/buying-from-independent-contractors/  Upon completion and submission of the form you will be notified by the ICQ Administrator.  If the application is successful you will be provided with an ICQ number.  Please include this number on the payment documentation.

Invoices for Goods

The best practice for paying cell phones, internet or other utility-type expenses is PCard.

Invoices for goods for purchases made using a purchase order must be authorized for payment and sent to Accounts Payable.  Mail to One James North, OJN 320 or email to ap@mcmaster.ca.

Purchases less than $10,000 may be secured and paid for by PCard (BMO MasterCard) invoice (payable by Non PO Voucher) or MacBuy (eProcurement).  Purchases over $10,000 follow the Policy on Strategic Procurement. https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2019/02/SP_01-SEPT-2019-1.pdf

A supplier cannot be payed from a statement.  The original invoice must be submitted.

Invoices for Services

In cases where service provider sent the invoice to you for service delivered (e.g. computer repair, translation, legal fees), authorize the invoice for payment.  If the service totalled less than $10,000 prepare a non-PO voucher.  If the service was greater than $10,000 and a purchase order exists, forward the invoice to Accounts Payable, One James North, OJN 320 or email to ap@mcmaster.ca.  If service provider is an individual please contact aphelp@mcmasater.ca.

Mosaic Questions

After a voucher has successfully cleared workflow, the preparer will be notified via a system generated email message.  To check on the status of a specific voucher in Mosaic, navigate to: Finance->Accounts Payable->Vouchers->Add/update->Regular Entry.
Click “Find an Existing Value”, enter the “Voucher ID” number and click “Search”.  Click on the voucher to select it, and then click on “approval History” to see where the voucher is in the workflow process.

In the case of a cheque, the preparer of a request is notified when the request has been approved.  In the case if a direct deposit, the recipient is notified when payment has been issued.

A step-by-step user guide can be found in Mosaic under the Support and Documentation tile, then under How To Guides, in the Accounts Payable section:  “How to General a Voucher” and “How to find Cheque Information for a Non-PO Voucher”

Payment Cards

There are two corporate credit cards:

  1. Diners MasterCard for travel expenses and business meals. The application can be found at: https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2018/08/DinersClub-Application-2020-1.pdf
  2. BMO MasterCard for purchases of goods and services less than $10,000. Please find the application form at: https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2018/10/PCard-Application-and-Agreement.pdf

What is ‘My Wallet’?

‘My Wallet’ is a quick and easy way to pay expenses charged to your Diners Corporate Card.  The Diner’s charges are uploaded daily to the Mosaic system.  The cardholder or his/her delegate preparer must create an expense report to pay Diner’s directly.  For more information, contact  aphelp@mcmaster.ca

 

What is the University’s Policy on Delinquency Fees?

McMaster travelers may use their personal credit card or the Corporate Travel Card (Diners MasterCard) to pay travel-related expenses.  It is the responsibility of the traveler to ensure credit card statements are paid on or before the payment due date.  The Corporate Travel Card allows 60 days to settle an unpaid balance thereby providing ample time to process an expense reimbursement claim before delinquency charges are levied.  The preferred method of payment of travel-related expenses, therefore, is the Corporate Travel Card.  The cardholder is responsible for ensuring charges on the Corporate Travel Card are paid on time.  The University is not responsible for delinquency charges and will not reimburse these charges.  Please refer to the Policy and Guidelines for Reimbursements to Individuals for University Business (AP-01). https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/AP-01_Guidelines.pdf

 

How to reimburse Diners Club if a personal expense is in “My Wallet?”

Personal expenses charges to your Diners Club card are not reimbursable. Mark the expense as personal in the exceptions section of the expense report and pay Diners directly via cheques, on-line banking, etc. 

How do you reconcile a PCard?

Information on reconciling a PCard can be found on the Mosaic Learning Hub at Mosaictraining.mcmaster.ca.

 

Where do I submit my PCard reconciliation?             

PCard reconciliations are submitted via the Travel and Expense module in Mosaic.

 

What is the maximum value for purchasing on a PCard credit card?

The transaction limit is $10,000CDN before HST is calculated.  For USD, the transaction limit is purchase price, taxes + exchange rate must be less than $10,000.  The monthly limit $50,000.

 

Is there a submission due date for PCard reconciliation

PCard transactions are uploaded to My Wallet typically on the 28th of the month. Your PCard reconciliation is due in AP for approval by the 15th of the following month.

 

 

Terminology

Delegation is a word with multiple meanings depending on context.  There are three distinct meanings in McMaster financial and research systems. Understanding these three will help ensure that tasks and authority are assigned correctly.  Please find complete details at https://www.mcmaster.ca/mosaic/support/delegation.html

Training

Training sessions are available on Mosaic Learning Hub under Finance In-Class Training Registration. The learning hub can be found here:  https://mosaictraining.mcmaster.ca/

Support material is also available in Support and Documentation tiles in Mosaic Home page, then How to Guides tile. Training is available in Non-PO Voucher, Travel and Expense, PCard Reconciliation and Journal Entries.

Travel & Expense

The expenses that may be claimed by emeritus are determined by the administration of the individual department.

Training documents on travel and expense can be found in the Mosaic Support and Documentation tile, then How To Guides tile for Travel and Expense.

 

Reimbursement for cell phone expenses must be submitted through an Expense Report.  For help on submitting an Expense Report, Go to learning hub for more information and dates for upcoming training sessions. https://mosaictraining.mcmaster.ca/

All reimbursement claims must be supported by original receipts marked paid.  Please refer to the Policy on Reimbursements to Individuals for University Business.

https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/AP-01_Guidelines.pdf

The targeted and/or actual timelines for the processing of financial transactions can be found in the VP Administration’s Key Performance Indicators. These timelines apply only after the transactions have cleared departmental workflow and reached central finance.  http://www.mcmaster.ca/vpadmin/kpi.html

Non-employees should be reimbursed using a single payment Non-PO voucher.

Follow the guidelines at the following link https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2018/08/rentingvehiclesguidelines.pdf

A per diem meal allowance may be claimed in lieu of actual costs where expenses are funded by external agencies or sponsors (except agencies or ministries of the government of Ontario).  Receipts are not required to support the per diem meal allowance.  Note:  Only meal cost incurred while on University business or during travel for University business should be claimed.  The per diem allowance will not apply where meals are included as part of another reimbursable item (e.g. conference, transportation).  The per diem claim should be reduced accordingly.  The meal allowance includes gratuities and taxes.  Please refer to the Guidelines for Reimbursements to Individuals for University Business (AP-01) for more information and recent per diem rates.

https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/AP-01_Guidelines.pdf

Wire Transfers

Wire transfer payments are charged to the requesting department at $30.00 and are processed once a week.  Complete the Foreign Payment Request form and attach it to the Non-PO Voucher.

https://financial-affairs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2018/08/foreign_payment-1.pdf