The statements contained in this document are designed to:

1. Document financial transaction procedures applicable to all campuses of the University System.
2. Serve as a reference for both experienced and infrequent users of the USNH ERP system, BANNER Finance.
3. Provide guidance and reference for all persons performing financial functions.
4. Promote administrative efficiency by clearly documenting correct methods of transaction processing.
5. Promote consistency and uniformity in the treatment of financial transactions.
6. Complement training of personnel to meet financial reporting and management control requirements.
7. Reduce the need of central processing support staff to spend time answering each individual inquiry on a particular subject. With these documents, departmental users will be referred to the appropriate procedure in the documentation.

If there is a question on any of the material covered in the procedures, users are urged to contact the USNH Corporate Accounting Manager at 603-862-3127 or e-mail accounting.operations@usnh.edu.

Comments, suggestions, input and additional draft procedures are needed and encouraged to make this document more complete and useable for everyone at USNH with financial responsibilities. Your continued support is essential.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. DEFINITION OF A BANNER FUND

Fund is the "F" in "FOAPAL"-- the set of elements that makes up an accounting string in Banner.

A Banner Fund IS:

• A Fund is a self-balancing set of accounts, grouped by major purpose in accordance with current accounting standards. The major fund groups are classified in accordance with activities or objectives, which include funds for university system operations--unrestricted and restricted--loan funds; endowment funds; plant funds and agency funds.
  • These fund groups are similar to distinctions you may make in your personal financial management--such as a checkbook for your regular income and operating expenses such as rent, food, gas; a savings account for accumulating money for big-ticket items such as furniture or a new car; an investment portfolio for longer-term items such as retirement.
• A Fund maintains a Fund Balance, which is a cumulative record of the monies that have flowed in and out of the fund--like your checkbook balance after you have recorded your paycheck and deducted the checks you have written.
• Funds are organized in Banner by "Fund Type” (general, internally designated, auxiliary, etc.). Fund types allow various processes to include or exclude major groups of funds. Banner’s rule codes also use the fund types to appropriately generate accounting entries.
• One use of fund can be to designate grant or other multi-year operations – each grant and each R&R project must have at least one fund unique to that grant or R&R project.
• Individual funds will be used for all grant and contracts, plant fund projects, and buildings.

A Banner Fund is NOT:

• An event is not a Fund. This may be an activity within a fund-org.
• A department is not a Fund. This is represented by an ORGN code in Banner.

B. QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE REQUESTING A NEW FUND CODE:

• Do the related activities need to maintain their own unique fund balance? (Example 1: Each UNH RC Unit has it own general operating fund in Banner. Example 2: Each grant must have at least one unique fund, and may have more than one unique fund in Banner).
• Is this a source of funds?
• Does this represent a one time or recurring event? If so, perhaps it is more appropriately represented as an Activity Code in Banner.

See Also:

2-021: USNH Fund Descriptions
2-022: General Coding Conventions
2-023: USNH Grant Fund Coding Conventions
2-024: Banner Fund Matrix

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. CURRENT FUNDS

1. Unrestricted Current Funds

Unrestricted Current funds include all funds received for which no stipulation was made by a donor or other external agency as to the purpose for which they may be expended. They include the general operating funds of USNH related to its primary mission as well as internally designated funds and auxiliary services.

a. Educational and General (E&G)

i. Undesignated E&G Funds: In Banner, these funds are designated with a "U" as the second letter and are included in the fund type "U".   Following are some examples of the general funds at each of the campuses:

1U0000 - University of New Hampshire (UNH) Institutional Educational and General
5U0000 - Keene State College (KSC) General Operating
6U0000 - Plymouth State University (PSU) Educational and General
7U0000 - Granite State College (GSC) Education and General
9UG000 - Chancellor's Office (SYS) University System E&G

Campuses may create additional E&G funds as needed.  In addition to specific general funds for each Responsibility Center (RC) unit, UNH has six Program Appropriation Unit (PAU) fund's associated with its general fund activities:

1UR020 - Industrial Research & Consulting Center
1UB022 - Agricultural Experiment Station - State Station
1UB023 - Agricultural Experiment Station - State Forestry Offset
1UR024 - Marine Research and Development
1UX026 - Cooperative Extension Service - State PAU
1UX028 - CES - Extension Work in Counties

Undesignated E&G Revenues are recorded according to their source. Examples include student tuition and fees; State of NH general appropriations; general sales and services of educational departments and undesignated investment income.

Undesignated E&G Expenditures include those incurred for goods and services used in the conduct of the institution's general operations which are supported by Unrestricted, Undesignated E&G Current Revenue.  Expenditures are recorded by natural classification in account pools representing the following spending categories: salaries and wages, fringe benefits, supplies and services, financial aid and participant support, grant subcontracts, capital equipment and construction related expenses.

ii. Internally Designated Funds:

The Internally Designated classification of E&G funds includes balances that are not restricted by an outside donor or agency but have been formally designated for a specific purpose by campus administration. Internally Designated funds are generally self-supporting and require full budgetary spending controls. All revenues are recorded in account codes relating to the type of revenue source, and expenditures are recorded in account codes related to the natural classification of the expense (salaries, supplies, etc).  For financial reporting purposes, Internally Designated funds are treated as a separate segment of Current Unrestricted fund balance. This is due to the fact that these funds are not viewed as being immediately available for general operating needs (although administration may remove their designation at any time and, thus, make them available for general operations).  Internally designated funds use a "D" as the second character of the fund code. 

b. Auxiliary Enterprises

An Auxiliary Enterprise is an operation that exists to furnish goods or services to the university community (students, faculty and staff) and which charges a fee directly related to the cost of the goods or services sold. Auxiliary enterprises are managed as self-supporting operations and, therefore, are allocated their appropriate share of administrative overhead, fringe benefits, facilities maintenance, etc. Auxiliary Enterprises require unique fund(s) to account for their operations. Auxiliary funds are coded with an "A" as the second character of the fund. Examples of Auxiliary operations include, but are not limited to:

  Housing
  Dining Services
  Telecommunications
  Student Union Services
  Printing Services

Note: Athletics are accounted for as an Auxiliary Enterprise at UNH only. KSC and PSU athletic programs are accounted for under other Unrestricted Current funds as Student Services.

c. Deferred Revenue and Prepaid Expense Funds

USNH no longer maintains separate funds for different types of balance sheet accounts. All assets and liabilities are recorded within the fund of origin, unless otherwise stipulated by the users. The exception to this is the use of certain funds for deferred revenues and prepaid expenses. These are holding funds during the fiscal year and related balances are moved to the proper balance sheet accounts weekly via an automated process

i. Prepaid Expense Funds
Examples of activity charged to these funds include supply purchases made during the academic year for summer session classes, etc. All of these funds are coded per the convention of their campus current funds. The last three characters must be "PPD".
ii. Deferred Revenue Funds
Examples of activity recorded in these funds include advance tuition payments, student deposits, summer session tuition revenues, etc. All of these funds are coded per the convention of their campus current funds. The last three characters must be "DEF".

2. Restricted Current Funds

Restricted Current funds are those available for financing operations, but which are limited by donors or external agencies, foundations, etc., for specific purposes, programs, departments or schools. Included in this group are grants and contracts, gifts externally designated as to purpose, and restricted endowment income payout funds.

Expenditures of amounts which are externally restricted for the support of specific operations are recorded in the specific restricted funds. In other words, if the source of the funds is restricted as to use, then the use is a restricted expenditure even though the benefit may be derived by an otherwise unrestricted department. For example, when UNH receives a gift from a donor for general support of the Biology department these funds are restricted for use by the Biology department and are recorded as revenue and expenditures within the Biology Department Restricted Gifts fund.

Within Banner, all restricted current funds related to sponsored programs used a numeric value for the second character of the fund code. All other fund types have an alpha character in this location. Sponsored program funds are assigned a Fund Type of "P1" or "P2". Restricted Current-Use Gift funds have a second character of "G" and are assigned Fund Type "G".

a. Sponsored Research and Sponsored Programs
Maintained for externally sponsored activities organized to produce research outcomes, support training activities and account for state and federally sponsored student financial aid funds. Organizations are established as "Multi-Year Project" or grant in Banner and are grouped into funds based on funding agency or source. These funds are included in fund type "P1". Separate funds are created and maintained in Banner for each grant award received.
b. Agricultural/Environmental Research, Public Service and Other
These funds are used by the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and UNH Cooperative Extension Service units to maintain accountability for activities sponsored by agricultural research sales, and other governmental sources such as Hatch and Smith Leaver funds. These funds are assigned fund type "P2".
c. Restricted Current Gifts and Endowment Income
The annual payout for each restricted endowment fund, and most current-use restricted gifts require a separate fund code in Banner. These funds are included in fund type "G"

B. LOAN FUNDS

Loan funds have been designated by a donor, the institution, or other legal agreements to be made available for loans to students, faculty and staff. The activity in USNH Loan funds is primarily managed through each campus' student accounts office. In Banner these funds all have an "L" as the second character, and are assigned fund type "L" if created with restricted grant or gift funding or "LU" for unrestricted institutional loan funds.

C. ENDOWMENT AND SIMILAR FUNDS

Endowment funds function similarly to a trust. A sum of money is invested. The income from the investment is made available for use, and the principal remains invested and intact.

Unless there are additional gifts to an endowment fund, the balance of the fund will only change semi-annually when gains/losses on the investments are posted to the funds. Exceptions to this are: donor agreements requiring all income be added to the principal balance until it reaches some pre-designated level, or agreements stipulating any unused income be moved back to principal. In the latter case, the income becomes a permanent part of the principal.

Within Banner, all endowment and similar funds are recorded in funds with a second character of "T" or "Q".

1. True Endowment Funds (Fund type T1 = unrestricted, Fund type T2 = restricted)

These are funds for which donors have stipulated that the principal of the fund is not expendable. That is, the historic gift balance is to remain inviolate in perpetuity (True Endowment) or for an expressed period (Term Endowment) and is to be invested for the purpose of producing income to be expended for the stated purpose.

True Endowment funds may be either restricted or unrestricted. This is determined by the requirements placed upon the use of the income by the donor. As an example, one donor leaves $500,000 to be invested in perpetuity with the income available for general support of the UNH campus; and another donor leaves $100,000 to be invested in perpetuity with the income available to support the UNH College of engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS). Both are True Endowment funds. They both require the principal balance to be invested. This is a specific request of the donor, not an interpretation of the governing board. The first gift ($500,000) is unrestricted, and the second gift ($100,000) is restricted. In the first instance, the income is available for any use determined by the management. The second requires the funds be used to benefit CEPS. How CEPS spends the funds is determined by the College. However, it is still restricted for financial statement purposes.

The spendable income from endowment funds is recorded in Current funds called a "Payout funds." If the use of the annual endowment payout is restricted, the payout fund in Banner will be a current restricted gift fund. Alternately, if the use of the payout is unrestricted the payout fund will be a current internally designated fund.

2. Quasi-Endowment (Funds functioning as Endowments) [Fund type Q1=unrestricted, Q2=restricted]

These are funds that USNH Presidents (rather than a donor) have requested be retained and invested. Since these funds are not required by the donor to be retained and invested, the principal as well as the income may be utilized at the discretion of the governing board, subject to any donor imposed restrictions on use.

Similar to True endowments Quasi-endowments may be either restricted or unrestricted. The key distinction is that True endowments are binding legal agreements with a third party, whereas Quasi-endowments are designated by the USNH Board of Trustees or campus presidents; as such, they are subject to revocation.

To establish a Quasi-endowment of up to $1,000,000, the President/Chief Executive Officer of the campus should request such a fund in writing via the USNH Treasurer. Quasi-endowment funds greater than $1,000,000.00 must be approved by the Board of Trustees as noted in: http://www.usnh.edu/policy/bot/iv-financial-policies/g-quasi-endowments-also-known-funds-functioning-endowments. Each such request should include the following:

• A brief description of why management feels the institution is better served by investing the amount as a Quasi-endowment.
• An indication of how the income will be used (in accordance with the donor's wishes, if applicable).
• Signature of the President/Chief Executive Officer denoting approval.

3. Life Income and Annuity Funds

Life Income and Annuity funds have an "M" as the second character and are included in the fund type "M".

a. Annuity Funds:
These funds are acquired under agreements whereby money or other property is made available to the institution with the condition that it bind itself to pay stipulated amounts periodically to the donor. The payments terminate at a time specified in the agreement, and the remaining balance is retained by the institution.
b. Life Income Funds:
These funds are acquired under agreements where money or other property is available to the institution with the condition that it bind itself to pay the donor the income earned by the assets during their lifetime. Depending upon the agreement, the principal then becomes available to the institution as either Current funds or Endowment funds.

D. PLANT FUNDS

1. Unexpended Plant Funds

Fund balances of Unexpended Plant funds represent amounts earmarked for plant projects which remain unexpended at the reporting date. Additions to unexpended plant fund balances include State of N.H. capital appropriations and transfers from other fund groups to support specific construction projections. Reductions include disbursements for construction and plant operations. Unused unexpended plant balances are returned to the original source of funds upon completion of the related project.

Amounts budgeted annually for campus Renovation and Adaption (R+A) amounts reside in Unexpended Plant funds until expended on a related project.

2. Net Invested in Plant Funds

The Net Investment in Plant fund balance represents the excess of the depreciated cost of plant assets over associated liabilities. Additions to this fund arise from capitalization of plant project costs; purchases of buildings and capital equipment; or from gifts of plant assets (i.e., gifts in kind). Reductions in the fund balance result from the recording of depreciation; disposal, abandonment, or sale of plant assets; or the issuance of external debt to fund costs of new construction or renovation projects.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Procedure 02-024 USNH Banner Fund Matrix updated 05/30/2017

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

Campus Chief Financial Officers (CFO's) are responsible for resolving deficits. The USNH Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs is responsible for monitoring deficits and establishing appropriate deficit spending controls.

1. Definition of deficit spending. Each fund in the USNH general ledger (Banner) is a separate accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts for recording assets, liabilities, fund balance (i.e., net assets), revenues, expenditures, and transfers. Each fund has a source of funding, whether it be revenue from external or internal sources, or a transfer of funds from another fund. If the expenditures within a Banner fund exceed the funding sources, a deficit occurs. In other words, a deficit results when the sum of current year-to-date revenues plus the beginning fund balance is less than the current year-to-date expenses. 
2. Deficit spending is prohibited. At all times during the fiscal year, funds must maintain a fund balance of zero or greater. The funding source should be identified, secured and recorded in Banner before expenses may be incurred. To do otherwise would cause the cash balance in the fund to be negative, similar to an overdrawn personal checking account. 
3. Exceptions for deficit spending. Auxiliary enterprise funds may, with proper campus CFO approval, incur temporary deficits during the fiscal year due to the business nature of their operations, i.e., they must often incur expenses before generating revenue. However, auxiliary enterprises must end the fiscal year with a positive fund balance. Internally designated funds may, with proper campus CFO approval, incur temporary deficits during the year provided that the CFO notes when the deficit will be corrected and identifies a specific Unrestricted Undesignated E&G FOAPAL that will absorb any remaining deficit at year end. Restricted sponsored projects and Plant fund capital manifest accounts will typically run deficits since most contracts require USNH to incur costs prior to seeking reimbursement from the agencies. All other funds require specific written permission as defined under section B. below to be in deficit position.
4. Responsibilities regarding deficit spending. Each campus CFO is responsible for assuring compliance with this procedure for all funds at his/her campus. The USNH Controller is responsible for the monitoring and periodic reporting of deficit spending to the Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs. A periodic report of auxiliary enterprise activities and fund balance is also presented to the Financial Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees. 

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

This procedure details the establishment of appropriate deficit spending authorization.

1. Unrestricted, undesignated funds (Education/general funds with a U in the second character of the funds code) may be permitted to incur deficits with approval from the campus CFO or higher designee.
2. Auxiliary Enterprise Funds (funds with second character of A) may be permitted to incur deficits with written approval from the campus CFO or his/her designee. 
3. Internally Designated funds will generally be expected to maintain a fund balance of zero or greater. Exceptions may be allowed only when adhering to the following:
 

a. The requesting department will document the purpose of the activity in this fund and the level of deficit being requested.
b. A specific plan as to how the deficit will be eliminated prior to year end will be identified.
c. An Unrestricted Undesignated E&G FOAPAL will be identified that will absorb any open deficit remaining in the fund at year end.
d. The campus CFO authorizes all of the above, in writing, and submits it to the Controller's Office for annual monitoring.

It is the responsibility of the Campus CFO to make certain any outstanding deficit is cleared at year end. Any deficit not cleared by the end of 13th month will be journaled by the Controller's Office to the Unrestricted Undesignated E&G FOAPAL identified in 3.c. above.

4. Restricted current funds, other than gifts and endowment income funds, (P1 and P2 funds) will be permitted to operate at any amount (positive or negative) upon written authorization from the campus CFO or the UNH Sponsored Programs Administration Office. It will be these individuals' responsibility to ensure the prudent management of these funds, in accordance with all USNH policies and procedures. Adequate spending controls should be exercised through Banner budget mechanisms.
5. Plant funds including capital manifest accounts and certain auxiliary renovation/adaption (R&A) projects are allowed to carry temporary deficit balances. Capital manifest accounts are large construction/improvement projects funded by the state. USNH incurs the expense and "bills" the state for reimbursement, so these funds will always be in deficit during the life of the project. Some auxiliary R&A projects, funded by Housing, Dining, etc., must be encumbered prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, and therefore operate in a deficit during those times.
6. All other funds in Banner are not expected to have deficit balances.  These include loan funds, endowment funds, agency funds, and restricted current fund gifts/endowment income funds. Deficits in these fund groups require written approval from the campus CFO or his/her designee. 

A Banner Org is literally the institution's organizational structure. To be a Banner Org it more than likely will have personnel costs and be an identifiable organization that would be defined as a department or sub department of the institution.  As an example, a very rough structure for UNH might look something like this.

 

The Banner ORG may cross funds, and be associated with many aspects in the chart of account. The Banner ORG can be considered the center of the chart of account.

 

Banner supports eight (8) levels of hierarchy for the Org code. At USNH we have adopted a coding convention that uses the first four levels systematically for several reporting and routing purposes. Beyond that, each campus is at liberty to use the remaining levels as they see fit.

The Banner Org code is the primary value that is used to route transactions through approvals. The routing, with very few exceptions, is based on the level-3 org code which will route all dependent orgs to the same approval queue Because of this, changes to org codes at or above level-3 become much or cumbersome to manage.

Banner Organization (ORGN) Code Hierarchy

Level 1 represents each campus. As of this writing, there are 5 level 1 orgs at USNH. These orgs are not data enterable and are primarily used for reporting purposes.

Level 2 represents a Vice President or major organization structure.

Level 3 is designed to be the approval level for each department. At UNH this typically is the BSC responsible for the area. At KSC and PSU some additional granulation was required which places their routing at level 4. This is also the level where sub-campuses such as UNHF become identified.

Level 4 through 8 will allow for additional sub-groupings within the organizational units. Some uses of Level 5 through 8 could be for Principal Investigator orgs, programs, and other sub-departmental groupings.

Each of the lower levels is controlled or responsible to the org defined as it's predecessor. Ultimately, all orgs will lead back to one of the level 1 orgs. Approvals routing is based on a combination of level 3 and level 4 orgs.

Further stratification of detail may be obtained through the use of activity codes, rather than additional organizations.

A. Does this unit have both management & personnel? If yes, it could be a Banner ORG.

B. Is this unit considered a department? If yes, it could be a Banner ORG

C. Is this a program that, for accounting/management purposes, requires separate reporting? If yes, it could be a

• Fund
• Org
• Account, or
• Activity

D. Is this a restricted funding source (i.e. gift/grant)? If yes, then it could be a fund.

E. Is this a group of related expenditures that need to be reported for separately? If yes, it could be an activity.

F. Is this a revenue source (i.e. Biology fee, Admin fee)? If yes, this could be a "revenue" account code.

G. Is this a specific type of expense (i.e. financial aid contingency, bad debts)? If yes, then this could be an "expense" account code or an activity.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

General Coding

• All data enterable orgs will have 6 characters
• First character represents campus
• Second character represents campus division
• Remaining characters assigned by users/campuses/central offices

First character = Campus:

Second character:

For UNH

For KSC

For PSU

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This statement defines a mandatory transfer and provides specific procedures for processing mandatory transfer transactions in Banner.

1. Definition of a mandatory transfer. See Procedure 2-044, Inter-fund Transfers, Non-mandatory, for the definition of an non-mandatory inter-fund transfer.

a. Mandatory transfers arise out of binding legal agreements. They are required transfers of resources to other funds for the purpose of meeting these legal agreements. Examples include:
b. Transfers to Plant funds due to legal obligations specified in bond resolutions or indenture agreements, and Transfers to Plant funds for payments on capital leases (see Procedure 8-115, Leases and Rental Agreements.)

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

Generally it is not recommended that a mandatory transfer be created outside the Controller's Office. Please contact the USNH Accounting Services if you have any questions regarding new transactions which may require mandatory transfer codes.

1. Responsibility for recording mandatory transfers. The Controller's Office generally handles mandatory transfers for bonded debt service. Lease payments are generally initiated by departments directly. It is the department's responsibility to properly record payments as an operating lease expense or a capital lease mandatory transfer, after consultation with the USNH Accounting Services (see Procedure 8-115, Leases and Rental Agreements.) Persons responsible for entering and authorizing mandatory transfer transactions are also responsible for using proper Banner account codes.

2. Reporting requirements. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) require that all funds expended for repayment of debt related to property and equipment (including capital leases) be recorded as expense in the Plant fund. The source of funds for the payment of principal and interest is through normal current fund operations. The movement of these funds to Plant funds from Current funds for this purpose is a mandatory transfer. Mandatory transfers are reported separately from operations and non-mandatory transfers in the campus. These transactions are required by GAAP to be separate line items in calculating changes in fund balances. The financial statements required for monthly, quarterly and annual reporting in accordance with GAAP are totally dependent on the proper coding of inter-fund transfer transactions in Banner.

3. How to read the transfer code listing The proper codes are determined by the purpose of the transfer. Locate the purpose on the table. The account code listed under the first column labeled "DEBIT ACCOUNT CODE" is the  code you will use for the debit side of the entry. The account code listed under the second column labeled "CREDIT ACCOUNT CODE" will be used for the credit side of the entry - REGARDLESS OF THE FUND AFFECTED.

4. All entries for transfers must balance. Mandatory transfer debits must equal mandatory transfer credits and all lines must be valid mandatory transfer codes. The exception to this rule is capital lease payments generated by departments on INVs. The INV debits a valid mandatory transfer code and credits cash because it is generating a check. The credit side of the transfer code and the debits in the Plant fund will be recorded by the Controller's Office on a quarterly basis.

5. Banner documents to use for mandatory transfers. Most inter-fund transfers are processed on a JV document in Banner. Exceptions to this rule are mandatory transfers for debt service and capital lease payments, which can be processed on a INV.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This procedure describes the purpose of an inter-fund transfer and defines non-mandatory as opposed to mandatory transfers (see Procedure 02-043, Inter-Fund Transfers - Mandatory). Inter-fund transfers are subject to certain restrictions imposed by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Finally, this statement provides specific procedures for processing non-mandatory transfers in Banner.

1. Definition of an inter-fund transfer. An inter-fund transfer is an accounting transaction which moves fund balance (reserves) from one fund to another fund. By definition, transfers cannot occur within the same fund. There is never a net economic impact on USNH as a whole due to a transfer, since the transaction is entirely between funds. There is no external cash involved. A transfer does not increase or decrease total USNH revenues or expenses. Except for those transactions processed monthly on recurring feed entries made by central offices (for example, internal borrowing and debt service repayments, etc.), transfers should not be routine transactions. Fund accounting is the practice by which resources are maintained in separate fund accounts to provide proper stewardship over the resources entrusted to administration. If transfers among funds are routine, it means either stewardship is lacking or the funds were not properly established or budgeted.
2. Mandatory versus non-mandatory transfers. Transfers are classified as either mandatory (see Procedure 02-043, Inter-fund Transfers - Mandatory) or non-mandatory.

Non-mandatory transfers are authorized only by the governing board or administration. Unlike mandatory inter-fund transfers, there is no legally binding requirement to make the transaction. Examples include:

a. Transfers to a Plant fund for purposes of renovating or constructing fixed assets.
b. Transfers by campus central offices in support of departmental initiatives.
c. Transfers to internally designated funds to support research projects of new faculty members.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. All inter-fund transfers must be approved by the Accounting Services department of the USNH Controller's Office as detailed below:

a. Transfers to or from an Unrestricted Undesignated Educational and General (E&G) fund and any other fund require prior approval from the Campus CFO or his/her designee, unless:

i. the transfer was part of the original budget as approved by the Trustees, or
ii. the transfer is of a type which has received previous blanket approval from the Trustees, or
iii. the transfer is to fund a grant cost sharing commitment made at the time the award is accepted, or
iv. the transfer is from Unrestricted, Undesignated E&G to Internally Designated funds for Indirect Cost Revenue credited to the account of specific Principal Investigators (PIs) for future competitive research initiatives, or
v. the transfer (or the aggregate of similar transfers) is less than $50,000.

b. Transfers to Quasi Endowment funds require USNH Treasurer approval for amounts up to $1,000,000 and Financial Affairs Committee approval for amounts over $1,000,000.  In addition all transfers out of Quasi Endowment funds require trustee approval. 
c. Transfers from Internally Designated or Auxiliary Enterprise funds to Plant funds require campus CFO written approval unless included in the approved Original All Funds Budget (OAFBUD) for the year. Transfers to Plant for annual campus Renovation and Adaption (R&A) costs, if part of the original approved budget, are exempted from CFO approval.
d. Transfers to or from Restricted Current funds or True Endowment funds generally cannot be made. Please contact the USNH Controller if you feel such a transaction is warranted.

2. Transactions which are not transfers.

a. Budget moves are not accounting entries at all. When additional budgeted funds are required in a Banner account and are being used from another account within the same fund, this is a budget move, not an inter-fund transfer. The current budget and spending authority is modified through journal vouchers using budget class codes.  Increases and decreases in expense or revenue budgets within undesignated, unrestricted current educational and general funds do not usually require funds to be transferred by Accounting Services. If an inter-fund transfer is required in these cases, the USNH Budget Office or Campus Finance Office handles the budget move and the Controller's Office handles the inter-fund transfer.
b. Internal allocations (Internal Vouchers). These are instances where the actual expense incurred is shared by more than one department, fund or campus. In these cases, all costs are paid to vendors from one account to manage the cost of operating the department, project or event. Then periodic (usually monthly or quarterly) accounting entries are made to allocate the costs to the department benefiting from the expense. Examples of this type of activity are telecommunications, administrative service charges to auxiliary enterprises, and facility service support charges to auxiliaries. Transfer codes are not needed for internal allocations. Instead, the 76 series of account codes are used for both the debit and credit so the integrity of total USNH expenses within each expense grouping may be maintained.
c. Purchases with multiple sources of funding. Occasionally, departments charge an entire purchase to one fund, planning to recoup a portion of the cost from other funds at a latter date. When this accounting entry occurs, it is an allocation of costs not a transfer. It should not be accomplished with transfer codes. Instead, the journal entry (JV) should debit and credit the appropriate expense object code as charged on the original purchase order (PO) or invoice (INV). The PO/INV should be referenced on the JV either in the description field or in the document reference number field. This method should be used only in circumstances where it is not possible to charge each source directly on the original PO/INV.

It is far more preferable to charge the specific FOAPAL of the source(s) of the funds on the PO when the item is initially ordered. There can be multiple funds referenced including both restricted and unrestricted funds on a single PO. By charging the specific FOAPAL on the original PO/INV, USNH's fiduciary responsibility for the proper management and use of funds is more easily proven since payments to vendors for specific purchases can be readily seen by reviewing the Banner online invoice distribution accounting form (FAAINVE). By charging another account initially, the transaction trail is more difficult to follow.
3. Reporting requirements. Transfers are reported in summary and in detail as part of the year end financial audit work papers.  All reporting on inter-fund transfers is dependent on the proper coding of inter-fund transfer transactions in Banner. These transactions can materially misstate fund balances classifications if not coded correctly in Banner. Therefore, careful attention to the detailed operating procedures which follow is required.
4. How to use the transfer code listing. The proper codes are determined by the purpose of the transfer. Locate the purpose in the title of the account code. The "revenue credit account code listed under the first column labeled "ACCT CODE" under the title "Transfers In (Credit)" is the account code you will use for the credit side of the entry. The account code listed under the fourth column under the heading "Transfers Out (Debit)" labeled "ACCT CODE" will be used for the debit side of the entry - REGARDLESS OF THE FUND AFFECTED.

Example: Assume a transfer is needed from the General funds to Plant funds to help fund a major new construction project. The purpose of the transfer is to fund a capital project. The correct codes are:

For Capital projects not R&R 

Debit - 8O1039 Credit - 8I1039

The JV should debit the account code 8O1039 and credit the appropriate plant fund using account code 8I1039.

5. Proper supporting documentation. As with all documents to be processed through Banner, proper supporting documentation is essential. This is especially true for inter-fund transfers since approvals are centrally held. To process the document as quickly as possible, all information a reader of the document should reasonably need to know to authorize this document should be included in the document text field or attached to the document through the Banner Document Management System. Simply put, proper supporting documentation means adequate (but not excessive) relevant documentation (e.g., document text, calculations, report totals, external invoices, contracts, etc.) that explains the transaction so an uninformed reader can understand the transaction.
6. All entries for transfers must balance. That is, the transfer debits must equal the transfer credits and all the lines must be valid transfer codes.
7. Banner documents to use for non-mandatory transfers. All non-mandatory transfer documents, except those processed as part of an automated Banner feed, should be prepared and entered into Banner via a JV document using a rule code beginning with JE. A non-mandatory transfer is not an original receipt of funds, therefore it should not be on a CR (Cash Receipt class code). Nor is it a legitimate expenditure, therefore it should not be on any kind of a purchasing or payment document.
8. Processing time required. Transfer transactions require time to secure approvals before they can be posted within Banner. This can only occur when these procedures are followed and proper documentation accompany the document. Omitting documentation of approvals outside of Banner or relevant documentation will slow the approval process. Please allow enough time. To facilitate the processing turnaround time required on these documents the following should be addressed prior to forwarding the documents to the Controller's Office:

a. Make sure there is sufficient available fund balance to process the document.
b. All supporting documentation must be attached. (See B.5 above)
c. All required approvals have been secured and documented in the available text fields. (See B.1 above)

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Definition of a Banner Activity (ACTV) Code

An Activity is the second "A" in FOAPAL - - the set of elements that defines an accounting string in Banner.

It is a 6 character user-defined alpha-numeric code.

The Banner Activity is used to aggregate revenues or expenses across funding sources by related purpose for reporting that cannot be captured in other elements of the FOAPAL. It is typically used to account for special activities or events.

It is possible to budget at the activity level, but spending is not controlled at this level.

The creation, use and maintenance of Banner Activity codes is decentralized, allowing users to add Activity codes as needed by directly updating the table in Banner.

Questions to ask to determine whether an Activity:

If the answer is "Yes" to one or more of the following, Activity will more than likely be needed-

• Is activity relatively simple or not ongoing?
• Is activity minimal?
• Are there little or no payroll expenses?
• Is little management required by the activity?
• Is activity an internal designation rather than an external designation such as a gift?
• Is the user trying to report on activity not already recorded in other elements of the FOAPAL? For example, segregating a travel budget by faculty member?
• Is activity related to a conference, workshop, event or function?

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

Attribute Values General Coding

The attribute value is 8 characters long. Any number of these characters may or may not be used - at the discretion of the creator. The description associated with the value is 50 characters long, this is what will be printed on a report when this attribute type and value are used.

There are several guidelines to consider as one builds values for their attributes.

• Sorting
  • The attribute values will be what is sorted in the report. The user-friendly title related to the value will be printed, but the value is what is sorted.
  • When it is important that some value appear before another in a report, the values must sort that way or the report will not appear as desired.
  • The reporting uses an alpha-numeric sort, with numbers sorting before letters
  • Recommendation: use the first two characters of the value code as being numeric - then the remaining 6 characters to identify the value's purpose at your discretion.
  • Include a leading "0" when referencing single digit numbers. This will keep the sorting in proper order
  • Example:
    • 05SOMETH
    • 10SOMEEL
    • 15EVERMR
    • 20ATTOP2
• Leave room for expansion
  • When initially creating values - leave gaps in the numbering so that future needs may be met without significant effort.
  • Begin numbering at "05xxxxxx" or "10xxxxxx" and continue in increments of 5 or 10 respectively. When there is a need for an intervening value there are available numbers that will keep the report sorting correctly
  • If you have a type with a large number of values - you may want to use the first three characters for the number fields and the last five to identify the purpose
  • Example:
    • 005SOMET
    • 010SOMEE
    • 015EVERM
    • 020ATTOP
• Other Existing conventions
  • Maintain the use of existing conventions described elsewhere when codification involves campus or department identification
  • Such as:
    • Campus indicators of 1, 5, 6, etc.
    • Campus letter indicators of U, P, K, Y etc.
  • See
    • Procedure 02-022-USNH General Coding Conventions for FUND
    • Procedure 02-032-Organization (ORGN) coding Conventions
• Include "ZZNOTAPP" as a value that can be assigned to elements which are not to be included in your report.
  • The "ZZ" at the front will typically sort below anything else that has values which will include anything with these values in the report, but will confine them to the very bottom of the report until properly classified.
  • Doing this makes it possible to determine when there are elements that do not yet have values assigned.

The attributes provide significant flexibility and control over how a report can be generated. Proper coding of the values related to the types is critical to achieving the desired reporting outcomes.

Example

The example below helps to demonstrate the utility of the codes as well as the need to carefully code each type-value combination to each FOAPAL element.

In the following example, using the

FCAMPUS, FSUBCAMP and FDIVRCM types and the values assigned to the funds - a tiered report can be created and would also support subtotals for dollars at each level.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Orgn Attributes

If a user has need of any additional Values for any of the attributes noted above, the Steward of the attribute should be consulted. If that is not possible, there may be need for a new Attribute, see Procedure 02-048, Definition of Attributes in Banner.

For a list of Values available for each of these items - please see Appendix G.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy explains the handling of Uniform Guidance defined unallowable costs in the accounting system. Costs that are disallowed by USNH financial and administrative policies are addressed in Chapter 8, Business Expenditures, of this Financial and Administrative procedures Manual.

1. Definition: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, commonly called Uniform Guidance, defines those costs that are allowable and which are unallowable. The tests of allow ability under these principles are: (a) the costs must be reasonable; (b) they must be allocable to sponsored agreements under the principles and methods provided herein; (c) they must be given consistent treatment through application of those generally accepted accounting principles appropriate to the circumstances; and (d) they must conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the sponsored agreement as to types or amounts of cost items. Unallowable items fall into two categories: expenses which are by their nature unallowable (e.g., alcohol), and unallowable activities (e.g., fund raising).
2. Why is an Unallowable Costs Policy Necessary? Uniform Guidance defines which costs may be charged as direct costs to federal programs as well as which costs may be included as Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs (indirect costs). Since USNH engages in federally sponsored programs, all institutional costs must comply with Uniform Guidance.

Uniform Guidance requires USNH to maintain an accounting system that properly captures and eliminates from our F&A cost proposal all unallowable costs. Since all department expenditures are a part of the F&A cost rate calculations, it is important that all staff understand and consistently follow this policy.
3. Guidelines on the proper handling of Uniform Guidance Unallowable Costs: Non-employment Advertising, Bad Debts and Legal Costs must be charged to specific account codes as described insection B.1. Alcohol is an expense that is allowed only on specific accounts (see section B.1.). In addition, the activities listed in section B.2. have predefined FOAPAL's that were established to specifically account for these activities. All such activities must be in one of these FOAPALS and should not be charged to other kinds of accounts. Directly associated costs must be captured as well. A directly associated cost is any cost which is generated solely as a result of the incurrence of another cost, and which would not have been incurred had the other cost not been incurred.
4. Responsibility: Responsibility for following these guidelines lies with project directors; department chairs; and administrators charged with the financial oversight of the campuses, colleges, schools, and divisions. Sponsored programs administration offices at each campus, the USNH Controller's Office and other administrative offices are responsible for guidance, training and insuring compliance through periodic reviews. Questions on the allowability of costs should be directed to sponsored programs administration offices at each campus. As questions on allowability of certain costs can require interpretation and judgment, departments are encouraged to ask for assistance in making those determinations.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURE

1. Unallowable Expenses: Unique object code ranges have been assigned to properly track and eliminate specific types of expenses that may not be charged to federally sponsored agreements, either directly or indirectly. The one exception is alcohol, which is authorized only on specific accounts.

a. Advertising (Non-Employment), Selling and Marketing Expense (account codes 71C0%): These are costs of selling and marketing any products or services of the institution to the public. This includes radio, television and newspaper marketing costs associated with campus student recruitment. It also includes posters and pamphlets for recruiting graduate students, per Uniform Guidance §200.421. The only allowable advertising costs are those which are solely for recruitment of personnel, the procurement of goods and services, or the disposal of scrap and surplus materials, and program outreach and other specific purposes necessary to meet the requirements of the federal award. Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-002, Advertising.
b. Bad Debts and Collection Costs (account codes 71C3%): Per Uniform Guidance §200.426, any losses (whether actual or estimated) arising from uncollectible accounts and other claims and related legal and collection costs are unallowable.
c. Legal Expenses & Settlements, Fines and Penalties (account code 71C400): Per Uniform Guidance §200.435 and §200.441, all legal, settlement, and fine expenses (including the costs of legal, accounting and consultant services incurred in connection with any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding commenced by the Federal, State, local or foreign government) are unallowable.
d. Alcohol for consumption: While alcohol is an item of expense, a separate object code range has not been established. Only specifically identified accounts (approved by the applicable campus president) may incur costs for alcohol, per Uniform Guidance §200.423. Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-003, Alcohol.

2. Unallowable Activities: In addition to the account codes used to track unallowable expenses noted above, specific FOAPALs are used to track the costs of activities that may not be charged to federal programs. Some of these activities are explicitly unallowable under other USNH policies (see cross-reference below). Other items, such as alumni activities or public relations, are entirely appropriate and permissible activities of USNH. However, none of these costs are allowable for the purpose of calculating indirect costs based on Uniform Guidance. These items are noted below (followed by their Uniform Guidance section reference):

a. Commencement and convocation costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.429.
b. Contributions to a contingency reserve or any similar provision made for events, the occurrence of which cannot be foretold with certainty as to time or intensity, per Uniform Guidance §200.433.
c. Costs in excess of normal severance (e.g., golden parachutes), per Uniform Guidance §200.431(i).
d. Costs incurred for, or in support of, alumni/ae activities, per Uniform Guidance §200.424.
e. Costs of investment counsel and staff and similar expenses incurred solely to enhance income from investments, per Uniform Guidance §200.442.
f. Costs of organized fund raising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitations of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions, per Uniform Guidance §200.442.
g. Donations and contributions made by USNH to benefit other individuals or organizations, per Uniform Guidance §200.434. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-006, Contributions - Charitable and Political.)
h. Entertainment costs, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any costs directly associated with such costs (such as tickets to shows or sports events, meals, lodging, rentals, transportation, and gratuities), per Uniform Guidance §200.438.
i. Excessive recruitment costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.463. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-001, Introduction to Business Expenditures.)
j. Goods and services for personal use of the institution's employees, regardless of whether the cost is reported as taxable income to the employees, per Uniform Guidance §200.445. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-001, Introduction to Business Expenditures.)
k. Housing allowances and personal living expenses of the institution's officers, regardless of whether the cost is reported as taxable income to the employees, per Uniform Guidance §200.445.
l. Interest on borrowed capital or temporary use of endowment funds, however represented, per Uniform Guidance §200.449. (An exception exists for the costs of interest paid to an external party which is associated with the purchase, construction or replacement of buildings or equipment §200.449(b) of the Uniform Guidance outlines exception conditions in more detail.
m. Legal Counsel Office costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.435.
n. Lobbying costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.450. These are specifically not allowed at USNH. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-006, Contributions - Charitable and Political.)
o. Losses, where expenses exceed income under any other sponsored agreement or contract of any nature, per Uniform Guidance §200.451. (This includes, but is not limited to, the Institution's contributed portion under cost-sharing agreements and any under-recoveries resulting from the negotiation of flat amounts for F&A costs.)
p. Memberships in civic organizations, country or dinner clubs, per Uniform Guidance §200.454. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-001, Introduction to Business Expenditures.)
q. Non-coach travel, under normal circumstances, per Uniform Guidance §200.474 (These costs are also specifically prohibited in Procedure 7-005, Air, Travel, Domestic and Foreign.)
r. Public relations costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.421.
s. Student activities costs for intramural sports, student publications, student clubs, and the like, unless specifically provided for in the sponsored agreements, per Uniform Guidance §200.469.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy applies to UNH, UNHM, and UNHL only. KSC, PSC, and GSC should follow the spirit of the policy to ensure the appropriate handling of costs in their indirect cost calculations.

This policy explains the handling of "departmental" costs funded by a central office. The policy is designed to ensure that all costs are captured in the appropriate cost pool for the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) cost calculation. This requirement exists, irrespective of the source of funds for a cost, because all current fund expenses are included in the development of the F&A calculation. Good accounting practices dictate that costs be charged to the benefiting department.

The policy provides partial definitions for each cost pool (e.g. Instruction, Organized Research, Departmental Administration, etc. - see Appendix 1) and speaks to appropriate budget and expense transactions. The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, provides federal guidance as to which cost pool a given activity or cost belongs.

1. Definition: A centrally funded cost is any cost paid for or funded by a central office, such as a dean's office or vice president's office.
2. Why is an Allocation of Centrally Funded Costs Policy Necessary?

a. Costs must be charged to the account that benefits from the expense. When a department budget is insufficient to cover a cost, centrally maintained funds may be used to meet this need. The correct method to accomplish this is to transfer budget authority to the departmental account rather than charging the expense to the central account.
b. OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, requires USNH to maintain an accounting system that ensures direct and indirect costs are included in the correct cost pool.

3. Responsibility: Responsibility for adhering to this policy lies primarily with deans, vice presidents, and administrative personnel charged with financial oversight of the campuses, colleges, schools, and divisions. For clarification, interpretation, and further information, call UNH Finance & Administration Office.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Cost Pools: At UNH, UNHM, and UNHL, all costs fall into one of twelve cost pools. The cost pool of a given FUND/ORGN is identified within Banner in the program codes of the FTMACCI table.Appendix 1 summarizes the kinds of costs included in the pools.
2. Incorrect Accounting: Costs are charged to the wrong cost pool when an expense is charged to a central office account rather than the benefiting department. If funds are expended out of a central account, the expense could be charged to the wrong cost pool (e.g., General Administration instead of Instruction).
3. Correct Accounting: Costs must be charged to the benefiting department account whenever possible. At a minimum, costs must be included in the correct cost pool. Central departments that fund various cost objectives or activities, such as dean's or a vice president's offices, must either transfer spending authority or establish separate accounts.

a. Transferring budget authority:

i. For accounts within the same fund, transfer the budget from the central account to the departmental account. This allows the costs to be charged directly to the benefiting department.
ii. For accounts from different funds, the transfer of budget authority is via a non-mandatory transfer journal from one fund to the other (such as from the general fund dean's account to an internally designated fund account or from the general fund to a plant fund). The journal would be a debit to the source of funds side and a credit to revenue for the receiving account. The expense budget can then be increased in the recipient fund to allow the additional spending.

b. Establish separate accounts: A separate account can be set up within the central area for each cost pool that will receive centrally allocated costs (i.e., create separate Area/Org for Instruction, Departmental Administration, Organized Research, etc., expenses). In these cases, costs must be posted to the appropriate account.

4. Examples on the handling of certain kinds of costs:

a. Visiting Professor: Assume the main dean's office account is coded as Departmental Administration for F&A cost purposes, and the expenses of a visiting professor are properly charged as Instruction expenses for F&A cost purposes. If the cost of a visiting professor is expenses against the dean's office account, the cost is included incorrectly in the Departmental Administration cost pool, rather than in the Instruction cost pool where it belongs. The cost should either be charged to the academic department's instruction account, or an instruction account would need to be established under the deans' area.`
b. Associate Deans: Associate Dean positions are often held for a year by tenured senior faculty. A significant portion of the work of these individuals can be for student advising. These costs should be captured as Student Services, not Departmental Administration. Other Associate Deans serve in a more purely administrative role. Those individuals would appropriately be coded as Departmental Administration.
c. Faculty Advising: In addition to their regular instructional role, faculty members may advise students for a few hours a month. Since the salary costs allocable to advising are immaterial, an adjustment to transfer a portion of the cost from Instruction to Student Services is not necessary.
d. Release Time and Faculty Fellows: When a central office covers a portion of the salary of faculty, there is no single answer as to which cost pool should be used. A review must be made of the specific duties that are to be performed under the agreement.

i. The cost should be captured as Instruction if the faculty member is to be developing a new course, if they are working in their generalized scholarly interest area, or if they are using the time writing a new book.
ii. The cost should be captured as Departmental Administration (within a Dean's Office) or General Administration when they are serving as the manager of a unit or if they are assisting the Dean or Vice President in administrative duties.

e. Internal Research Support: Internal research support accounts represent a funding by the University of on-going faculty scholarly activities, not for a specific research project. As such, it does not meet the definition of Organized Research. It should be charged to Instruction.
f. Gift fund accounts: Many gift accounts are used for Student Financial Aid. As such, these costs would be captured in the Unallowable cost pool. If, however, the purpose of a particular Gift fund is for miscellaneous department or college instruction activities, the account should be coded Instruction.
g. Cost Sharing: In those circumstances when a general fund, internal research support fund, or a Gift fund is being used to match a portion of an active Organized Research project, a 15C% cost sharing fund should be established.  The cost shared expenses should be charged to the cost share fund and a transfer in from the appropriate department should be credited to the fund. The actual expense would be charged to the cost share fund.

Appendix 1 - Cost Pools 

• Instruction: Normal classroom instruction and training activities, as well as department or unfunded research, and faculty scholarship (including the Internal Research Support accounts). The Instruction cost pool also includes grants and contracts specifically for training purposes.
• Agricultural Experiment Station: All AES accounts, primarily P2 funds.
• Organized Research: Research and development activities funded by grants, contracts, and other sponsored agreements, and other separately budgeted funds for research projects (such as College and University Research Fund grant funds). This pool also includes grants and contracts for activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training) where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the instruction function.
• Other Sponsored Programs: Grants and contracts that involve the performance of work other than instruction and organized research. Examples of such grants may be workshops, surveys, or projects for the dissemination, outreach, program coordination, and services. Similar activities not covered by externally sponsored agreements are included in Other Institutional Activities.
• Other Institutional Activities: Auxiliary Enterprise funds (Fund type A), Athletics, University supported portion of Public Service activities (including the Cooperative Extension Service), Alumni/Public Relations, etc.
• Operations and Maintenance of plant: Facilities Services departments (repairs, maintenance, custodial, utilities, grounds and roads, refuse, etc.), Environmental Safety, Fire Services, and Public Safety.
• Library: Library operations, including the costs of collections, library staff, and associated costs.
• Departmental Administration: Administrative and supporting services that benefit common or joint department activities within academic departments, dean's offices, institutes, and research centers. The specific costs include clerical, deans' office administrative costs, and associated costs.
• General Administration: President's Office, the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Financial Affairs and Administration, Personnel, Academic and Administrative Computing, Institutional Research, Purchasing, USNH Controller's Office, Chancellor's Office costs, etc.
• Sponsored Program Administration: Sponsored Programs Administration and the Vice Provost for Research and Public Service.
• Student Services: Vice President for Student Affairs Office, the Registrar's Office, the Financial Aid Office, Admissions, Counseling, Advising, Career Services, SHARPP, Health Services, etc.
• Unallowable: Student Financial Aid, the Loan funds, Endowment and Quasi-Endowment funds, etc.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy documents the process involved in establishing the need for and creating a Service Center at USNH.

Rates are developed to distribute direct and indirect costs associated with the service. The purpose of these rates is to recover the costs of providing the service. There are two types of Service Centers, as described below.

1. Definition of a Service Center: A Service Center is an entity that performs or provides, for a fee, specific technical or operational services primarily for internal users. A Service Center may provide services to external users, as long as this is not its primary purpose. USNH entities that do not charge a fee, or whose customer base is largely external users (excluding the Federal government), are not considered Service Centers for the purposes of this policy. Service Centers vary in size and complexity, as well as in the composition of costs included in their rate structures.

a. A normal Service Center provides services to a broad range of users throughout the campus. Examples are Telecommunications and the University Instrumentation Center. Operating costs include salaries and benefits of Service Center employees, materials costs, and all or part of the associated facilities and administrative (F&A) costs. See Procedure 2-071, Establishing a Service Center Billing Rate, for details on the development of Service Center billing rates.
b. A Recharge Center is a type of Service Center that reallocates materials costs only (excluding salaries and wages) within a department or limited area of accounts. Recharge Centers simply recoup, through a redistribution method, the materials costs relating to a particular activity. An example of a Recharge Center is a departmental copier. Please see Procedure 2-072, Creating a New Recharge Center, for the correct handling of this particular kind of Service Center.

2. Why is a Service Center policy necessary? It is good business practice to review internal costing and charging practices. USNH must use consistent and equitable cost accounting practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards. This is essential to ensure continued funding of federal programs. These federal regulations are outlined in detail in Procedure 2-071, Establishing a Service Center Billing Rate.
3. Responsibility: Departments make the initial determination that a Service Center is needed. The department forwards the request to the Controller's Office. The Controller's Office is responsible for approving the establishment of a new Service Center.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Deciding if a new Service Center needs to be created: The following should be considered in assessing the need to set up a new Service Center.

a. Is the service primarily for USNH departments? If a unit such as the New England Center is principally for "external" customers (non-USNH departments) this activity does not constitute a Service Center.
b. Is it cost effective to perform the service in-house? A cost/benefit analysis must be completed to see if the Service Center is cost effective. It is unallowable per federal regulations to charge a federally sponsored program for a service that would have cost less if purchased from an outside vendor.
c. Will the Service Center bill most users for the service? Before a Service Center is established, a decision must be made that all the costs are going to be billed to all customers. If a Service Center is not going to bill for services to all users, adjustments must be made to the institutional indirect cost proposal, and cost sharing must be recorded for the unbilled portion of the service. See the University of New Hampshire Policy, Cost Sharing on Externally sponsored Programs, for a more detailed discussion of the handling of total costs of projects and centers.
d. F & A cost proposal: Some costs are traditionally charged as indirect costs rather than as direct costs through a Service Center. Before they are moved to direct charging, federal approval is required. An assessment must be performed to determine if the campus-wide cost reimbursement would be more appropriate via direct or indirect charging. Please contact the Asset Management and Cost Analysis group, at 862-3466, for guidance on any such change.

2. Service Center accounts: The development of a new Service Center requires the creation of a new Banner account to capture all costs associated with the Service Center. See Procedure 2-039, Account Coding Conventions, for detailed instructions on requesting new accounts.
3. Service Center rates: The development of a new Service Center requires the creation of Service Center rates. See Procedure 2-071, Establishing a Service Center Billing Rate, for the steps involved in developing rates.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

1. Purpose: This policy outlines the process involved in developing Service Center billing rates within USNH for internal customers (including federal grants).

The rates charged to "external" customers (non-USNH departments) may exceed the cost-based rate. The use of such a rate requires Controller's Office approval. If such approval is received, revenue generated through the higher rate must be captured separately.
2. Definition of a Service Center Billing Rate:

a. The internal billing rate is the dollar amount charged for each unit of goods or services provided and used for billing purposes, based on annual costs.
b. The rate must be constructed to neither overcharge nor undercharge internal customers. The goal is to break even on a cost basis. Campus CFO approval is required to subsidize a Service Center by charging less than cost.

Example: Estimated Total Annual Costs / Total Estimated Billing Units = Billing Rate per Unit

3. Why is a Service Center billing rate policy necessary? It is good business practice to review rates and costs on a regular basis. USNH must use consistent and equitable cost accounting practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards. These federal regulations are outlined below.
4. Responsibility: Departments are responsible for seeking annual approval of Service Center billing rates from the campus CFO upon initial establishment of the Service Center, and each year thereafter. In addition, departments must maintain documentation of this approval and detailed supporting calculations for 3 years after the close of the affected fiscal year.

B. GENERAL GUIDELINES

Federal Regulations Regarding Service Center Rates: All Service Centers are subject to the cost principles and cost accounting standards outlined in OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions. In general, rates must be based on actual costs, applied consistently, and based on the actual use of the services.

1. Service Centers should recover costs over a reasonable period. A reasonable period is defined as one fiscal year.
2. The same rate schedule should be used for all internal users. This rate schedule must not discriminate against federally funded accounts for the benefit of other internal users.
3. Rates must be reviewed periodically for consistency with long-term costs by department staff administering the Service Center.
4. Service Centers must exclude federally unallowable costs from their billing rates and the rates must include the actual costs of performing the service to all users, see Procedure 2-060, Unallowable Costs per OMB Circular A-21, for more information.

C. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR SERVICE CENTER RATE DEVELOPMENT

Instructions for Preparation of a Service Center Rate

1. Identify all services provided. A separate rate should be calculated for each category of service, when there are different costs or user populations receiving services.
2. Determine direct costs of Service Center operations that are specifically identifiable with relative ease and a high degree of accuracy, such as:

a. Salaries and benefits of staff directly providing the service
b. Materials costs
c. Contracted services
d. Equipment lease or rental
e. Repairs and machine supplies
f. Other directly related expenses

3. Identify Service Center indirect costs incurred for multiple goods or services within the Service Center. These costs need to be included in the rate, but may not include costs that are part of the campus indirect cost rate.

a. Salaries and benefits of administrative staff who support the Service Center (such as directors and accounting staff)
b. Supplies
c. Equipment

i. Equipment includes items with a unit cost of $1,000 or more and a useful life of 2 years or more.
ii. Equipment bought with federal funds must be excluded from federal accounts rate.
iii. Allowable costs should include only the current year's depreciation, not the current year's purchases.

d. Debt Service

i. External interest on long-term debt or capital leases may be charged with prior approval from the campus CFO, USNH treasurer, and the cognizant federal audit agency.
ii. Principal payments should not be included in billing rates as they are equity purchases not a current year expense.
iii. Interest on interfund borrowing is not an allowable cost.

4. Identify campus-wide indirect costs to be included in billing rates (if any). Indirect costs are the facilities and administrative infrastructure costs of USNH. These costs are generally excluded from Service Center rates. Please consult with the campus CFO before including such costs.
5. Develop a method to allocate Service Center indirect costs to each service.

a. Allocations should be based on a causal and beneficial relationship. For example:

i. Percentage of Effort
ii. Usage (time)
iii. Costs
iv. Space - square footage

6. Accumulate or estimate usage for each service (such as number of units) to establish the distribution base. All usage must be included, regardless of whether discounts or free service is provided.
7. Calculate cost-based rate for each service.

a. Divide the total annual operating cost by the total estimated billing units to determine the billing rate per unit. For example:

i. For a Service Center that provides photocopies, the billing unit would be the number of copies.
ii. For a center that provides services, the billing unit would generally be the number of hours of service.

8. Determine the rate that will actually be charged.

a. Federal users must be charged no more than the cost-based rate. Excess revenues are allowed on non-federal external users only. A balance may be developed. The balance must be segregated, to allow for the calculation of a true unit price.
b. Discounts provided to non-federal users must not be subsidized by federal users. The subsidy must be quantified and excluded from future period billing rate calculations.
c. If market prices are used, they should be compared to actual costs to ensure rates do not result in overcharges to federal users.

9. Obtain approval of the billing rate from the campus CFO.
10. Review Rates annually and incorporate prior year deficit or surplus.

a. Revenues that exceed the actual cost of service can not be used to subsidize other services of the Service Center, unless user mix is similar.
b. Billings should be calculated for users that are not charged cost-based rates.
c. Any surplus should not exceed 60 days of working capital, per A-21.
d. Surpluses or deficits that exceed the established threshold should be used to adjust future billing rates or be credited back to users. This effort can exclude the balance created on external customers, so long as these surpluses can be documented.
e. Obtain annual approval of the billing rate from the campus CFO.

11. Document activities and maintain records for 3 years to support expenditures, rate calculation, published rates, usage statistics and billings, per OMB Circular A-21.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy documents the process involved in creating a Recharge Center at USNH.

1. Definition of a Recharge Center: A Recharge Center reallocates materials costs (excluding salaries and wages) within a department or a limited area of accounts. Recharge Centers simply recoup, through a redistribution method, the materials costs relating to a particular activity. An example of a Recharge Center is a departmental copier.
2. Why is a Recharge Center policy necessary? USNH must use consistent and equitable cost accounting practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards. This is essential to ensure continued funding of federal programs. These federal regulations are outlined in detail in the Procedure 2-073, Establish a Recharge Center Rate.
3. Responsibility: Departments are responsible for the determination that a Recharge Center is needed. Please call your campus CFO or the Asset Management and Cost Analysis group in the Controller's Office at 862-3466, if you need assistance.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Deciding if a new Recharge Center needs to be created. Will the Recharge Center bill most users for the service? Before a Recharge Center is established, a determination must be made that the costs are going to be billed to all customers.

If a recharge center is not going to bill for all users, cost sharing must be recorded for the unbilled research portion of the service. See the University of New Hampshire Policy, Cost Sharing on Externally sponsored Programs, for a more detailed discussion of the handling of total costs of projects and centers.
2. Recharge Center accounts: Recharge Center costs are generally handled as contra-expense credits against expense object codes, so a new account may not be required. See Procedure 10-001, Revenue Accounting.
3. Recharge Center Rates: The creation of a new Recharge Center requires the establishment of a Recharge Center rate. See Procedure 2-073, Establish a Recharge Center Rate, for detailed instructions.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

1. Purpose: This policy outlines the process involved in developing Recharge Center rates within USNH for internal customers and federal grant accounts.
2. Definition of a Billing Rate: The internal billing rate is the dollar amount charged for each unit of goods or services provided and used for billing purposes, based on annual costs.

Example: Estimated Total Annual Costs / Total Estimated Billing Units = Billing Rate per Unit

3. Why is a Recharge Center rate policy necessary? It is good business practice to review rates and costs on a regular basis. USNH must use consistent operational costing practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards.
4. Responsibility: Departments are responsible for determining the Recharge Center rate, and for maintaining appropriate records.

B. GENERAL GUIDELINES

Federal Regulations Regarding Recharge Center Rates: All Recharge Centers, no matter how small, are subject to the cost principles and cost accounting standards outlined in OMB Circular A-21. In general, rates must be based on actual costs, applied consistently, and based on actual use of the services.

1. Recharge Centers should recover costs in the year in which they are incurred.
2. The same rate schedule should be used for all users. This schedule must not discriminate against federally funded accounts to the benefit of other users.
3. Rates must be reviewed periodically for consistency with long-term costs by department staff administering the Recharge Center.
4. Recharge Centers must exclude unallowable costs from their billing rates and the rates must include the actual costs of performing the service to all users.

C. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR RECHARGE CENTER RATE DEVELOPMENT

1. Determine direct costs of recharge center operations that are specifically identifiable with relative ease and a high degree of accuracy, such as:

a. Materials costs
b. Equipment lease or rental
c. Repairs and machine supplies

2. Accumulate or estimate total usage for each service (such as number of units) to establish the distribution base. All usage must be included.
3. Calculate cost-based rate for each service. Divide the total annual operating cost by the total estimated billing units to determine the billing rate per unit. For example, the billing unit for a recharge center that provides photocopies would be the annual number of copies.
4. Determine the rate that will actually be charged.

a. Federal users and other internal users must be charged no more than the cost-based rate. Excess revenue as allowed on non-federal external users only.
b. Discounts provided to non-federal users must not be subsidized by federal users. The subsidy must be quantified and excluded from future period billing rate calculations and the indirect cost rate.
c. If market prices are used, they should be compared to actual costs to ensure rates do not result in overcharges to federal users.

5. Document activities and maintain records for 3 years to support expenditures, rate calculation, published rates, usage statistics and billings, per OMB Circular A-21.

A. Summary of Administrative Procedure

This document explains the requirements for and purposes of keeping adequate supporting documentation for USNH accounting transactions.

1. Definition of adequate supporting documentation. Statement on Auditing Standards No. 106 defines evidence necessary to adequately support the assertions in the financial statements as underlying accounting data and corroborating information. Underlying accounting data includes journal entries (including cash receipts) and invoice documents. In the USNH environment the underlying accounting data is maintained within Banner Finance and the related subsidiary systems and can, therefore, be managed centrally. Corroborating information, on the other hand, is maintained within campus business offices and other centralized units and varies from unit-to-unit as well as from transaction-to-transaction.
2. Responsibility. UNH Business Service Centers and Campus Business Offices are responsible for the compilation and retention of corroborating information to ensure consistency and adequacy of support for the underlying accounting data across all units with the goal of addressing the 5Ws - who, what, when, where and why each transaction was processed. Documentation related to each transaction must adequately support the quantity of items received and associated costs, be easily retrievable for examination by authorized departmental and central administrators, auditors and other authorized individuals. In most cases, this can be accomplished by adding copies of the documentation into the USNH designated imaging system, BDMS.

B. Detailed Operating Procedure

1. Required Information:

For all document types the supporting documentation should include the following:

a. Evidence of approvals not applied electronically such as: Email correspondence or physical signature of approving official (for example an 'ok to pay' note on a vendor invoice)
b. Cost allocation/calculation sheets, if applicable
c. Other backup critical for third-party understanding of the transaction several years hence when the individuals involved may no longer be employed at USNH. In addition, if the business purpose is not readily apparent (for example, purchase of office supplies) it must be included with the documentation through one of the following:
d. Copy of internal email or other correspondence explaining the business purpose
e. Notation indicating who, what, when, where and why

2. Guidelines/examples adequate supporting documentation

a. Cash Receipts

i. Copy of deposit slip including:

• deposit date
• deposit detail
• deposit total (must tie to total of the detail)
• Banner document number notation
• Initials of depositor
• Bank deposit receipt

ii. Daily cash log(s)/batch posting sheet(s) and copies of receipts given
iii. Daily ledger from cash register(s) showing receipts collected for the day, or cash register tapes(s) if daily ledger sheet is not available
iv. Support for application of receipt(s) to outstanding receivables such as:

• Check stubs with notations of USNH invoice numbers
• Customer correspondence included with receipt(s)

v. If the individual receipt is being recorded as a reduction of prior expenditure (for example, a vendor refund check) a written explanation should be included on the check stub
vi. Copies of checks if receipt is over $50,000 or if significant to the individual transaction

b. Journal Entries

(including CSHR, IVEX/IVRV, JZRO, JE16, JE76 and JECO rule codes)

i. Appropriate narrative should be included in the document text section explaining the business purpose of each entry (in other words, why the entry is necessary)
ii. The document text should also include notation of any approvals not applied electronically

c. PCard/Convenience Check Transactions

i. One of the following should be attached to the account manager's copy of the monthly statement for each transaction:

• Vendor cash register receipt
• Supplier invoice
• Credit card slip (with itemized pricing)
• Copy of order/ registration form (that includes pricing)
• Packing slips are sufficient only when provided with pricing detail or in conjunction with one of the above

ii. If the business purpose is not readily apparent or the item purchased could be construed to be personal (for example, a television) the purpose must be noted on the above documentation
iii. Support for meals expense must include the date, time, location, names and titles of those in attendance, and business matters discussed. In cases where there are more than 6 people in attendance, the name of the committee or organization and the number of participants will suffice (e.g., Faculty Senate meeting, 12 in attendance).

d. Petty Cash/Imprest Checking Reimbursements:

i. Completed petty cash replenishment request including the following:

• Banner invoice number
• Supervisor's signature

ii. Petty cash vouchers with attached receipts or vendor invoices for all expenditures with business purpose noted
iii. Support for meals expense must include the date, time, location, names and titles of those in attendance, and business matters discussed. In cases where there are more than 6 people in attendance, the name of the committee or organization and the number of participants will suffice (e.g., Faculty Senate meeting, 12 in attendance).

e. Vendor Invoices

Each vendor invoice must be entered separately into Banner (i.e. not batched together).

i. Direct pay invoices:

• Vendor invoice with Banner document number noted
• Departmental approval signature
• Clear business purpose of the transaction including who, what, when, where and why

ii. Payments against POs²

• Vendor invoice with Banner document number noted
• Departmental approval signature (denoting receipt of goods or services only)

iii. Employee³ Reimbursements - Travel and Business Expenses 

• Completed USNH Personal Reimbursement Form with the following:
• Banner invoice number
• Business purpose including who, what, when, where and why
• Traveler/employee's signature
• Dean/Director/Department Head/Business Manager/Sponsored Programs review signatures as needed
• BSC/Campus Business Office review signature
• Receipts for all expenditures
• Support for meals expense except daily per-diem must include the date, time, location, names and titles of those in attendance, and business matters discussed. In cases where there are more than 6 people in attendance, the name of the committee or organization and the number of participants will suffice (e.g., Faculty Senate meeting, 12 in attendance).
• Taxi/bus/train/subway/toll/parking receipts required only when transaction exceeds $25

¹ If the IV document is applied to a PBOR/PBAD internal requisition entry that indicates the business purpose then the IV need not repeat that text. However, departments should make certain that names of attendees and business discussion are documented for all internal catering charges.

² Business purpose and appropriate approvals are recorded with the requisition/purchase order and, therefore, do not need to be filed with the actual vendor invoice

³ Nonemployees must have preapproval by their sponsor (including documented business purpose) before incurring travel costs

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. OBJECTIVE

This procedure provides guidance on required retention periods for financial records to meet the legal, administrative and operational requirements of USNH. Note that approved methods for deletion of electronic documents are not covered by this procedure.

B. AUTHORITY

Per USNH Board of Trustees Administrative Policy BOT III.G.1.1, the Board of Trustees, under RSA 187-A:16, has the authority to manage the affairs of the University System and its component institutions. That authority includes the power to regulate the maintenance, retention, disposal and disclosure of the records of USNH consistent with state and federal law.

C. SCOPE

This procedure applies to all USNH financial records including those maintained by all USNH campuses and affiliates such as the UNH Alumni Association, the UNH Foundation, and the Keene Endowment Association.

D. DEFINITION

Financial records include all accounting, disbursement and tax-related reports and documents supporting the financial operations of USNH.

E. RESPONSIBILITY

Unless otherwise noted, the Campus Finance/Administration office or UNH Business Service Center (BSC) initiating a transaction is responsible for retaining documentation supporting the transaction. In most cases, this can be accomplished by adding copies of the documentation into the USNH designated imaging system. The retention periods described below would then be applied to the imaged document, and any paper copies can be destroyed following established procedures for the document type and sensitivity level.

F. EXCEPTIONS

1. USNH Financial Services maintains portable document format (pdf) versions of all Purchase Order and Change Order documents generated by USNH financial systems.

2. Campus Human Resources Offices are responsible for maintaining records or other information (including benefit selections and other items) per USNH On-Line Policy Manual OLPM - USY V.C.4.2.4.

G. RETENTION PERIODS

While this procedure prescribes the minimum period after each transaction date that USNH financial records should be maintained, campus finance/administration offices and UNH BSCs may, at their discretion, retain records for a longer period if there is a need to do so. See Section H below for retention beginning dates and retention periods of documentation related to grant activity.

1. Documents which must be retained permanently

• Annual audited consolidated financial statements (annual reports)
• Annual consolidated Uniform Guidance audit reports
• Detailed financial schedules by fund (USNH annual “Bigbook” representing the general ledger activity and balances)
• USNH and affiliate information and income tax returns filed with federal and state authorities (e.g., Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax; Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return; and related State of NH reports such as NH BET, Business Enterprise Tax Return, and Annual Report filed with NH Attorney General
• Memoranda of Understanding and other donor agreements for all endowment, life income, annuity, and trust gift funds
• Purchase and Sale Agreements for all real estate transactions

2. Documents which must be retained for 30 years

• NHHEFA Bond documents related to issuance (e.g., Blue Book) and related tax filings
• Construction invoices for all property financed with NHHEFA debt, capital leases or state capital appropriations
• Copies of bond/capital lease construction account bank statements and funds requisition schedules

3. Documents which must be retained for 7 years

• Accounts Payable (vendor) invoices and USNH Personal Reimbursement Forms with supporting documentation
• P-Card transaction documentation including images of all convenience checks with supporting documentation
• Timesheets for all personnel
• For campuses using the WISE (web-time-entry) system for time and leave reporting, the electronically-approved timesheet is the official record that should be retained for 7 years and there is no need to retain backup at the department level.  Note: Until a department has been on the WISE system for 7 years, processing units should retain paper documentation for prior years to ensure that the total retention period (i.e., paper + WISE) is 7 years.
• Biennial Equipment Inventory Reports
• Documentation to support current-use gift contributions to USNH as well as their purpose restrictions, if any, should be retained for 7 years after the funds are fully spent.
• Contracts and corresponding bid documents associated with Requests for Proposals and/or Quotes should be retained for 7 years after the expiration of the contract and any associated renewals.

4. Documents which must be retained for 5 years

• Copies of receipts issued for sales of goods & services for which payment is accepted by credit card, and all related backup should be retained in accordance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), and must not contain Personal Identification Information
• Copies of backup for all other cash/check receipts, provided that any customer banking information is appropriately redacted
• Investment subscription documents, agreements, approvals and other supporting records should be retained for 5 years after full divestment.

5. Documents which must be retained for 4 years

If not specified below these retention periods begin on the first day of the fiscal year that the form is filed.

• IRS Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
• IRS Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings
• IRS Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements
• IRS Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. This special purpose IRS form must be retained for 4 years after the employee’s termination from USNH.
• IRS Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Withholding
• IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification  -  This special purpose IRS form must be retained for 4 years after termination of the entity’s relationship as a vendor of USNH.  Following IRS best practices USNH will solicit new Forms W-9 from current vendors using self-service mechanisms on a cyclical basis such that current vendor data is updated every five years at a minimum.
• IRS Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return
• IRS Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax
• IRS Form 1042, Annual Withholding Tax Return for U. S. Source Income of Foreign Persons
• IRS Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U. S. Source Income Subject to Withholding
• IRS Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement
• IRS Form 8233, Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual
• IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, and related appraisals
• IRS Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business

6. Documents which must be retained for 3 years

Grant and contract proposals, awards, agreements and related supporting documentation, should be maintained for a minimum of three years after the awards closing date as defined in section H below.

H. GRANT AND CONTRACT TRANSACTIONS

The retention period for federal grant or contract-related transactions is tied to the closing date of the award, including all extensions, rather than the date of each individual transaction. The retention period beginning dates for records under selected types of federal awards are noted below. These retention beginning dates apply unless the terms of the award specifically state otherwise or there is a pending audit or litigation matter.  In the case of the latter, the retention period begins on the date of resolution of all audit findings or all appeals related to any litigation. The USNH transaction retention schedule above should be applied from these dates in all cases for all documents listed in section G.1-7 above.

• For federal awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, the retention period begins on the date of the submission of the quarterly or annual financial report including the expenditure.
• The retention period for records of real property and equipment acquired with federal funds begins on the date of final disposition of the asset.
• The retention period for expenditures made under federal contracts begins on the date the final payment on the contract is received.
• The retention period for financial records and supporting documents for all other grant-related transactions begins on the date of submission of the final expenditure report including the activity.
• For federal contracts, the record retention period varies between two and ten years from the final payment. This includes books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and other data regardless of whether such items are written, computerized, or in any other form and other supporting evidence to satisfy the contract negotiation, administration, and audit requirements of the contracting agencies and the Comptroller General. For financial and cost accounting records, payroll documents and acquisition, and supply records, the required retention requirement is two to four years.

Campus business offices are strongly encouraged to consult their Office of Sponsored Programs to determine the appropriate retention period for records related to specific grants or contracts and ensure that the records are not related to pending audits or litigation. In any case where the sponsoring agency’s retention period is longer than that dictated by this procedure, the longer period shall apply.

I. RECORDS DESTRUCTION AND DISPOSAL

At the end of the required retention period, records should be disposed of unless the records are required for a current audit, regulatory review or litigation. Records containing sensitive and/or confidential information should be shredded or incinerated and properly disposed. The Campus Finance/Administration office responsible for retaining documentation should maintain a record documenting all records that were destroyed. This record must include a brief description of the records, the dates the record originated, if available, the date of destruction and the reason why the record is being destroyed (for example, expiration of required record retention period).

J. DOCUMENT SCANNING

Campus business offices should be imaging and indexing their departmental documentation. See Imaging Invoice in BDMS, Imaging PCard in BDMS, and Imaging JV in BDMS for related imaging procedures.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This statement outlines procedures for establishing and maintaining a departmental petty cash fund.

1. Purpose of petty cash. Departments are encouraged to use petty cash funds to reduce time, paperwork and administrative expense for minor business expenditures. Petty cash may be used to reimburse authorized expenditures up to $200 per transaction for:

• Local retail purchases
• Meeting expenses
• Business meals
• Local transportation expenses (i.e., day trips)
• Books
• Subscriptions
• Postage
• Similar expenses

2. Advance Payments to Employees. In some cases, the petty cash Custodian may find it necessary to advance up to $200 cash to an employee for non-overnight travel or for miscellaneous business supplies. Under no circumstances will petty cash advances be allowed (1) for overnight travel, (2) for more than 48 hours before the expense is anticipated, (3) for more than $200, (4) without a signed receipt (Petty Cash Voucher), (5) to a student or other non-employee, (6) for non-business purposes, or (7) outstanding for more than 4 days. Contact Accounts Payable immediately if advances are not resolved fully within 4 days.

3. When petty cash may not be used. Petty cash may not be used:

• For transactions over $200 (splitting one transaction over $200 into 2 or more parts is specifically not allowed)
• To make personal loans
• To pay employees or non-employees compensation for services rendered (including honoraria or other stipends)
• To pay moving expenses
• To buy hazardous materials or controlled substances
• As a check-cashing service
• To pay for expense that is personal or otherwise not allowable according to current USNH or campus policy, procedure or practice.

Receipts of cash or checks by the department may not be commingled with petty cash funds; all receipts are to be deposited in tact with the campus Cashier/Bursar within two business days.

4. Establishing a petty cash fund. Each petty cash fund is the responsibility of primarily one employee called the "Custodian" of the fund. There may be only one Custodian per petty cash fund. The Custodian is personally responsible for the value of the fund and to ensure that all policies and procedures are adhered to. Requests to establish petty cash funds must be approved by the responsible Department Head, the campus Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the USNH Controller. Petty cash policies/procedures at a campus or department may be more restrictive than those of USNH but may not be less restrictive. All funds are subject to periodic surprise audits of cash and records by USNH internal and external auditors. Petty cash funds will be established at an amount not to exceed $1,000, unless specifically approved by USNH Controller. Petty cash funds require monthly reconciliation (and monthly replenishment, if un-replenished receipts exceed $300). Petty cash funds are established and replenished with a check or cash issued to the fund Custodian by the USNH Controller. The USNH Controller maintains a list of all approved petty cash funds.

5. Revocation of a Petty Cash Fund. If it is determined that a petty cash fund is being misused or not properly accounted for, the fund will be closed. The campus CFO, or USNH Controller may close petty cash funds at any time without reason.

6. Operating procedures. Detailed USNH petty cash operating procedures as published by the USNH Controller follow.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Purpose and Background Petty cash funds provide a useful and inexpensive way to make prompt cash payments for minor business expenses. Petty cash may be used for most authorized institutional expenses up to $200 per transaction that otherwise would require a Banner requisition (REQ), a direct pay invoice (INV), a travel expense voucher (TEV) (except where a travel advance was previously issued by the campus travel center), or a non-travel cash reimbursement. By establishing a petty cash fund, a department or unit which normally incurs a large volume of minor expenses may realize a significant reduction in administrative work. In addition, payees will receive payment faster and employees may no longer walk to the campus Cashier/Bursar for reimbursement. For these reasons, departments are encouraged to establish petty cash funds where there is demonstrated need. Petty cash funds are established on an imprest basis -- that is, at a fixed amount which is restored to its authorized level at frequent intervals by replenishing the cash in an amount equal to the expenditures made from the fund. Imprest petty cash funds placed in the custody of responsible employees thus serve to maintain control over cash without burdensome procedures for small disbursements.

2. Establishing a Petty Cash Fund

a. Requesting a Petty Cash Fund - Requests to establish petty cash funds are submitted via a Cash Fund Request, Form USNH-F44, and must be approved by the responsible department head, the campus CFO, and the USNH Controller. See Procedure 4-004, Preparation of Cash Fund Request, for detailed instructions and requirements. The amount of the petty cash fund is not charged to the department's budget. Rather, the fund is established by means of a loan to the department in the name of the petty cash Custodian. The departmental accounts are charged when petty cash expenditures are replenished or if loss of cash funds occurs.
b. One Petty Cash Fund per School/Major Department - It is not necessary or desirable to have separate petty cash funds for each budgeted or sponsored project account. Petty cash funds should be centered around geographical boundaries when possible rather than around accounting areas of responsibility. This provides the greatest utility of the funds while reducing the number of separate funds. However, consideration may be given to maintaining separate petty cash funds when the custodian does not have electronic Banner approvals for a particular Banner area.
c. Size of a Petty Cash Fund - A petty cash fund should be a small enough amount to require replenishment at least once a month. This allows the petty cash expenses to appear on monthly Banner expenditure reports for the correct fiscal period. On the other hand, the amount should be large enough so that replenishment will not be needed more than twice a month. In no case will a petty cash fund be established in an amount exceeding $1,000 unless specifically approved by the USNH Controller.
d. Special Petty Cash Funds -

i. Human Subjects - Departments or programs making studies which require human subjects may establish a petty cash fund from which one-time payments may be made to subjects. Contact the USNH Assistant Controller for details.

ii. Imprest Checking Accounts - In some cases it may be more efficient for departments to have petty cash in a USNH imprest checking account (personal checking accounts are not allowed). An imprest checking account requires the additional approvals of the USNH Controller and Vice Chancellor. See Procedure 4-002, Imprest Checking Accounts, for further details.

3. Custodian Responsibilities

a. Assignment of Petty Cash Funds to Custodians - The USNH Controller's Office issues a check payable to the Custodian to establish the petty cash fund (see Procedure 4-004, Preparation of Cash Fund Request.) The Custodian remains accountable for the petty cash until custody is formally transferred to another employee or until the fund is formally closed. It is the responsibility of both the Custodian and the Department Head to acquire a thorough knowledge of the applicable policies and procedures and to ensure the funds are properly safeguarded.
b. Protection of Petty Cash - Access to cash funds must be restricted to the Custodian only. To prevent access by anyone except the Custodian, petty cash must be kept in a locked strong box in a locked desk or cabinet whenever not in use or whenever the Custodian is absent. In case of theft the campus security police and USNH Internal Audit must be notified. Loss of petty cash funds will be charged to the responsible Banner account as listed on the Cash Fund Request form. Petty cash funds must never be commingled with other USNH cash funds, personal funds, miscellaneous cash receipts, or collected revenue of any type. The Custodian's supervisor should periodically inspect the records and count the cash (in the continual presence of the Custodian) in the petty cash fund to ensure proper accountability.
c. Change of Custodian - Except on a temporary basis described in paragraph 3.d., one Custodian may not informally transfer a fund to a new Custodian without obtaining written approvals as required on the Cash Fund Request, Form USNH-F44. The petty cash fund must be physically counted and reconciled before it is accepted by the new Custodian.
d. Absence of the Custodian - During absence or vacation, a Custodian may place the petty cash fund with a temporary Custodian. The temporary Custodian and the regular Custodian must physically count the petty cash box and prepare a list of cash, receipts and replenishment requests in process. These must total the authorized value of the petty cash fund. The temporary Custodian signs a copy of the reconciliation as a receipt. This receipt is retained by the regular Custodian since that individual is transferring personal responsibility for the value of the fund. When the regular Custodian returns, the same procedures must be followed with the receipt retained by the temporary Custodian.
e. Change of Location or Purpose of Petty Cash Fund - If the physical location or the original purpose of the petty cash fund should change from that which was stated on the original Cash Fund Request, the Custodian should immediately submit a new Cash Fund Request to the USNH Controller's Office for approval.
f. Confirmation of Petty Cash Funds - Custodians may receive an annual request from the USNH Controller's Office to confirm the amount of the petty cash fund. Some funds are selected by the USNH Internal Auditors each year for a surprise audit of cash and records to ensure proper accountability of funds and proper application of policies and procedures.
g. Closing a Petty Cash Fund - If a petty cash fund is no longer needed the Custodian must close the fund. If a Custodian leaves without formally closing the fund and there are no receipts or records, the balance unaccounted for will be charged to the operating budget of the Custodian's department, reported to the IRS as income to the Custodian, and USNH may choose to prosecute.

4. Maintaining A Petty Cash Fund

a. Accounting for Petty Cash Transactions - Proper accounting for petty cash requires that Custodians make payments for authorized expenditures only, obtain receipts, and record expenditures. Each petty cash expenditure requires a Petty Cash Voucher, Form USNH-F45. See Procedure 4-005, Preparation of Petty Cash Voucher, for detailed instructions and requirements. Petty cash expenditures are subject to all USNH and campus policies, procedures and practices relative to proper expenses, authorization, accounting and documentation. Note that there generally must be an original sales slip, cash register tape, or other receipt attached to the Petty Cash Voucher for each expenditure. Also note that each Petty Cash Voucher must be approved by a person authorized to expend from the Banner account charged (i.e., Dean, Director, Department Head or Business Manager), as noted on the USNH Signature Card filed with the USNH Controller's Office. This may include the petty cash Custodian. However, an employee may not approve his or her own expenses.
b. Reconciling Petty Cash Funds - When payments by the Custodian deplete the amount of cash, receipts are added to account for the expenditures and keep the petty cash fund "in balance." At any time, the sum of the cash on hand plus the total receipts and replenishment requests in process should equal the authorized amount of the petty cash fund. Use the Petty Cash Replenishment Request, Form USNH-F46, to record the reconciliation. If the fund does not balance, Accounting Services in the USNH Controller's Office (862-1470) should be immediately contacted for assistance. A petty cash fund must always be balanced (i.e., reconciled) before a request is made for replenishment.
c. Replenishment of Petty Cash Funds - When cash in the petty cash fund is low or if un-replenished receipts exceed $300 at the end of any month, the Custodian should submit a Petty Cash Replenishment Request, Form USNH-F46, to Accounts Payable and enter a PV to replenish the fund. See Procedure 4-006, Preparation of Petty Cash Replenishment Request for details. 

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This statement outlines procedures for establishing and maintaining a departmental imprest checking account.

1. Purpose of an imprest checking account. An imprest checking account is often used by departments in place of a petty cash fund. An imprest checking account can be used to reduce time, paperwork and administrative expense for minor business expenditures in accordance with all limitations outlined in Procedure 4-001, Petty Cash Funds, Section B1 and B2. In addition, there may be departments which operate under unusual circumstances whereby checks must be drawn on location at night or on weekends; in these cases, an imprest checking account may be deemed appropriate for emergency disbursements in excess of established limitations, with prior written approval of the USNH Controller.
2. Establishing an imprest checking account. Each imprest checking account is the responsibility of primarily one employee called the "Custodian" of the fund. Although there may be several authorized bank signators, there may be only one Custodian per fund. The Custodian is personally responsible for the value of the fund and to ensure that all policies and procedures are adhered to. Requests to establish imprest checking accounts must be approved by the responsible Department Head, the campus Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the USNH Controller, and the USNH Vice Chancellor. All USNH checking accounts must include the USNH Controller among the authorized bank signators. Monthly bank statements for all USNH bank accounts are received directly from the bank by the USNH Controller before the statements are forwarded to the responsible department. Imprest checking accounts require monthly reconciliation (and monthly replenishment, if un-replenished receipts exceed $300). All bank balances must be reconciled to the checkbook balance and to the authorized imprest balance on a monthly basis and submitted to the USNH Controller within 30 days of the bank statement date for review. All funds are subject to periodic surprise audits by USNH internal and external auditors. Checking accounts should be established at an imprest balance generally not to exceed $1,000. Checks should contain limitations on amounts or require 2 signatures in some instances. Imprest checking accounts are established and replenished with a check issued by the USNH Controller to the bank and bank account number at which the account is maintained. The USNH Controller maintains a list of all approved imprest checking accounts.
3. Revocation of an imprest checking account. If it is determined that an imprest checking account is being misused or not properly accounted for, the fund will be closed. The campus CFO, or USNH Controller may close imprest checking accounts at any time without reason.
4. Operating procedures. Detailed USNH imprest checking account operating procedures as published by the USNH Controller follow.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Purpose and Background. Imprest checking accounts often provide a useful and inexpensive way to make prompt or emergency payments for minor business expenses, similar to a petty cash fund. This may be particularly true in cases where the department is geographically separated from a campus or has unusual expenditure requirements.
2. Establishing an Imprest Checking Account. Requirements are identical to petty cash funds (see Procedure 4-001, Petty Cash Funds, Section B.2) except that checking accounts are generally established at an amount not to exceed $1,000 and require the additional approvals of the USNH Controller and Vice Chancellor.
3. Custodian Responsibilities. Requirements are identical to petty cash funds (see Procedure 4-001, Petty Cash Funds, Section B.3) except as follows. The USNH Controller's Office issues checks to establish and replenish imprest checking accounts made payable to the bank and bank account number at which the account is maintained. Checkbooks must be secured in a locked file cabinet or desk when not in use. When changing Custodians, it will be necessary to resubmit authorized signatory cards, via the USNH Treasurer's Office, to the bank as well as to file Form USNH-F44 with the Controller's Office.
4. Maintaining an Imprest Checking Account. Requirements are identical to petty cash funds (see Procedure 4-001, Petty Cash Funds, Section B.4) except as follows: Petty Cash Direct Pay Invoices are required for each check drawn on an imprest checking account. In addition to balancing the checking account to its authorized imprest amount, Custodians of imprest checking accounts must also reconcile the checkbook to the bank statement on a monthly basis. A copy of the bank reconciliation must be sent to Accounting Services, Controller's Office within 30 days of the end of the month. In order to replenish the checking account to its imprest balance, a Petty Cash Replenishment Request, Form USNH-F46, is used. After receipt and approval of Form USNH-F46, Accounts Payable will generate a check payable to the bank within 5 business days. The replenishing check will be mailed directly from Accounts Payable to the bank at which the checking account is maintained so that administrative time and expense is reduced. Accounts Payable will send a copy of the signed Form USNH-F46 to the Custodian when approved.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This statement outlines policy on establishing and maintaining a departmental change fund.

1. Purpose of a change fund. Some departments which make cash sales may require a small amount of cash on an ongoing basis to provide change necessary for normal operations.
2. Establishing a change fund. Each change fund is the responsibility of the head of the department or activity receiving the fund. The Department Head designates one individual known as the "Custodian" to be accountable for the custody of the funds. The Custodian is responsible to the Department Head for proper safekeeping of the change fund and to ensure that all policies and procedures are adhered to. Requests to establish change funds must be approved by the responsible Department Head, the campus Chief Financial Officer, and the USNH Controller. All funds are subject to periodic surprise audits by USNH internal and external auditors. Change funds should be established at an amount which is not in excess of the amount required for efficient daily cash sales operations, normally not to exceed $300. Change funds must be returned or reduced when the need no longer exists or diminishes. Otherwise, the amount of a change fund remains constant. Unlike a petty cash fund, a change fund does not require periodic replenishment.

Change funds may not be commingled with other cash funds nor are they to be used for making petty cash disbursements or cash advances or as a check-cashing service. Change funds are established with a check issued by the USNH Controller to the change fund Custodian. The USNH Controller maintains a list of all approved change funds.
3. Revocation of a change fund. If it is determined by the USNH Controller that a change fund is being misused or not properly accounted for, the fund will be closed or custody transferred to another individual. The USNH Controller may close change funds at any time without reason.
4. Operating procedures. Detailed USNH change fund operating procedures as published by the USNH Controller follow.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Purpose and Background Change funds are often appropriate to provide change necessary for efficient operations where cash sales are required.
2. Establishing a Change Fund

a. Requesting a Change Fund - Requests to establish change funds are submitted via a Cash Fund Request, Form USNH-F44, and must be approved by the responsible department head, the campus CFO, and the USNH Controller. See Procedure 4-004, Preparation of Cash Fund Request, for detailed instructions and requirements.
b. One Change Fund per Department/Location - A single change fund per retail cash sales location should be sufficient to conduct normal operations.
c. Size of a Change Fund - A change fund should be established at an amount no greater than that which is required to conduct normal daily cash sales transactions. If the change fund is not used (or its use is reduced) for an extended period, the funds not needed are to be returned to the Cashier/Bursar Office by following Procedure 4-004, Preparation of Cash Fund Request. The change fund can be re-established at its previously authorized level or increased when the need arises by submitting a new Cash Fund Request. In no case will a change fund be established in an amount exceeding $300 unless specifically approved by the USNH Controller.

3. Custodian Responsibilities. Requirements are identical to petty cash funds (see Procedure 4-001, Petty Cash Funds, Section B. 3) except as follows. Change funds must be kept in a strong box or a cash register when in use. Whenever change funds are not in use, they must be locked in a safe or kept in a locked strong box secured within a locked desk or file cabinet. Unlike a petty cash fund, the amount of a change fund should remain constant and does not require periodic reconciliation or replenishment. Change funds must never be commingled with other cash funds nor are they to be used for making petty cash disbursements or other cash advances or as a check-cashing service. At the close of each day's business, the change fund is to be removed FIRST from the total cash in the register and kept separately for the following day's operations. The remaining cash in the register must be deposited with the campus Cashier/Bursar as representing the current day's receipts. If the total cash at the close of the day does not agree with the authorized change fund amount plus the recorded receipts, the difference must be recorded in Banner as "Cash Over or Short" (account code 71C3%) and is considered to affect that day's receipts -- NOT THE AMOUNT OF THE CHANGE FUND.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

1. Purpose

• To request replenishment of petty cash or imprest checking accounts to their authorized balance.
• To reconcile the petty cash fund or imprest checking account so as to account for all monies entrusted to the Custodian.

2. Use of the Petty Cash Replenishment Request - When cash in the petty cash fund (or the checkbook balance in the case of an imprest checking account) is low, or if un-replenished receipts exceed $300 at the end of any month, it is the Custodian's responsibility to enter a payment voucher (PV) document on-line in the CUFS system to replenish the fund. A Petty Cash Replenishment Request, Form USNH-F46, is sent to Accounts Payable to support the PV. The USNH-F46, with attached original receipts and Petty Cash Vouchers, must be reviewed and approved by the Department Head or someone who is authorized to approve departmental expenditures. Upon receipt and verification of a properly prepared USNH-F46, Accounts Payable will place final electronic approval on the PV and mail a copy of the USNH-F46 back to the Custodian with an original A/P signature. The Custodian will then take the signed copy of the USNH-F46 to the Cashier/Bursar to obtain cash. Accounts Payable will review Petty Cash Replenishment Requests within 24 hours of receipt and will either approve them for cash replenishment or will contact the Custodian via electronic mail with questions or problems. In order to avoid walking documents through the process, Custodians should allow 3 business days for the USNH-F46 to be mailed, reviewed and approved, and the copy mailed back to them. To shorten the time, Custodians may request that the approved copy of the USNH-F46 be held at Accounts Payable for pick up by the Custodian on their way to the Cashier/Bursar (simply check the "HOLD APproVAL AT A/P" box on the USNH-F46). The signed copy of the Replenishment Request will serve as a voucher to authorize the Cashier/Bursar to pay cash to the Custodian. The Cashier/Bursar will obtain the Custodian's signature signifying receipt of cash and retain the USNH-F46 for their records. Custodians who prefer a replenishment check may indicate so by checking the appropriate box on the USNH-F46 but they should allow 5 business days for the check to be received. The campus Cashier/Bursar will cash the USNH replenishment check upon presentation by the Custodian with appropriate identification.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A.   SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This procedure pertains to all advances made by check or cash for travel or other business expense; the procedure establishes maximum advance amounts and requires timely accounting by employees. Unreturned advances will be subject to collection through payroll withholding if necessary for collection.

1.   Internal Revenue Service Regulations (Sec. 1.62-2) requires that cash advances and expense reimbursements must be reported as income on an employee's Form W-2 subject to income tax withholding UNLESS paid under an "Accountable Plan." An Accountable Plan is one that satisfies three requirements:

a. Has a business connection - Advances must be limited to reasonable job-related expenses expected to be incurred by the employee, and the expense type may be allowable as a tax deduction.

b. Substantiated - The employee must supply the employer with detailed expense records as would be required if he/she had to substantiate a business expense deduction on his/her own personal tax return. In the case of business meals, date, place, amount, applicable receipts, names of persons accompanying employee, and business purpose must be documented.

c. Unspent Advance Must Be Returned - Employees are required to return to the employer, within a reasonable period, any amount advanced that is in excess of the substantiated expenses.

USNH will avoid income tax withholding on cash advances and expense reimbursements by meeting all requirements for an Accountable Plan and insisting that all employees comply with these requirements.

2.   Administrative Procedures

a.   Business Connection - Employees traveling more than one business day while on official USNH business may receive an advance to cover an estimate of the reasonable business expenses expected to be incurred during their travel. Employees are strongly encouraged to use a personal charge card, or a USNH Purchasing Card when allowed, to reduce the need for cash advances.

If it is not possible to use a charge card, a USNH purchase order should be issued to the vendor to avoid the need for a cash advance.  Advances will not normally be granted for airline tickets, hotel or conference fees, or items that should be secured through standard procedures preceding the travel.  Advances are to be used for incidental business expenses.  Examples of these expenses include transportation to/from an airport, parking, tips given to porters, baggage carriers, bellhops/hotel maids. Security deposits for temporary lodging/housing where an employee will be staying while traveling on USNH business are also eligible for travel advances. In this case, the employee must return the entire amount of the original deposit upon their return. Any amount retained by the landlord is to be paid by the employee.  All requests for advances must be documented by estimating anticipated expenses and submitting on the standard USNH Pre-Approval/Advance Form as described in Procedure 07-117, Travel Pre-Approval/Advance.

b.   Substantiation - All travel expenses must be substantiated with original receipts accompanying an itemized USNH Personal Reimbursement Form (or on a Petty Cash Voucher in the case of travel paid from petty cash). Any advances must be referenced on the reimbursement form to ensure that the reimbursement total is appropriately reduced by the amount advanced.

c.   Unspent Advances Must Be Returned - All unspent or unsubstantiated advances for travel and other business expenses must be returned to the USNH Travel coordinator or the Campus Travel Manager, BSC Director or designee with proper substantiation within 10 business days after completion of the related trip. Employees failing to return unused USNH cash advances or proper substantiation within 10 business days will be subject to payroll deduction for the amount not returned or unsubstantiated after adequate written reminders have been given to the employee. Employees with outstanding advances are not eligible to receive additional advances until any outstanding advances are cleared.

d.   Advance Reasonably Calculated - Advances must be kept to a minimum and should be used only for minor expenses. Travel advances are generally limited to $300 per person per week maximum unless specifically approved in writing by the campus Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or his/her designee. Special arrangements which follow the intent of these procedures may be required for athletic team travel, and other group activities. Requests for advances must be approved by the responsible dean/director/department head using standard institutional forms. Advances should be processed through the USNH Travel Coordinator or Campus Travel Manager, BSC Director or designee at least four business days before the check is needed. Advances are released two business days prior to the travel departure date.

e.   Advances to non-employees - Advances of USNH funds will not be made to persons who are not currently affiliated with USNH. For this purpose, current USNH students, when functioning in an official capacity are considered affiliated with USNH. Advances will not be provided to any consultants.  Consultants incurring travel costs associated with their work for USNH must invoice their travel expenses as a fee for services, and the cost should be charged to account codes in the 717-Professional services range.

B.   DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1.   Responsibilities of USNH Disbursement Services

a. Maintain a detailed list of all employees with advances outstanding. The list will include the employee's name and USNH ID#, the amount of the advance, the date the advance was issued, the date the advance is expected to be returned (e.g., trip return date plus 10 days), and the dates reminders were sent to the employee. The list must be reconciled each month and sent to the USNH Director of Accounts Payable and Payroll by the 10th day of the following month, even if no employee is presently delinquent.

b. Send a standard written reminder to the Campus Travel Manager, BSC Director or designee with information necessary to process the USNH Personal Reimbursement request to substantiate the expenses associated with the trip. The reminder should state the facts and site this procedure. A copy of the reminder will be sent to the advance recipient and the dean/director/department head who authorized the advance. If the substantiation is not received, a second reminder will be sent about two weeks from the date of the first reminder.

c. On the 10th of each month the USNH Disbursements will complete a listing of all outstanding advances reconciled to Banner. Where two or more reminders have been sent to an employee with no response, the outstanding amount will be deducted from the employee's next paycheck.

d. Initiate Payroll Deduction. USNH Disbursements Services will initiate the deduction and send a notice when the deduction will take place to the Campus Travel Manager, BSC Director or designee by forwarding a reference to the JV document to transfer the money into the campus travel advance account. The campus representative will notify the employee of the date and amount of the payroll deduction.

e. USNH Disbursements Services will clear/cancel any open credit invoice transactions in the Banner System.

2.   Responsibilities of the Campus Travel Manager, BSC Director or other designee

If the USNH Director of Accounts Payable and Payroll delegates travel advance responsibilities to the Campus Travel Manager, BSC Director or other designee, the Campus Travel Manager, BSC Director or designee are responsible for completing all tasks outlined in section B.1. above.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The procedure outlined below is intended to ensure that proper approval is obtained in advance of executing write- offs, and that each request is based on fully documented good faith efforts to collect the account (i.e. due diligence). This procedure does not pertain to loans administered under the Federal Perkins Student Loan Program.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

1. Approval: The authority to approve the write off of uncollectible accounts is vested in the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at each campus. All decisions to write off an account must be based on review of documented collection efforts demonstrating that due diligence has been exercised. All write-offs must be approved in advance by the CFO, or his/her designee, at each campus.
2. Accounting for Write-Offs: The University System Financial and Administrative Procedures Manual, Procedure 10-002, Billing for Goods Sold or Services Rendered, states that when accounts receivable must be written off due to collectibility, such amounts are always recorded as a charge to an expense object code or the related reserve for doubtful accounts, not as a reduction of revenue.
3. Initial Collection Efforts: Any receivable account balance which remains unpaid 90 days after the initial payment due date shall be referred to the campus department responsible for collections. This department will take appropriate collection steps, including, but not limited to, dunning calls and letters, placement with collection agencies, or initiation of legal action to recover amounts due USNH.  Each campus may exercise more stringent practices, but may not be more lenient.   

a. For balances less than $10 no collection work is necessary before writing off balances, but CFO or designee advance approval is still required. For balances of $10 or more but less than $100, the collections department must make at least 2 good faith efforts to collect by letter or telephone. For balances of $100 or more, at least 3 good faith efforts to collect must be made and documented.
b. If an account remains unpaid 45 days after the collection process described above begins (i.e. 135 days past the original due date), the account should be evaluated for transfer to an appropriate collection agency or collection attorney.
c. If the account is returned by a collection agency as uncollectible, the account record should be reviewed again to determine if further collection agency placement or legal action should be taken, before a recommendation to write off the account will be made.

4. Requests for Write-Offs: If it is determined that further collection action would not be productive, and after appropriate consultation with the referring office, the complete record of the account and collection actions will be forwarded by the collections department to the Campus CFO, or his/her designee, for write-off approval.
5. Processing Write-Offs: When a write-off is recommended, an appropriate expense account, or the proper reserve for doubtful accounts, will be identified by the collections department, to fund the write-off. When approval is received, appropriate documents will be prepared by the collections department to accomplish the write-off of the account within Banner and/or the campus' accounts receivable system.
6. Record Retention: The complete record of the account, including write-off approval and documentation of due diligence in the collection effort, will be retained in the archives of the collections department for seven (7) years.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES for UNH, UNHL and UNHM accounts (Students or Commercial)

1. Delegation of Authority: As an administrative convenience, the UNH authority to write-off individual accounts up to $1000 as well as all balances of deceased students, and any balances discharged by federal or state courts under bankruptcy petitions, has been delegated to the Director of Business Services.
2. Balances less than $10:  Account balances of less than $10 will be automatically written off by the Director of Business Services, when the account is more than 90 days past due.  
3. Balances between $10 and $24.99:  Account balances between $10 and $24.99 which are more than 90 days past due, may be written off by the Director of Business Services upon completion of at least two documented good faith attempts to collect the account.
4. Balances between $25 and $999.99:  When the account is 90 days in arrears, UNH Business Services will assume collection responsibility. It is the originating department's responsibility to notify UNH Business Services on a timely basis, and provide all relevant background materials.

a. UNH Business Services will make at least 2 good faith efforts to collect, by letter and/or telephone, as appropriate in each case.
b. If the account remains unpaid after 45 days in the collection process, UNH Business Services staff will evaluate the account. A recommendation to take further action or to write-off the account will be made to the Director of Business Services.

5. Balances of $1000.00 or over:  When the account is 90 days in arrears, UNH Business Services will assume collection responsibility. It is the originating department's responsibility to notify UNH Business Services on a timely basis, and provide all relevant background materials.

a. UNH Business Services will make at least 3 good faith efforts to collect by letter and/or telephone as appropriate.
b. If the account remains unpaid after 45 days in the collection process, the account will be transferred to a collection agency or attorney, as appropriate.
c. If the account is returned by a collection agency as uncollectible, the account record will be reviewed to determine if further collection agency placement or legal action should be taken.
d. If it is determined that further collection efforts would not be productive, the Director of Business Services will forward the documented record to the Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration for approval of the write-off.

6. Balance write-off procedures: Upon approval of the Director of Business Services or Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Director of Business Services will effect the following actions:

a. A "Credit & Collections Write-Off" (CCWO) credit amount will be entered into the Banner system to write-off the account against the Banner reserve for doubtful accounts fund.
b. A "Credit Watch" (CW) hold will be placed on student Banner accounts with written off balances of $10 or more to preclude registration or issuance of transcripts.
c. Prior to write-off, any account balances over $100 will be reported to UNH's student payment plan servicing agent for final collection attempts.  If unsuccesful, the servicing agent will notify UNH to write-off the balance and the servicing agent will report the write-off to the applicable credit bureau.

7. Reports

a. A quarterly report of all accounts written off will be provided to the Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration for review.
b. Semiannually, a Banner report will be generated listing any payments made to accounts with a CW hold. This will permit the reversal of write off actions, when appropriate, and restore the funds to the reserve for doubtful accounts fund for future use.
c. Other appropriate reports will be prepared by the Director of Business Services of accounts written off to support internal and external audit requirements for due diligence.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. INTRODUCTION

1. Background - The purpose of this Debt Derivatives Policy is to establish guidelines for the use and management of all interest rate exchange transactions ("Swaps") and similar arrangements entered into by the University System of New Hampshire in connection with the incurrence of debt obligations or in furtherance of other non-speculative corporate purposes. This Policy sets forth the objectives, benefits and risks of a Swap program; discusses procurement and execution of Swap agreements; provides for security and risk mitigation strategies to be used; and requires regular monitoring and reporting; among other provisions. The terms "Debt Derivatives" and "Swaps" are used interchangeably throughout this Policy.
2. Rational for utilizing derivatives - Swaps and related financial instruments are appropriate interest rate management tools. Although not without risk, Swaps when properly used can improve USNH's financial viability, help manage its financial risks, and provide opportunities for interest rate savings. The authorized Swaps contemplated in this Policy are intended to reduce the amount or duration of interest rate risk, or produce a lower cost of borrowing when used in combination with the issuance of bonds. Swap structures will be adopted within plans of finance that are designed to maintain the tax-exempt status of USNH's debt.
3. Swaps may be used for the following purposes only:

a. To achieve significant savings as compared to a product available in the bond market. Significant savings may be deemed to occur if the use of Swaps helps to achieve diversification of a particular bond offering;
b. To prudently hedge risk in the context of a particular financing or the overall asset/liability management of USNH;
c. Synthetically to create variable rate exposure within prudent guidelines through Swap transactions in which USNH effectively exchanges with a Swap counterparty its fixed interest rate obligation on notes or bonds for an obligation to pay to the counterparty a variable interest rate;
d. To lock in fixed rates in current markets for use at a later date, through the use of forward Swaps, swaptions, rate locks, options and forward delivery products;
e. To manage USNH's exposure to the risk of changes in the legal and regulatory treatment of tax–exempt bonds;
f. To manage USNH's credit exposure to financial institutions and other entities through the use of off–setting Swaps and other credit management products; and
g. To achieve more flexibility in meeting overall financial objectives than can be achieved in conventional markets.

4. Situations where debt derivatives may not be used - Swaps may not be used for speculative purposes or to assume risks that are not prudent in light of the purposes for which the Swap transaction is being done. USNH may not enter into any Swap transaction for which there is (a) insufficient market liquidity for its transfer or termination at market, or (b) insufficient price transparency to allow realistic valuation of its market value on an ongoing basis.

B. AUTHORITY FOR DEBT DERIVATIVES AGREEMENTS

1. Board resolution - A vote of the Board of Trustees is required to incur long-term indebtedness in the form of tax-exempt bonds. The use of Swaps is limited to USNH's outstanding or anticipated debt and will be matched to specific bonds. New Swap agreements relating to new bonds require Board of Trustee authorization.
2. Existing bonds and swaps - Terminations, modifications, requests for bids, negotiations, and execution of Swap agreements related to currently outstanding bonds, or Swaps approved in B.1 above, require the joint approval of the Treasurer and the Chairman of the Financial Affairs Committee. USNH will consider the expert advice of Swap Advisor(s) and Bond Counsel as it deems relevant in the circumstances prior to its determination of whether to proceed with execution.
3. Legality - As a condition to the execution of any Swap transaction the USNH General Counsel will produce an opinion (or cause to have a recognized external bond counsel firm produce an acceptable opinion) substantively to the effect that USNH has the power to execute the agreement(s) relating to the Swap, that the agreements are legal, valid and binding obligations of USNH, and that they and their execution and delivery are not inconsistent with applicable laws.

C. PERMITTED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

1. Specific approval instruments - USNH may expressly utilize the following financial instruments, after identifying financial objective(s) to be realized and assessing the attendant risks:

a. Current or forward starting floating-to-fixed rate swaps (Synthetic Fixed), designed to capture current market interest rates, for example, for a bond issue anticipation hedge or a synthetic forward refunding
b. Current or forward starting fixed-to-floating rate swaps (Synthetic Variable), designed to create additional variable interest rate exposure
c. Financial contracts (caps, collars, floors) that limit or bound exposure to interest rate volatility
d. Sale or purchase of options to commence or cancel interest rate swaps (Swaptions)
e. Floating-to-floating rate swaps (Basis Swaps) to manage basis or tax risk

D. SWAP RISK AND BENEFIT ANALYSIS

1. General - In connection with any Swap, USNH and its Swap Advisor, shall review the proposed transaction and outline any considerations associated with the transaction, including identification of the benefits and potential risks; an independent analysis of potential savings from the proposed transaction; fixed versus variable rate and Swap exposure to USNH as a whole; and Maximum Net Termination Exposure for all existing and proposed USNH transactions. The USNH Treasurer shall consider for execution only those proposed transactions that meet the savings thresholds described herein, or that are compelling for other reasons, without incurring undue risks. Sections E through I below describe actions designed to protect USNH interests by maximizing benefits and mitigating risks.
2. Swap risks - In reviewing proposed Swaps, USNH shall consider at a minimum each of the following risks:

a. Counterparty risk - The risk that the Swap counterparty will not fulfill its obligations as specified by the terms of the contract. Under a fixed payer Swap, for example, if the counterparty defaults, USNH would be exposed to an unhedged variable rate bond position and the additional risk that the counterparty may be unable to or fails to make an early termination payment that would compensate USNH for the value of the lost hedge.
b. Termination risk - The risk that the Swap could be terminated as a result of any of several events, which may include a ratings downgrade for USNH or the Swap counterparty, covenant violation by either party, bankruptcy of either party, Swap payment default by either party, and default events under a bond resolution or trust indenture. USNH could owe a termination payment to the counterparty or receive a termination payment from the counterparty, depending on how interest rates at the time of termination compare with the fixed rate on the Swap.
c. Basis Risk - Basis risk refers to a mismatch between the interest rate received from the Swap contract and the interest actually owed on USNH’s related bonds. The risk, for example, in a 67% LIBOR floating to fixed rate Swap is that the variable rate interest payments received at 67% of LIBOR from the Swap counterparty will be less than the variable interest payments USNH must pay on its hedged bonds (assumed to be at or near the SIFMA Index in the case of USNH’s bonds).
d. Tax risk - A potentially long-term form of basis risk resulting from changes in marginal income tax rates and other changes in the Federal and state tax systems. Such changes will affect the relative value of tax-exempt debt. If marginal tax rates decline, the after tax value of tax-exempt income declines, which could cause tax-exempt rates to increase. Tax risk exists in all unhedged tax-exempt variable rate debt. Hedging tax-exempt variable rate debt with a LIBOR-based Swap leaves USNH exposed to the tax risk inherent in tax-exempt debt while hedging with a swap based on the SIFMA index would hedge the tax risk.
e. Amortization risk - Amortization risk refers to a mismatch between the principal amount of hedged bonds and the notional amount of the associated hedging Swap at points in time.
f. Swap rollover risk - If the term of the Swap contract does not match the term of the related bonds being hedged, the risk that upon the scheduled expiration of the Swap, the interest rate risk will be unhedged unless a new Swap is procured.
g. Liquidity/Remarketing risk - The risk that USNH cannot secure a cost-effective renewal of a Letter or Line of Credit or suffers a failed remarketing with respect to the variable-rate bonds underlying a floating-to-fixed swap. This would be due to a credit deterioration of USNH or a general reduction in bank lines available to the broad market.
h. Administrative risk - The need for ongoing expertise and effort to develop documentation, assess pricing, monitor rates, calculate and make payments, manage all aspects of the Swap program, evaluate tax issues, and institute proper accounting and budgeting methodology for the term of the Swap.

3. Swap benefit expectation - Synthetic fixed rate swaps or other derivative products should generate approximately 1% greater projected savings than that which would be expected for traditional bonds. This threshold will serve as a guideline and will not apply should the transaction, in USNH's sole judgment, help to meet any of the other objectives outlined herein. The higher savings target reflects the greater complexity and higher risk of derivative financial instruments. In addition, comparative savings analyses shall include, where applicable, the probability (based on historical interest rate indices, where applicable, or other accepted analytic techniques) of realized savings for both the derivative and traditional structures. Savings are to be calculated after adjusting for (a) applicable fees, including takedown, remarketing fees, credit enhancement and legal fees, and (b) call options that may be available on the bonds. In addition, USNH should examine any other risks added to a transaction, in particular tax risk, and adjust benefit expectations for the value added by taking such risk.

• Example - Assume a refunding of $100 million of existing bonds, where a traditional fixed rate advance refunding that does not use derivative products may have a present value savings (net of all costs) threshold of $3 million, which is 3% of the refunded par. If the refunding structure utilizes a derivative product, the threshold would have to be $4 million in net present value savings, 4% of the refunded par. Therefore, the transaction utilizing a swap or other derivative product would have to generate an additional $1 million to meet the target in this example.

4. Other considerations - In evaluating a particular Swap transaction, USNH will review long-term implications associated with entering into the Swap, including the costs of borrowing, historical interest rate trends, variable rate capacity, credit enhancement capacity, opportunities to refund related debt obligations and other similar considerations. When considering the relative advantage of using a Swap to synthetically create a fixed rate bond obligation versus the issuance of conventional fixed rate obligations, USNH will take into consideration the value of any call option on fixed rate obligations. USNH shall consider the impact of any variable rate obligations issued in combination with a Swap on the availability and cost of liquidity support for other additional variable rate obligations that may be issued by USNH in the future.

E. LEGAL AND CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Prior to entering, amending, or terminating any swap, USNH will consider and meet all applicable regulatory requirements for swap transactions in consultation with its advisors and legal counsel.  USNH will consider relevant advisories and maintain full compliance prior to entering, amending, or terminating any swap and provide ongoing monitoring of compliance with the applicable regulations of the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and/or any other body with regulatory oversight of the swap market.
2. Standard documents - USNH will use standard ISDA swap documentation including the Master Agreement, Schedule to the Master Agreement, and a Credit Support Annex. USNH may use additional documentation if the product is proprietary or USNH deems in its sole discretion that such documentation is otherwise in its interest.
3. Terms and notional amount of swap agreement - USNH shall determine the appropriate term for an interest rate swap agreement on a case-by-case basis. In connection with the issuance or carrying of bonds, the term of the swap agreement between USNH and a qualified swap counterparty shall not extend beyond the final maturity date of existing debt of USNH for the related bonds, or in the case of a refunding transaction, beyond the final maturity of the refunding bonds. For purposes of calculating net exposure, credit shall be given to any fixed versus variable rate swaps that offset termination exposure for a specific bond transaction. For variable rate transactions, credit may also be given for any assets that are used to hedge a transaction as long as in USNH’s judgment such assets are reasonably expected to remain in place on a coterminous basis with the swap.
4. Provisions to be included - The swaps between USNH and each counterparty shall include, as appropriate, payment, term, security, collateral, default, remedy, termination, and other terms, conditions and provisions as USNH, in consultation with its Swap Advisor and Bond Counsel, deems necessary or desirable. USNH swap documentation and terms should generally include the following:

a. Downgrade provisions triggering termination shall in no event be worse than those affecting the counterparty.
b. Governing law for swaps will be New York law, but should reflect New Hampshire authorization provisions.
c. The specified indebtedness related to credit events in any swap agreement should be narrowly drafted and refer only to specific debt.
d. Collateral thresholds should be set on a sliding scale reflective of credit ratings (see Collateral below).
e. Eligible collateral shall be as set forth in Attachment A, the Collateral section below.
f. Termination value should be set by "market quotation" methodology, when USNH deems appropriate.
g. USNH should only agree to an Additional Termination Event for USNH to the extent that the ratings on the applicable bonds fall below a ratings trigger acceptable to USNH and the counterparty and no form of credit support or enhancement is in place.

5. Termination provision - All swap transactions shall contain provisions granting USNH the right to optionally terminate a swap agreement at any time over the term of the agreement. Such a provision shall be required even if any termination is at market. In general, exercising the right to terminate an agreement should produce a benefit to USNH, either through the receipt of a payment from a termination or, if the termination payment is made by USNH, in conjunction with a conversion to a more beneficial debt obligation of USNH, as solely determined by USNH.
6. Collateral - As part of any swap agreement, USNH may require collateralization or other forms of credit enhancements to secure any or all swap payment obligations. As appropriate, USNH, in consultation with its Swap Advisor, may require collateral or other credit enhancement to be posted by each swap counterparty under the following circumstances:

a. Each counterparty to USNH may be required to post collateral if the credit rating of the counterparty or parent falls below the “AA” category. Additional collateral for further decreases in credit ratings of each counterparty shall be posted by each counterparty in accordance with the provisions contained in the collateral support agreement to each counterparty with USNH.
b. Threshold amounts shall be determined by USNH on a case-by-case basis. USNH will determine the reasonable threshold limits for the initial deposit and for increments of collateral posting thereafter.
c. In determining maximum uncollateralized exposure, USNH shall also consider and include, as applicable, financial exposure to the same corporate entities that it may have through other forms of financial dealings, such as securities lending agreements and commercial paper investments.
d. Collateral shall be deposited with a third party trustee, or as mutually agreed upon between USNH and the counterparty.
e. A list of acceptable securities that may be posted as collateral and the valuation of such collateral will be determined and mutually agreed upon during negotiation of the swap agreement with each swap counterparty. A complete list of acceptable securities and valuation percentages are included as Exhibit A.
f. The market value of the collateral shall be determined on at least a monthly basis, or more frequently if USNH determines it is in USNH's best interest given the specific collateral security.
g. USNH shall determine on a case-by-case basis whether other forms of credit enhancement are more beneficial to USNH.

F. METHODS OF SOLICITING, PROCURING AND SELECTING SWAP COUNTERPARTIES

1. General - USNH will assess the benefits of competitively bidding financial products that are non-proprietary or generally available in the marketplace. On a case-by-case basis, USNH will have the authority to negotiate the procurement of financial instruments that have customized or specific attributes designed on USNH's behalf. To provide safeguards on all Swap transactions, USNH will secure professional advice of a Swap Advisor and legal counsel familiar with Swaps to assist in the process of analyzing, structuring, documenting and pricing the transaction, and to verify that a fair price was obtained.
2. Negotiated - Negotiated procurement may be used (a) for original or proprietary products, (b) for original ideas of applying a specified product to a USNH need, (c) to avoid potential market pricing effects that would be detrimental to USNH’s interests, or (d) on a discretionary basis in conjunction with other business purposes of USNH.
3. Competitively bid - If USNH determines that a Swap should be competitively bid, at least three bids will be sought. USNH may employ a hybrid structure to reward unique ideas or special effort by reserving a specified percentage of the Swap to the firm presenting the ideas on the condition that the firm match or better the best bid.
4. Counterparty selection - USNH may enter into a Swap transaction only with highly qualified and highly rated counterparties. Qualified Swap counterparties will have demonstrated experience in successfully executing Swaps and, either (a) the counterparty has a credit rating for its long-term, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of not lower than A2 by Moody's Investor's Service or A by Standard and Poor's Ratings, or (b) the payment obligations of the counterparty are unconditionally guaranteed by a bank or non-bank financial institution with credit ratings that comply with clause (a) above at the time of execution of the Swap agreement. USNH will not enter into Swap agreements with counterparties rated below A2/A by any rating agency. Each counterparty shall have minimum capitalization of at least $150 million.
5. Protection from credit deterioration - USNH shall structure all Swap agreements to protect itself from credit deterioration of counterparties, including the use of credit support annexes or other forms of credit enhancement to secure counterparty performance. Such protection shall include any terms and conditions which, in USNH's sole discretion, are necessary or appropriate or in its best interests. If after entering into an agreement the ratings of the counterparty or its guarantor or credit support party are downgraded below the ratings listed above by any one of the rating agencies, then the agreement should be subject to termination unless (x) the counterparty provides either a substitute guarantor or assigns the agreement, in either case, to a party meeting the rating criteria reasonably acceptable to USNH or (y) collateralizes its obligations in accordance with the criteria set forth in the transaction documents.

G. COUNTERPARTY EXPOSURE LIMITATIONS

1. Diversification of counterparty risk - In order to diversify USNH’s counterparty credit risk, and to limit USNH’s credit exposure to any one counterparty, limits will be established for each counterparty based upon both the credit rating of the counterparty as well as the relative level of risk associated with each existing and proposed swap transaction. The guidelines below provide general termination exposure guidelines with respect to whether USNH should enter into an additional transaction with an existing counterparty. USNH may make exceptions to the guidelines at any time to the extent that the execution of a swap achieves one or more of the goals outlined in these guidelines or provides other benefits to USNH. In general, the Maximum Net Termination Exposure to any single Counterparty should be set so that it does not exceed a prudent level as measured against the gross revenues, available assets or other financial resources of USNH. Accordingly, these guidelines will be reviewed and revised from time-to-time.
2. Prospective analysis - Such guidelines will also not mandate or otherwise force automatic termination by USNH or the counterparty. Maximum Net Termination Exposure is not intended to impose retroactively any terms and conditions on existing transactions. Such provisions will only act as guidelines in making a determination as to whether or not a proposed transaction should be executed given certain levels of existing and projected net termination exposure to a specific counterparty. Additionally, the guidelines below are not intended to require retroactively additional collateral posting for existing transactions. Collateral posting guidelines are described in the “Collateral” section 5.5 above. The calculation of net termination exposure per counterparty will take into consideration multiple transactions, some of which may offset the overall exposure to USNH.
3. Maximum net termination exposure - USNH will set limits on individual counterparty exposure based on existing as well as new or proposed transactions. The sum of the current market value and the projected exposure shall constitute the Maximum Net Termination Exposure. For outstanding transactions, current exposure will be based on the market value as of the last quarterly swap valuation report provided by the Swap Advisor. Projected exposure shall be calculated based on the swap’s potential termination value taking into account possible adverse changes in interest rates as implied by historical or projected measures of potential rate changes applied over the remaining term of the swap. For purposes of this calculation, USNH shall include all existing and projected transactions of an individual counterparty and all transactions will be analyzed in aggregate such that the maximum exposure will be additive.
4. Exposure thresholds - The exposure thresholds will also be tied to credit ratings of the counterparties and whether or not collateral has been posted as shown in the table below. If a counterparty has more than one rating, the lowest rating will govern for purposes of the calculating the level of exposure. A summary table is provided below.

If the exposure limit is exceeded by a counterparty, USNH shall conduct a review of the exposure limit per counterparty. USNH, in consultation with its Swap Advisor, shall explore remedial strategies to mitigate this exposure.

H. ONGOING MANAGEMENT AND BUDGETING

1. USNH will manage all Swap transactions centrally for its constituent campuses and units and will charge no less than full debt service based on the all-in fixed rate cost of traditional bonds as if no Swap transaction had taken place. In addition, any net present value savings realized through execution of the Swap agreement will be invested long-term in a fund functioning as endowment under the control of the USNH Board of Trustees. The difference between the fixed rate charged to campus auxiliary units and the actual periodic debt service payments (including variations due to basis exposure) will be added to or subtracted from the funds functioning as endowment to provide a permanent offset to the risks of the Swap transaction.
2. USNH will seek to maximize its benefits and minimize its risks by actively managing its Swap program. This will entail frequent monitoring of market conditions, by both the Swap Advisor and Swap counterparties, for emergent opportunities and risks. Active management may require modifications of existing positions including, for example:

a. Early termination;
b. Shortening or lengthening the term;
c. Sale or purchase of options; or
d. Use of basis swaps

3. Accounting treatment - USNH will evaluate existing and proposed debt derivative transactions under accounting rules, such as GASB 53, to understand the full range of financial statement impacts and fully inform the decision-making process.

I. ONGOING MONITORING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

1. Analysis of quarterly reports - A written report providing the status of all Swap agreements entered into by USNH will be prepared by its Swap Advisor and/or Swap counterparties and analyzed by the USNH Treasurer and Controller, at least on a quarterly basis and shall include the following:

a. A description of all outstanding interest rate swap agreements, including bond series, type of swap, rates paid and received by USNH, total notional amount, average life of each swap agreement, remaining term of each swap agreement.
b. Highlights of all material changes to swap agreements or new swap agreements entered into by USNH since the last report.
c. A summary of Swap agreements that were terminated or that have expired.
d. A summary of principal terms of the agreements, including bond series, type of swap, rates paid and received by USNH, notional amounts, average life of each swap, remaining term of each swap agreement, and method of procurement.
e. The marked–to–market value of each Swap.
f. The name, description and credit ratings of each counterparty and the applicable guarantor or other credit support party.
g. The amounts that were required to be paid and received, and any amounts that were actually paid and received.
h. Listing of any credit enhancement, liquidity facility or reserves and accounting of all costs and expenses associated with the credit enhancement, liquidity facility or reserves.
i. The aggregate marked to market value for each counterparty and relative exposure compared to other counterparties.
j. A calculation of USNH’s Maximum Net Termination Exposure to each counterparty.

2. Annual reporting - An annual summary report shall be prepared and presented by the Treasurer or Controller to the Board of Trustee’s Financial Affairs Committee.

3. Annual disclosure and accounting treatment - USNH shall adhere fully to all applicable Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirements and recognized “best practices” for the accounting treatment and disclosure of debt derivative transactions in its audited financial statements and other relevant publications.

Exhibit A - Acceptable Collateral
Exhibit B - Glossary of Terms

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Exhibit A - Acceptable Collateral

For example, if a counterparty is required to post $1.0 million of collateral and wished to use Ginnie Mae's with five years remaining to maturity, it would be required to post $1,020,408 ($1.0 million/0.98) to satisfy the collateral requirement.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Exhibit B - Glossary of Terms

Confirmation - A contractual document executed for a specific Swap transaction which details the specific terms and conditions applicable to that transaction (fixed rate, floating rate index, payment dates, calculation methodology, amortization, maturity date, etc.).

Counterparty - A principal party to a Swap, as opposed to an agent such as a broker. USNH and a Swap dealer would both be counterparties in a transaction.

Credit Support Annex - A contractual document that covers the posting of collateral, if required under the ISDA Schedule, which is based on the net mark–to–market values of the cash flows in the Swap.

Forward Starting Swap - An interest rate Swap in which the Swap terms are set at the outset, but the start of the cash flow accruals and exchanges is delayed until some future date.

Hedge - A position taken in order to offset the risk associated with some other position. For example, a floating-to-fixed rate Swap can be a hedge of the interest rate risk of variable rate debt.

Interest Rate Swap - An interest rate Swap is a contract between two parties to exchange cash flows over a predetermined length of time. Cash flows are calculated periodically based on a fixed or variable interest rate against a set "notional" amount (amount used only for calculation of interest payments). Principal is not exchanged.

ISDA - The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. The global trade association whose members are dealers in the Swap industry. Most Swap transactions are executed under standard documentation created by ISDA.

ISDA Master Agreement - The primary document for the terms and conditions governing the Swap market. The ISDA Master Agreement contains the terms for events of default, termination events, representations and covenants, early termination provisions and payment calculations.

LIBOR - The London InterBank Offered Rate. The rate at which banks will lend eurodollars to each other. The most active dollar-based taxable interest rate benchmark utilized globally.

Maximum Net Termination Exposure - An amount equal to the aggregate termination payment for all existing and projected Swap transactions that would be paid by an individual counterparty. For purposes of this calculation, the aggregate termination payment is equal to: (i) the reasonably expected worst-case termination payment under all existing Swaps prior to the execution of any proposed transaction, plus (ii) the reasonably expected worst-case termination payment of the proposed transaction.

Notional Amount - The stipulated principal amount for a Swap transaction. There is no transfer of principal for a Swap, but there is an exchange in the cash flows for related, designated interest payments.

Schedule to the ISDA Master Agreement - A contractual document that supplements and may modify the terms of the Master Agreement. It also specifies which of a number of particular options available under the Master Agreement the parties have chosen to apply. The terms of the Schedule become part of the Master Agreement and will govern all Swap transactions consummated under the Master Agreement unless the Confirmation for a particular Swap transaction provides otherwise with respect to that Swap.

SIFMA Index - The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Municipal Swap Index. The principal benchmark for short-term, tax-exempt rates. A market basket index of over 400 actively traded, highly rated, non–AMT tax–exempt variable rate issues that reset their rates every Wednesday.

Swaption - A Swaption is an option on a Swap. The Swaption purchaser has the right to enter a specific Swap for a defined period of time. This option can be exercised on a specific exercise date or on any of a series of exercise dates depending on the specific terms of the Swaption.

Yield Curve - Refers to the graphical or tabular representation of interest rates across different maturities. It reflects the market's views about implied inflation/deflation, liquidity, economic and financial activity, and other market forces.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. Types of Solicitations

When seeking information from vendors, it is important for Purchasing to realize the specific type of goods and/or services required and to use the appropriate type of solicitation document. There are important differences among various documents used to solicit responses from vendors: the request for information (RFI), the request for bid (RFB), and the request for proposal (RFP).

An RFI is used when you don't know exactly what you want or you don't know what is available in the marketplace. The information received as a result of the RFI may assist in determining whether a formal request for bid or proposal is necessary.

An RFB is used when you know precisely what you need and have precise requirements and specifications.

The RFP is a hybrid of these documents. An RFP is used when you have a general idea with some specifications and/or it's a large, complex project with potential for multiple solutions.

B. Overview of the RFP Process

Effective communication is the bottom line with any RFP. The process begins with your scope of work (SOW) statement (description of services) or specifications (description of goods), proposal evaluation criteria, and a recommended sources list. These are submitted to the Purchasing Office, which takes this SOW or specifications and develops a complete Request for Proposal including standard (boilerplate) contract clauses, special clauses, instructions to prospective vendors, and any requisite technical exhibits or attachments. The RFP states a specific date and time deadline for proposal receipt and often has mandatory pre-proposal meetings for vendors to attend. This meeting offers the opportunity to ask questions and gives the University a chance to determine whether any changes need to be issued (addenda) to the RFP. This is also an excellent time to conduct any requisite site visits to familiarize vendors with the project site(s).

After proposals are received, they are then evaluated against evaluation criteria, which were stipulated in the RFP. Purchasing and the department then agree on the awarded firm. Once approved, a purchase order and/or contract are processed.

After award, the department monitors the contractor's performance, approves invoices, and notifies Purchasing if any problems are encountered with vendor's performance.

C. When is an RFP Necessary

A formal RFP is not required for justified single source purchases. An RFP is rarely used for equipment or supplies at any dollar value, and is usually not required for service purchase orders under the bid limit. Additionally, certain personal services and consultant services are subject to other purchasing methodologies. Examples of situations, which may require an RFP, are purchases of specialized research, custom computer equipment, custom software, custodial services, marketing services, food services, and security services. In general, an RFP is needed when the product/services required exceed the current bid limit and the expected contract performance, terms, and conditions cannot be completely described by a detailed specification attached to a purchase order.

D. Developing the Scope of Work

The scope of work is the heart of the RFP. A well-written scope of work can do more for the success of a contract than any other part of the contracting process. A good scope of work is clear, complete, and logical enough to be understood by the vendor and department. Because it describes the details of performance, it is the yardstick against which the vendor's performance is measured. Enhancing a vendor's ability to read and understand the needs articulated in the RFP is critical to success. The RFP must be concise and clear. The structure of the document is used to keep your thoughts on track and to organize a vendor's response. Emphasize points that you feel are especially important. Organize the RFP document in numbered sections, and require the vendors to use this same numbering/sectioning format in their responses. This ensures clarity and consistency in the RFP and in the vendors' responses, and will make the evaluation and selection process easier. The department should start the process by contacting Purchasing in advance of the need in order to give ample time for the RFP process, from RFP development to contract/PO.

• Suggested Content - Introduction and general information, task description, constraints on the contractor, contractor personnel requirements, University responsibilities, special conditions, evaluation criteria.

E. Evaluation of Proposals

A prerequisite for award is that the vendor must be responsible and must submit a responsive offer. To be responsible means the vendor has the requisite business integrity, as well as financial and organizational capacities, to ensure good-faith performance. To be responsive, an offer must conform in all material respects to the RFP. Beyond these two basic criteria, the only method we have of selecting the offer most advantageous to the University is through the proposal evaluation criteria, which is published in the RFP.

Because of the nature of most goods and/or services purchased and the sealed competitive bid procedure, we must make objective comparative analyses of different vendor's proposals in justifying our recommendation for award. The recommendation for award must be defensible. This makes the drafting of reasonable and definitive evaluation criteria very important to the RFP and source selection process.

Some evaluation criteria to consider for inclusion in the RFP are as follows: (1) performance record of the contractor, (2) safety record, (3) relevant experience in providing comparable services on projects of similar size and scope, (4) overall quality of proposal, (5) pricing.

The RFP must contain a cost proposal format that allows the vendors to explicitly identify their charges for the deliverables identified in the project. Deliverables must be well defined so that all vendors can respond to the same deliverables thus allowing the University to make comparative analyses of the vendor's costs.

F. Pre-Proposal Conference

While a pre-proposal conference is not always required, it is highly recommended. If one is conducted, vendors are required to attend, or attendance may be by "invitation and urge to attend", so that we can be sure that all vendors receive the same information and we receive constructive feedback about the RFP. Although a representative from the Purchasing Office leads the conference and answers any contractual questions, the department must be represented to answer any questions about the technical aspects and performance anticipated in the scope of work detailed in the RFP. During the conference, university employees must not discuss the merits of a vendor's question, and it must be clear that nothing discussed that materially affects the RFP can be relied upon unless it is documented in a written addendum to the RFP. The University will not be bound by oral discussion surrounding a bid document. If a site visit is needed to familiarize vendors with the work site, it is normally conducted following the pre-proposal conference.

G. Proposal Opening

Proposal openings are open to the public and are scheduled two to four weeks after the pre-proposal conference. This may vary depending on the complexity of project that is being bid. Late proposals are marked with the time and date received; however, they are not opened or read and will not be considered.

H. Proposal Evaluations

After the Purchasing Office has reviewed each vendor's proposal to determine that they are complete, the proposals are then forwarded to the department and/or committee members for evaluation. During the period of evaluation and prior to award, possession of proposals and accompanying information is limited to personnel responsible for participating in the evaluation. Any communications with vendors must be approved in advance through the purchasing agent handling the bid process.

Recommendation for award must be in written form and must address how each vendor has met or failed to meet the evaluation criteria stated in the RFP. All areas of non-conformity with any terms, conditions, or listed specifications must be clearly stated in the evaluation.

To assist those individuals responsible for evaluating proposals, the Purchasing Office creates an evaluation matrix, based upon evaluation factors listed in the RFP. This matrix is a tool to assist those evaluating proposals.

I. Negotiation

When all proposals are determined to be non-responsive, all must be rejected and a new RFP issued. Negotiation is normally only permitted where effective competition is not available. However, when written evaluations support it, the Purchasing Office may authorize negotiation with each vendor whose proposal can reasonably be expected to be amended to meet the needs of the University.

J. Contract Coordination

Monitoring Performance

After award, the project coordinator, who is usually named in the contract document, monitors the vendor's performance, approves invoices, and notifies the Purchasing Office if any problems are encountered. Depending on the type of service, the manner in which performance is monitored may involve any number of procedures including regular and unscheduled inspections, complaints brought to management's attention, and reports or surveys of consumers of the services.

Changing the Contract

Since the purchase order or contract incorporates the contractor's response to the RFP, these documents reflect the agreement between the parties. Amending or canceling the contract can only be accomplished under the terms and conditions of the agreement and such actions must be done through the Purchasing Office.

K. Dealing with Poor Performance

The key to rectifying poor performance is keeping good documentation. Each contract contains provisions for dealing with poor performance. Such provisions are usually cited under the default clause in a contract. Under the standard default clause, the contractor has a specified time period to correct, or provide a corrective action plan for any non-conformances identified by the project coordinator. While the project coordinator may initially deal with minor issues verbally, a written record of these occasions becomes increasingly important when the contractor's performance deteriorates to the point where it becomes necessary to cancel the entire contract or parts of it. If the contractor is clearly at fault and we have documentation to prove it, we can cancel the contract for default and hold the contractor liable for the increased costs of obtaining substitute services from another vendor. Do not hesitate to contact the Purchasing Office for advice when you have repeated problems with the contractor.

L. Terminating Without Penalty

Under a standard termination clause, the University has the option of terminating the contract without penalty for any reason with an advance written notice to the contractor. Care must be taken to read the contract clause to ensure that the stipulated number of days for written notice has been given.

A Purchase Order Is...

Standard USNH Terms and Conditions are part of the USNH PO generated and sent to vendors for each order made.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Code of Ethics

Because personnel who are involved in the procurement function are in a position to provide or withhold substantial rewards for suppliers who serve USNH, and because they constantly operate under pressure from conflicting sources, they must have a highly developed sense of professional ethics to resist these pressures and to serve USNH in an honorable way.

To strengthen ethical awareness, and to provide guidelines for its members, the National Association of Education Buyers has an established code of ethics which is printed below. All USNH purchasing professionals subscribe to the National Association of Educational Buyers Code of Ethics.

1. Give first consideration to the objectives and policies of my institution.
2. Strive to obtain the maximum value for each dollar of expenditure.
3. Decline personal gifts or gratuities.
4. Grant all competitive suppliers equal consideration insofar as state of federal statue and institutional policy permit.
5. Conduct business with potential and current suppliers in an atmosphere of good faith, devoid of intentional misrepresentation.
6. Demand honesty in sales representation whether offered through the medium of a verbal or written statement, an advertisement, or a sample of the product.
7. Receive consent of originator of proprietary ideas and designs before using them for competitive purchasing purposes.
8. Make every reasonable effort to negotiate an equitable and mutually agreeable settlement of any controversy with a supplier, and/or be willing to submit any major controversies to arbitration or other third party review, insofar as the established policies of my institution permit.
9. Accord a prompt and courteous reception insofar as conditions permit to all who call on legitimate business missions.
10. Cooperate with trade, industrial and professional associations and with governmental and private agencies for the purpose of promoting and developing sound business methods.
11. Foster fair, ethical and legal trade practices.
12. Counsel and cooperate with NAEB members and promote a spirit of unity and a keen interest in professional growth among them.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

1. Any vendor, unsuccessful bidder, or other party (not employed by USNH) who is aggrieved by a decision made by the USNH Purchasing Department may file a formal complaint in accordance with the procedures established herein.
2. Any complaint shall be in writing, addressed to the Director of Purchasing, and must be received by the Director within 10 days of the incident giving rise to the complaint.
3. The complaint shall describe in detail the relevant facts, all attempts made by the complainant to resolve the problem informally, the procedure or specification allegedly violated, the personnel involved, dates, times, location, and expected resolution.
4. The Director may schedule, at his or her sole discretion, a meeting with the complainant to discuss the issues raised in the complaint. The Director may also, whether or not such a meeting has been scheduled, request further information or documentation from the complainant or any other source.
5. The Director shall notify the complainant in writing of his or her decision within 45 days after receiving the complaint unless a meeting about the complaint was scheduled. In those cases where a meeting about the complaint was scheduled, the Director shall issue his or her decision within 45 days following the meeting.
6. Any of the foregoing provisions, including those relating to time deadlines, may be waived by the Director when, in his or her sole discretion, good cause exists to do so.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Purchasing Terms

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

All forms are available at the Purchasing Office, upon request.

USNH FED TAX ID#: 02-6000937

USNH FED EXCISE TAX EXEMPTION#: 02-90-0048F

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

W - 9 related definitions

Ownership Status Definitions and Information

*Social Security Numbers are required for all payments to individuals, for all payments to Limited Liability Companies designated as Disregarded Entities, and for all payments for services to sole proprietorships. If W-9 form indicates sole proprietorship provides ‘goods only’ without owner’s SSN, but it is determined payment to vendor is reportable on Form 1099-Misc, SSN is required.

Business Classification Definitions and Information

The IRS requires 1099 filing for various types of vendors.  In addition to the standard reporting required for services in excess of $600, the IRS also requires all payments for services to Lawyers and Medical or Health providers.  UNH also participates in many federally funded grant programs which require USNH to do a percentage of business with certain groups such as; Disadvantaged Veteran Enterprises, Minority Business Enterprises, Small Business, etc.

To make certain USNH remains in compliance with all required regulations, the information on the Business Classification form is required.  Links to appropriate governmental sites are provided where known.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

University System of New Hampshire - Substitute W-9

Purpose of USNH Substitute W-9 Form

The University System of New Hampshire (USNH) consists of UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, Keene State College, Plymouth State University, and Granite State College. USNH requires that a record be kept of any individual or business that receives a check from the University System, whether for services rendered, goods provided or any other circumstance for which monies would be paid. USNH uses the attached Substitute W-9 Form to create a vendor record for an individual or business. This form also meets the requirements of the IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number. An employer identification number, or EIN, is also known as a taxpayer identification number, or TIN. Failure to return this form in a timely manner will delay payment. If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate campus Purchasing Office listed on the form.

Privacy Act Notice

USNH is requesting your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to satisfy the requirements of Federal and State law. Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code requires that you provide your correct TIN to be used on information returns (Forms 1099) filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Failure to provide your TIN could result in backup withholding and penalties. State law (RSA 282-A:117- a) requires USNH to file information reports with the State of NH using a sole proprietor’s Social Security number rather than their TIN, if services will be provided. Failure to provide this information will result in penalties. Any penalties assessed against USNH for failure to provide your correct TIN or SSN to federal and state authorities will be passed along to you. USNH will not disclose your TIN or SSN to anyone outside the institution except as mandated by law.

Instructions for Completing the USNH Substitute W-9 Form Individual or Sole Proprietor

Provide SSN (and EIN if applicable):

• Provide your Social Security Number (SSN), full legal name, and physical home address in addition to a mailing address if different (If you list a PO Box for a mailing address, you must also provide a physical home address)
  • If you are a sole proprietor providing services, you must provide the Owner’s SSN, full legal name, business address and any Doing business as names the business may operate under. (If you list a PO Box for a mailing address, you must also provide a physical business address). Also provide your Employer ID number (EIN), if applicable.
  • Otherwise, if you are a sole proprietor providing only goods, specify an EIN and/or Owner’s name and SSN
• If a check should be issued to you personally and not to the business name, indicate "Individual" in the Ownership Status. If a check should be issued to the business name, indicate "Sole Proprietor" in the Ownership Status.
• Complete the "Business Classification" attachment if applicable.
• Indicate if you are a foreign entity/non-resident alien.
• Answer each question if applicable.
• Sign and date the form. Return the completed form as indicated on the Substitute W-9 form.

Business - Provide EIN:

• Provide the business’ Employer ID Number (EIN), the full legal name of the business (the name under which the business files with the IRS), any "Doing business as" or other names the business may operate under, and the appropriate addresses. (If you list a PO Box for a mailing address, also include physical address).
• Complete the "Ownership Status" section. Complete the "Business Classification" attachment if applicable.
• Indicate if the business is a foreign entity/non-resident alien.
• Answer each question if applicable.
• Sign and date the form. Return the completed form as indicated on the Substitute W-9 form.

Ownership Status Definitions and Information

*Social Security Numbers are required for all payments to individuals, for all payments to Limited Liability Companies designated as Disregarded Entities, and for all payments for services to sole proprietorships. If W-9 form indicates sole proprietorship provides ‘goods only’ without owner’s SSN, but it is determined payment to vendor is reportable on Form 1099-Misc, SSN is required.

University System of New Hampshire
Procurement Services
121 Technology Drive, Suite 121
Durham, NH 03824-4716
Ph: 603-862-2896
Fax: 603-862-3390

Keene State College
Purchasing Office
229 Main Street
Keene, NH 03435-1601
Ph: 603-358-2493
Fax: 603-358-2495

Plymouth State University Purchasing Office
25 Highland Street, MSC #35
Plymouth, NH 03264-1595
Ph: 603-535-2246
Fax: 603-535-2711

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

A.   SUMMARY

USNH appreciates the efforts of those who travel on USNH business. An individual should not experience a financial gain or loss because of USNH business travel. USNH policy is to reimburse reasonable and necessary travel expenses incurred for authorized USNH business travel. Consistent application of this policy will:

• Ensure compliance with federal regulations and sponsor requirements, 
• Ensure USNH meets all requirements for an Accountable Plan as defined by Internal Revenue Service Regulations (Reg. Sec. 1.62-2)
• Enable USNH to better manage its limited resources, 
• Ensure that reimbursement is fair and equitable to both the traveler and USNH, and 
• Ensure clear and consistent understanding of the rules by which travel reimbursement will be provided, thereby providing the best service to travelers. 

USNH has chosen open competition as the method of obtaining the lowest applicable airfare and hotel rates. Travelers should make their own travel arrangements and book directly to a Purchasing Card assigned to either an individual employee or a unit. Travelers who do not have access to a P-Card may charge airline fares and other travel expenses to a personal credit card and seek reimbursement. Reimbursement will not be made until after travel is completed.

B.   DEFINITION OF USNH BUSINESS TRAVEL

Leaving from your residence or regular USNH work location, to a destination other than your regular USNH work location, to conduct USNH business is considered USNH business travel. Returning to your residence or regular work location from a destination other than your regular work location is also considered USNH business travel.

USNH business travel may be overnight, requiring the traveler to spend a night away from home, or it may be a day trip where the traveler returns home the same day.

USNH Business travel excludes commuting travel. Please refer to section C of Procedure 07-009 Personal Automobile Expenses for more information on commuting expenses.

C.   APPLICABILITY

This policy applies to employees and non-employees who travel on authorized USNH business, regardless of funding source. These individuals are collectively referred to as “travelers” in these procedures. Note that if travel is being charged to a Sponsored Program with terms that are more restrictive than those of USNH, the terms of the grant or contract apply. If the terms imposed by Sponsored programs are more lenient than those of USNH, USNH policy applies. Similarly, campuses or departments may elect to impose stricter controls over travel expenditures than those required by this policy. Non-employees working with USNH under agreements that have specific travel terms should follow the terms laid out in their agreements. All other non-employees traveling on approved USNH business must fully adhere to all USNH policies included in this section as described in Procedure 07-015 Non-Employee Travel.

D.   ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY

This policy is based on the honesty and integrity of the traveler. Travelers are expected to exercise good judgment when incurring travel costs, regardless of funding source. Business travel expenses will be paid by USNH if they are reasonable, properly authorized, appropriately documented with a distinct, compelling business purpose descriptive enough to clearly demonstrate a benefit to USNH, and within the guidelines of this policy. Costs should not be lavish or extravagant but should be prudent, exercising the fiduciary responsibility entrusted in all USNH employees by the state, students, governmental and non-government sponsors, donors, and others who provide resources to USNH. All monies reimbursed will be for the lowest reasonable cost of travel given the circumstances and substantiated with receipts (see Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursment, section B). No portion of costs associated with personal travel will be paid by USNH. Travelers are responsible for familiarizing themselves and complying with this policy. The USNH Financial Services Office is responsible for oversight of travel policies, procedures, and travel expenditures. The Support Team for the Administration of Research (STAR) or campus research office until transition to STAR has been completed determines which travel expenditures are reimbursable under a Sponsored program.

1.   Travelers

a.   Individuals traveling and employees who make travel arrangements or prepare reimbursement requests on a traveler’s behalf are responsible for complying with this policy and related procedures.

b.   All travel reimbursement requests must be submitted within a reasonable time as defined in section C of Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement. Travelers are responsible for correctly completing forms, including providing a clear statement of business purpose and submitting all appropriate supporting documentation to the USNH Financial Operations Center (FOC) as described in Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement. By submitting a travel reimbursement request, the traveler indicates that they were traveling on USNH business, the request does not include any personal expenses, and the amount has not and will not be reimbursed to the traveler from any other source(s).

c.   The traveler is responsible for the cancellation of any reservations (hotel, airfare, ground transportation, etc.) if a trip is canceled. USNH is not responsible for any charges or penalties resulting from the traveler's failure to give proper notice of cancellation. Travelers should request and record the cancellation number in case of a billing dispute.

d.   USNH will pay for costs resulting from cancellations including change fees due to circumstances beyond the control of the traveler such as cancellation at the request of a supervisor, conference or meeting cancellation, or personal circumstances (i.e., traveler’s hospitalization, or loss of a loved one).

e.   Travelers are encouraged to use their memberships in AAA, AARP, or other groups to obtain discounts which exceed those otherwise available.

2.   Approvals

a.   After downloading and completing the USNH Personal Reimbursement Form, a traveler must have the request approved by a direct supervisor or only in in their absence, a designee that is senior to the direct supervisor in the organizational structure. Approval by a direct supervisor or designee that is senior to the direct supervisor in the organizational structure is required regardless of the funding source denoted on the personal reimbursement form (for sponsored programs approval authority see paragraph below). By signing the travel reimbursement form, the Travel Approver attests that the purpose of the expense is valid and directly related to USNH business, the cost is appropriate and reasonable, and the date the traveler signed the form is reasonable compared to when the form is presented for approval. The date the employee signed will determine whether the form was timely submitted as described in Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement.

The authority for determining which travel expenditures are reimbursable under a particular grant or contract lies with the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration. For the purposes of this policy, Sponsored Programs Administration has the authority to approve externally funded travel on behalf of the Principal Investigators. 

b.   After obtaining approval from their supervisor, employees should send the completed and approved form to the FOC. A Travel and Expense Assistant will review the form for the following:

i.    An adequate description of the business purpose was documented
ii.   There are no missing entries for required fields
iii.  Approvals have been applied as appropriate
iv.  If traveling abroad on federal grants, the travel was pre-approved by STAR or research office until transition to STAR has been completed
v.   Mileage and per diem amounts requested are accurate and in compliance with mileage and per diem policies
vi.  If the ‘less than per diem’ option was chosen, meals claimed each day were below the daily per diem to which the traveler was entitled for that location
vii. Each claimed expense, other than per diem and mileage, has a receipt that meets the requirements in section B of Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement. The Travel Expense approver will inspect scanned receipts before approving any requests for reimbursement. When a receipt is not available, a full explanation of the expense and the reason for the missing receipt must be provided. A Lost Receipt Form must be completed, and the form should be approved by the department head or supervisor of the traveler.

c.   A traveler may not approve her/his own travel reimbursement request form, and an employee may not approve expenses for an individual to whom they report or who is at a higher level within the organizational structure. Additionally, in general, the supervisor should approve the reimbursement request and this responsibility should not be delegated unless there is an urgent need and the supervisor is absent or, the travel is under a grant as described in 2. A. above.

For travel approval related to non-employees, please refer to USNH Policy 07-015.

3.   Authority to approve exceptions

Exceptions to this USNH Travel Policy require campus CFO or designee approval, except when the exception to this policy is due to disability or medical condition(s) in which case the Campus ADA Compliance Officer or equivalent must approve the exception.

The criteria below should be considered before an exception is granted.

a) Exceptions must meet a valid business need, not simply a traveler preference, and should be requested prior to incurring the expense.
b) Documentation for any exceptions must be submitted to the USNH FOC with the Travel Reimbursement Request Form, and
c) In certain circumstances an exception may result in reportable income for the recipient. In such cases the USNH FOC will withhold any required taxes from the payments to the traveler.

E.   TAXABILITY OF TRAVEL REIMBURSMENT UNDER IRS ACCOUNTABLE PLAN RULES

According to IRS guidance known as the “Accountable Plan Rules,” travelers are required to substantiate (with receipts), all expenses within a reasonable amount of time.

Under the “Accountable Plan”, an expense must meet the following rules to allow an employer to exclude the reimbursement from an employee’s income:

1. The traveler’s expenses must have a business connection, meaning the traveler must have paid or incurred deductible business expenses while performing services as an employee of the employer.
2. The traveler must adequately account to the employer for these expenses within a reasonable period of time.
3. The traveler must return any excess reimbursement or allowance within a reasonable period of time.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

University System of New Hampshire Financial and Administrative Procedures

• Chapter 7 - Travel Policy
• Travel Forms
• Lost Receipt Form

For trips beginning 01/01/2024 : $0.67 per mile
For trips beginning 01/01/2023 through 12/31/2023 : $0.655 per mile

• Domestic Per Diem Rates
• Foreign Per Diem Rates
• Currency Converter
• Travel Advisories
• Amtrak
• Airport Information
• World Weather
• Take a Free Trip on AutoPilot
• Tax Refund for Visitors to Canada
• C&J Trailways

• Alaska Air
• American Airlines
• Delta
• Endeavor Air
• Frontier Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• jetBlue Airways
• Jet Express
• Kenmore Air
• Pacific Coastal Airlines
• Southwest Airlines
• Skywest Airlines
• United Airlines
• WestJet Airlines

Please review Policy 07-001 Introduction to Travel for an overview of USNH travel policies. The procedures below provide more specific requirements related to Travel Reimbursement.

A.   TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST FORM

A Traveler should submit a Travel Reimbursement Request Form within 45 days of completing a business trip. A business trip starts when a traveler on USNH business leaves their normal place of employment or their home for another destination and ends when the traveler is back at home or normal place of employment. Note that reimbursement is not guaranteed if a request is submitted after 60 days of completing a business trip. Such late requests require approval from the campus CFO or designee. The Travel Reimbursement Request Form must:

1.   Detail all travel to/from the location, meals, lodging, meeting(s)/conference(s) attended, etc., and must include all requested reimbursement for the entirety of the trip. If other USNH travelers were included or paid for, e.g., shared a ride, the name of the other traveler(s) should be noted on the form.

2.   Clearly indicate the business purpose of the travel. A business purpose must be descriptive enough to clearly answer any questions regarding who traveled, the necessity of their travel, and the benefit to USNH. Below are some examples of appropriate business purposes:

Including the itinerary for the trip and the agenda of meeting(s)/conference(s) attended is recommended to substantiate the business purpose and the various expenses included as part of the registration fee.

3.   Include receipts for all expenses claimed except those related to daily per-diem or mileage reimbursement (see Section B below for exceptions to receipt requirements). Any differences between the receipt and reimbursement report amounts must be explained. Scanned copies of receipts may be submitted to the FOC along with the approved reimbursement request. The traveler must keep original receipts until after the travel request form is processed and paid. The paper receipt may be destroyed once the traveler receives payment.

4.   Include rates used in converting foreign currency to U.S. funds at the time of the transaction.

5.   Use meal per diem and mileage rates in effect at the time of the travel according to Procedures 07-007 Travel Meals and 07-009 Personal Automobile Expenses. Per Diem request reimbursement must be supported by evidence of the location the traveler visited such as conference agenda, or hotel or airline ticket receipts showing destination.

6.   All reimbursement requests must be approved as described in Policy 07-001 Introduction to Travel, Section D.2.

B.   REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPTS

1.   Original receipts for any claimed expense are required for USNH to reimburse the travel for any travel expense incurred – See exception in Section B.2 below. The receipt must be provided by the vendor and contain the following five IRS-required elements:

a. Name of the vendor (person or company you paid)
b. Transaction date (when you paid)
c. A detailed description of what was purchased
d. Amount paid
e. Form of payment (how you paid – cash, check, or credit card)

2.   Legible scanned document of receipt may be acceptable provided they include all the above elements and a dated and signed note from the traveler certifying the scanned document is a true copy of the original.

3.   Travel costs of $25 or less per transaction do not require receipts for reimbursement. For example, receipts are required for reimbursement of the cost of taxis, parking, and other travel costs that total more than $25 per fare.

4.   When a traveler loses or misplaces receipts needed to obtain reimbursement, the traveler must first attempt to obtain a duplicate receipt from the vendor where feasible. If a traveler is unsuccessful in getting a duplicate receipt, they may complete a Lost Receipt Form. A Lost Receipt Form should not be completed on a routine basis (generally no more than three per fiscal year will be accepted), and overuse may result in revocation of the privilege of providing a Lost Receipt Form in lieu of an original receipt.

5.   Lost Receipt Forms are not acceptable for hotel and airfare charges. The Traveler must contact the hotel or the airline and obtain a duplicate receipt in these cases.

C.   TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT TIMELINE

1.   Per IRS requirements, reimbursement requests received later than 60 calendar days after completion of the trip must be treated as taxable to the traveler. Expense reimbursement requests are treated as taking place within a reasonable period if the traveler submits a request for reimbursement that is adequately supported within 60 calendar days of completing a trip, or before the end date of the grant closeout period if travel is being charged to a Sponsored Program, whichever is sooner. A request is considered submitted on time when the date the traveler signed the form is within 60 calendar days of the completion of the trip, and the total cost of the trip is fully substantiated. Note that in cases where USNH is a sub-recipient of grant funds, the closeout period may be less than 60 days to allow our sponsor to bill for the reimbursements. With the exception of the 60 calendar day tax rule, the campus CFO or designee, may authorize individual exceptions to this policy upon written justification showing cause for noncompliance. For information regarding processing the earnings related to late submission of reimbursement requests, please see the Travel & Expense Administration section of the USNH Finance Hub (log in required; see instructions on the Employees section of the USNH website).

2.   For travelers who received an advance before traveling, unused USNH cash advances and/or proper substantiation of all costs must be returned within 10 business days of completing the trip. See Procedure 04-008 Cash Advances for more information.

D.   NON-REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES

Unallowable, unsubstantiated or unauthorized expenses will not be reimbursed. Please refer to Travel Cheat Sheet and Procedure 07-014 Non-Reimbursable Travel Expenses. If it is determined after reimbursement or use of USNH Purchasing card that a traveler violated any provision of USNH’s travel procedures, USNH will recoup such expenses from the traveler by seeking direct reimbursement. If full repayment is not received from a USNH employee, the Travel Expense Assistant will notify the employee and their supervisor, and the funds will be collected through a payroll deduction. USNH retains the right to collect any remaining funds by other means necessary (e.g., a civil suit or criminal prosecution as appropriate under the circumstances). In addition, disciplinary action may be taken under campus Human Resources policies or other appropriate internal policies.

In general, goods or services should, when practical, be procured through purchasing methods facilitated and approved by USNH Procurement (i.e., Contract, Purchase Order, or Pcard). The following categories are exempt from this limitation and may be reimbursed (1) reimbursements required via a collective bargaining agreement, (2) employee professional development, and (3) publishing fees for articles and other publications.

In cases when a Traveler disagrees with the decision of the Travel Expense Assistant, the traveler may refer the case to the campus CFO or designee which has the final decision on travel matters.

E.   FUNDRAISING, RECRUITING, AND TEAM TRAVEL

USNH recognizes the unique nature of travel expenses incurred for fundraising, recruiting, team sports, and other specialized activities. If these activities necessitate a deviation from the stated travel policy, reimbursement may be allowed, provided written pre-approval is obtained from the campus VPFA or designee. Campuses should have campus-specific policy and procedures related to these activities. 

F.   MIXING BUSINESS TRAVEL WITH PERSONAL TRIPS

Per USNH Procedure 07-014 Non-Reimbursable Travel Expenses, personal expenses are not reimbursable. This includes any personal portion of airfare, hotel accommodation, or car rental while on USNH business, as well as any additional cost that results from a traveler choosing a non-direct route or extending the stay for personal convenience or vacation. The traveler should include a statement and documentation that supports the cost of the business portion of the trip each time vacation or any other personal conveniences are included.

G.   TRAVEL ON SPONSORED PROGRAMS

All costs charged to a sponsored program must comply with the sponsor’s terms and conditions, USNH’s policies and procedures, Federal regulations including OMB’s Uniform Guidance, and the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service. If travel expenses are charged to a sponsored award, the documentation for such charges must justify that travel taken by the individual is necessary to the sponsored award. Per OMB’s Uniform Guidance section: 200.474, “Travel costs are the expenses for transportation, lodging, subsistence, and related items incurred by employees who are in travel status on official business of the non-Federal entity [USNH]. Such costs may be charged on an actual cost basis, on a per diem or mileage basis in lieu of actual costs incurred, or on a combination of the two (e.g. per diem for meals and actual costs for lodging), provided the method used is applied to an entire trip and not to selected days of the trip, and results in charges consistent with those normally allowed in like circumstances in the non-Federal entity’s [USNH’s] non-federally funded activities and in accordance with non-Federal entity’s [USNH’s] written travel reimbursement policies.” Costs incurred by employees for travel, including costs of lodging, other subsistence, and incidental expenses, must be considered reasonable and otherwise allowable to the extent such costs do not exceed charges normally allowed by this Travel Expense Reimbursement Policy. Travel costs charged to sponsored awards must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable. For Federally funded sponsored programs, they must be in accordance with Federal regulations including OMB’s Uniform Guidance. Charges split between two or more sponsored programs must demonstrate how the trip specifically benefited each project respectively.

EXAMPLES: 

Example 1: An employee lives in NH is traveling to San Francisco, CA for an approved business meeting that is scheduled to take place Monday through Friday. The employee extends the trip and decides to take a personal vacation after the meeting ends and returns home the following Monday. Before booking the airline ticket for the mixed business and personal travel, the employee should document the cost of the lowest-priced airfare for a round trip airline ticket for the business portion only for a flight as if the employee were just traveling for the business meeting and save the documented flight price. A USNH Pcard must not be used to purchase the airline ticket as the trip contains personal travel. The employee is eligible for reimbursement of the lowest-priced airline ticket which could either be the round trip comparison flight or the actual round trip ticket that included personal vacation time. Documentation (including the saved flight comparison prices) and a statement must be included when the employee submits a travel reimbursement form clearly identifying that they are seeking reimbursement for the lowest-priced airline ticket. In addition, the employee is not eligible for reimbursement for per diem meals, hotel fees, transportation fees, or any personal travel expenses while on personal vacation and must not include those expenses on a reimbursement form.

Example 2: An employee is working with a supplier where a service is required on a vehicle, the employee must work with USNH Procurement to determine the most appropriate mechanism to pay for the service. The employee should not pay for the auto repair out of pocket and seek reimbursement.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Please review Policy 07-001 Introduction to Travel for an overview of USNH travel policies. The procedures below provide more specific requirements related to Air Travel.

A.   COMMERCIAL AIR TRAVEL

Regardless of funding, generally, USNH travelers should book the lowest-priced airfare available for both domestic and foreign travel, source by purchasing a non-refundable ticket classified as economy/coach class or lower taking into consideration the traveler’s schedule and routing efficiency. Costs in excess of the economy fare will not be paid by USNH unless an exception has been approved prior to booking of the flight (see Policy 07-001 Introduction to Travel, section D.3, Authority to approve exceptions). If a traveler chooses an upgrade over the lowest-priced fare, the traveler will need to obtain documentation of the standard seat cost quote on the same flight to submit with their receipts. It is the responsibility of that individual to pay the difference between the lowest-priced fare available and the upgrade amount.

1.   Lower airfare may be possible if the traveler either departs a day early, stays an extra day, or stays over Saturday night. USNH will reimburse the additional lodging, meals, and other costs related to the overnight stay providing these costs do not exceed the amount saved on airfare. The related cost savings must be clearly documented. When possible, reservations should be made as far in advance as needed to take advantage of early purchase discounts. This is often one month in advance.

2.   USNH will not reimburse for the value of frequent flyer miles used for USNH travel.

3.   If the traveler uses an indirect route or interrupts travel via a direct route for personal convenience or vacation, any additional expenses above the lowest-priced fare available for a direct route will be borne by the traveler. The traveler should include a statement and documentation that supports the cost of the business portion of the trip.

4.   When the lowest-priced fare results in layovers of greater than two hours, a traveler may select a higher-priced fare as long as the incremental cost is reasonable. If travel is charged to a federally funded project, all flights must be in accordance with the Fly America Act (see Section D below).

5.   If a trip is cancelled for reasons beyond the control of the traveler (e.g., conference cancelled, etc.), USNH will pay for costs expended to date. Please see notice below regarding changes, cancellations and unused tickets charged to sponsored projects.

6.   USNH will reimburse travelers for common customary fees charged by an airline, such as booking fees for the flight, checked baggage fees, fee for a guaranteed standard seat when not included in the basic fare, or inflight internet access. It is important that these additional fees be considered when determining the lowest cost for the flight.

7.   USNH will not reimburse travelers for any costs associated with food or meals during a flight as these amounts are part of the employee meal and incidental per diem allowance.

8.   Personal use of any portion of a University purchased/reimbursed ticket is not allowed. Penalties imposed as a result of canceling a ticket or fees assessed for reissuing a non-refundable ticket may be reimbursed to the traveler if extenuating circumstances are documented in writing and approved by Campus CFO or designee.

B.   PRIVATE AND RENTAL PLANES

USNH travel by employees, via their personal aircraft or a rented/leased aircraft whether as pilots or passengers, is prohibited because USNH is not adequately insured for these risks. Any such travel costs will not be reimbursed. This does not include chartered flights (e.g. team travel) which may be authorized by the Campus CFO or designee.

C.   INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL: UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE (UNH) CAMPUS

The International Travel Registry provides access to university support and resources for UNH-related international travel. All students, faculty, and staff traveling abroad with UNH support must register their travel with the university. This includes:

1. Travel conducted abroad using university or sponsored program funds, whether the university or sponsored program is partially or fully funding the travel (for example, for independent study, research, conference attendance, etc.).

2. All travel abroad for academic credit, including research that will lead to credit at the university.

3. All students traveling abroad on non-credit programs sponsored by academic programs/departments.

D.   SPONSORED PROJECTS TRAVEL

1.   Changes, Cancellations, and Unused Tickets Due to Unforeseen Circumstances (including a government shutdown).

a.   Change Fees:  If a ticket has to be changed and a fee is incurred, the traveler may claim payment for the fee. The fee may be an allowable charge to a sponsored project based on the documented facts and circumstances. In the case of a shutdown, if the government sponsor cancelled the trip, the change fee is allowable.

b.   Cancelled Travel Costs: Travelers who have purchased tickets or incurred expenses for travel on sponsored programs which are subsequently cancelled are encouraged to rebook unused airfare and cancel lodging reservations and conference fees whenever possible. If the travel is not rebooked within the project period, then the expenses should not be charged to the sponsored program, but rather a university fund; unless the travel has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond the traveler’s control, e.g., a government shutdown. 

In these cases, appropriate documentation, including an explanation for the cancellation, must be included with the Personal Reimbursement Form or PCard Documentation.

2.   Foreign Travel

a.   Sponsor regulations regarding foreign travel vary. Before making arrangements for international travel that will be funded by a grant or contract, the traveler should review the terms and conditions of the award or consult with SPA to ensure compliance. Awareness of the regulations up front could avert a possible cost disallowance later. See Uniform Guidance, section 200.474 for rules pertaining to travel costs allocable to federally sponsored agreements.

b.   Sponsored program travel to foreign countries supported by federal grants and contracts is subject to the “Fly America Act” (49 U.S.C. 40118). d. It is the principal investigator’s (PI) responsibility to ensure that all air travel charged to federal prime or federal pass-through awards are in compliance with the "Fly America Act." 

c.   The regulations concerning the use of foreign air carriers on federal funds must be followed by all USNH personnel, students, trainees, consultants and collaborators who are reimbursed for air travel with federally-funded prime awards or federal pass-through funds (subcontracts, subawards and subrecipient agreements). Please note that the same rules apply to foreign visitors’ flights.

3.   The Fly America Act

The Fly America Act mandates the use of U.S. flag carriers when traveling on funds provided by the federal government unless permitted exceptions exist. U.S. flag carriers are airlines owned by an American company. The choice to “Fly America” is made regardless of cost or convenience. Travel with a foreign air carrier must be necessary and meet the exception criteria defined by the Fly America Act.

a.   Federally sponsored trips must utilize U.S. flag carriers at the lowest available rates. Federal regulations prohibit the charging of business class or first-class air travel to federally sponsored projects. Travel should adhere to USNH travel procedures unless sponsor requirements impose greater restrictions. The Act does not apply to non-federally funded awards. If you are scheduling federally funded travel, unless a permitted exception exists, flights must be scheduled on U.S. flag carriers or on foreign air carriers that “code share” with a U.S. Flag carrier.

b.   Code sharing occurs when two or more airlines “code” the same flight as if it is their own. In other words, a U.S. airline may sell a seat on a plane of a foreign air carrier and this seat is considered the same as one on a plane operated by a U.S. flag carrier. Compliance with the Fly America Act is satisfied when the U.S. flag air carrier’s designator code is shown. If you believe that you were on a code share flight, but there is no documentation showing the carrier code, you cannot charge the flight to a federally sponsored project. If your travel was originally booked on a U.S. carrier and the air carrier involuntarily re-routed you to a non-U.S. air carrier, document this situation and the exceptional circumstances, your travel will be supported by federal funds. Permitted exceptions must be documented in advance with the Fly America Act Exception Form.

c.   It is necessary to present proof of a U.S. flag air carrier’s designator codes for all legs of a trip when traveling on federal funds. An air carrier’s designator code is present in the area next to the flight numbers on the airline ticket, boarding pass, or on the documentation for an electronic ticket (passenger receipt). There are several resources online which provide airlines and designator codes, be sure that the airline used is a major U.S. airline. The key to compliance is making sure the trip either complies, or is eligible for exemption, before the trip is taken. Reimbursement for foreign air carriers must be denied unless a foreign air carrier is permitted under this regulation.

d.   The biggest exception to the Fly America Act is the Open Skies Agreement. On October 6, 2010 the Unites States and European Union (EU) “Open Skies” Air Transport Agreement was published by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) providing full explanation of the multilateral agreement in place so that qualifying travelers, whose travel is supported by federal funds, may travel on European Union (EU) airlines as well as U.S. flag air carriers. There are also Open Skies agreements with Australia, Switzerland, and Japan. When traveling to a destination serviced by a European Union airline, USNH travelers flying on a federal grant can fly on either a US carrier or an EU carrier as long as they touch down in an EU Country.

i.    USNH travelers on federal Funds cannot use city-pair¹ contracts
ii.   USNH travelers flying on a federal grant can use an Australian airline if the origin/destination is either the US or Australia and no city-pair contract flight between the two points (origin and destination) exists.
iii.  USNH travelers flying on a federal grant can us a Swiss airline if a point of origin/destination is either the US or Switzerland and no city-pair contract flight between the two points (origin and destination) exists.
iv.  USNH travelers flying on a federal grant can us a Japanese airline if a point of origin/destination is either the US or Japan and no city-pair contract flight between the two points (origin and destination) exists.
v.   Travelers using funding from U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) or Secretary of a military department such as the Air Force, Army or Navy, are not permitted to take advantage of the open sky agreements. Travelers using these funds must use a U.S. flag carrier, unless they qualify for a permitted exception of the Fly America Act. If you are unsure if an exception exists, contact the responsible accounting and financial compliance representative for the award.

Caution: The costs of travel subject to the Fly America Act that do not adhere to this federal regulation will be borne by the Principal Investigator’s department or will need to be transferred to a suitable non-federal funding source.

E.   AIRPORT BUSES, PARKING, SHUTTLES, AND TAXIS

1.   Travelers should use the most cost-efficient means of travel to and from airports, with due consideration for reasonable personal convenience and safety as well as USNH business concerns. Public transportation and carpooling are encouraged. If using Logan airport, travelers should use bus transportation when available.

2.   Travelers may use the "Park and Fly" parking lots at or near airports after consideration of the cost and convenience of alternative transportation. Cost savings of "Park and Fly" over alternative transportation should be documented for travel exceeding 10 days.

3.   Travelers departing from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport should use the most reasonable parking available while on USNH business.

4.   Travelers should use complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport if provided by hotels or conferences. Lacking such service, travelers should use other non-extravagant transportation such as regularly-scheduled shuttles, ride share services, buses, or taxis between airports and hotels. Auto rentals should be considered only in the absence of less expensive modes of transportation providing reasonable convenience.

5.   Travelers must document reasons why the lowest-cost mode of transportation was not used when requesting reimbursement for more expensive methods. The Travel Expense Assistant will review the documentation for reasonableness with recognition given to the value of an employee's time, weather conditions, and other special circumstances.  If the Travel Expense Assistant deems the explanation insufficient to support the higher cost, reimbursement will be made at the lower rate. Tips up to 15% of fare paid to taxi drivers are considered reasonable and may be reimbursed.

F.   USE OF USNH PURCHASING CARD

1.   Travelers not using a USNH Purchasing Card are required to pay for airfare and other airport transportation costs personally. They will be reimbursed after the trip for the actual cost or the lowest rate available whichever is less.

2.   Only business-related airfare and public airport transportation can be directly charged to a USNH Purchasing Card. When combining a personal trip with a business trip, the entire airline ticket will need to be paid personally.

G.   ACCEPTABLE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

In addition to the required documentation described in section of Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement, to secure reimbursement for air travel cost, a traveler must:

1. Retain and submit all transportation ticket receipts
2. Submit documentation of reason(s) why lowest cost mode of transportation was not used, along with necessary pre-approval where applicable
3. Submit itemized receipts for parking, public transportation, shuttle service or taxi service to or from the airport. Refer to Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement, Section B., for receipt requirements.

¹ The City Pair Program (CPP) is a federal program offering fares considerably lower than comparable commercial fares, saving the federal government billions of dollars annually. The program is restricted to federal or military employees on official travel, therefore USNH is not eligible to participate.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Please review Policy 07-001 Introduction to Travel for an overview of USNH travel policies. The procedures below provide more specific requirements related to Lodging.

A.   TRADITIONAL LODGING ACCOMMODATIONS

1.   Allowable lodging cost is generally based on the least expensive available rate for single occupancy in moderately-priced, safe accommodations given reasonable personal convenience. Lodging expenses are reimbursed based on actual cost. USNH uses the federal lodging per diem rate only as a standard measurement for reasonableness of accommodation costs.

2.   The cost of lodging for overnight travel within 50 miles of the traveler's place of business is not an allowable cost unless the circumstances necessitating such overnight travel are fully documented with a compelling business purpose approved in writing by the department head responsible for authorizing the travel. Potential criteria for approval may include extremely late night or early morning job responsibilities or excessive travel time due to extreme traffic or weather conditions.

3.   When possible, reservations should be made as far in advance as needed to take advantage of advance purchase discounts or special conference rates.

4.   Travelers should inquire while making reservations as to the availability of exemption from state rooms tax for employees of educational institutions. A copy of USNH state exemption letters may be obtained from the USNH Procurement Services Office in advance of travel if required by the hotel.

5.   When traveling to a conference, USNH assumes travelers will stay at the hosting hotel even if the rate exceeds the federal lodging per diem rate for the area. If there is a choice of hosting hotels, travelers are expected to stay at the least expensive property.

6.   The traveler should consider using a personal telephone card or personal cell phone to charge calls since this can be considerably cheaper than having the hotel bill the traveler for calls made from a hotel room.

7.   Tips to bellhops and chambermaids are reimbursable if they are reasonable (i.e., $1 or $2 per bag or night of lodging, respectively). However, these tips are not allowed if the employee is reimbursed based on the federal meals & incidental expense (M&IE) per diem rate.

8.   In-room service and/or items from an in-room service center are not reimbursable.

B.   ALTERNATIVE LODGING ACCOMMODATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS

1.   Items to be considered before booking alternative lodging venues include:

a. Whether traditional lodging is available in reasonable proximity to the business destination
b. Length of stay
c. Comparison of cost against traditional hotel/motel venues
d. Specific dietary or accommodation requirements associated with medical conditions or disabilities, and
e. Need for meeting, team-building and/or collaboration space availability

2.   If a determination is made to choose alternative lodging accommodations, the following requirements must be followed:

a. The facility should be rented through an approved platform (AirBnB, HomeAway or VRBO) that has a host liability insurance program and 24 hour customer service.
b. Travelers should review their campus conflict of interest policy before booking any alternative lodging arrangements run/owned by a relative, friend or acquaintance to avoid any appearance of misconduct.
c. Travelers may use a USNH PCard to pay any related costs through the platform’s website. Adequate supporting documentation should be maintained and scanned for review by the Pcard Manager. See sections C and D below for documentation requirements related to lodging and meals provided by these types of facilities.
d. The facility being rented should not result in any perceived conflict of interest. For example, the property should not be owned by a relative or friend of the person renting the space.
e. Traveler(s) must have a valid business reason for the entire length of the stay.
f. The facility should have basic safety features including operational smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, multiple means of egress, and adequate lighting at a minimum.
g. The host should have a history of positive reviews with the platform on which it is advertised.
h. The facility should also have a valid business permit indicating compliance with related country/region/city and/or local regulations in order for the booking to be deemed legal.
i. Because individuals booking through these venues are assuming personal risks, all USNH travelers using such venues must be at least 18 years old.
j. Campuses may have additional requirements related to use of these venues for sponsored programs, athletics, fundraising and executive travel that require pre-approval by the campus Chief Financial Officer as well.

C.   RECEIPTS FOR LODGING

As described in Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement, travelers must submit original itemized receipts (legible scanned copies acceptable see section B.2 of Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement) to support all lodging expenses claimed.  These include the following:

1.   Hotel/lodging receipt indicating the name and location of the venue and dates of occupancy.

2.   If the traveler stayed at a place where lodging costs significantly exceed the federal lodging per diem rate, the traveler must

a. submit the agenda for the conference/meeting with accommodation cost detail, or
b. provide alternative evidence that the higher costs resulted in a lower overall trip cost to USNH because of reduced transportation or other costs, or
c. provide a justifiable business purpose pre-approved by the campus CFO or designee.

In cases where documentation is insufficient, the lodging per diem should be used for reimbursement.

3.   A credit card charge slip with no detailed breakdown of the charges is not considered an acceptable substitute for an original receipt. If detailed travel receipts are not available, the traveler must contact the hotel or alternative venue to obtain a copy of the original venue’s folio.

D.   MEAL RECEIPTS

1.   Detail for meal charges incurred at a hotel or alternative site must be shown separately on the venue’s receipts and accompanied by a list of attendees/roles, in order to be reimbursable (see Procedure 07-007 Travel Meals). Note that such amounts cannot be combined with any MI&E per diem reimbursement request.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Please review Policy 07-001 Introduction to Travel for an overview of USNH travel policies. The procedures below provide more specific requirements related to Travel Meals.

If a USNH traveler’s trip results in an overnight stay, meals are reimbursed in an amount not to exceed the standard (i.e., per diem) meal allowance, unless an exception for actual meal expenses in excess of per diem allowance has been granted (see Policy 07-001 Introduction to Travel, Section D.3). A single day traveler is not entitled to actual or per diem meal reimbursement. Please refer to Procedure 08-009 Meals and Entertainment for cases where supper money may be appropriate.

A traveler may not "mix and match" actual expense and per diem allowance on a given trip, except in the case of business entertainment meals (see Section F below).

A.   PER DIEM ALLOWANCE REIMBURSEMENT METHOD

1.   A traveler may be reimbursed for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) based on the federal M&IE per diem rate in effect for their destination on the date of travel. On the day the traveler returns home (e.g., last day of travel), the traveler is entitled to per diem based on their location the night before.

2.   The General Services Administration of the U.S. Government establishes the M&IE per diem rates. A complete list of current rates is available by contacting your campus finance office or calling USNH Travel Coordinator (862-2642). In addition, the rates may be obtained at Procedure 07-002 Website for Travel References. (Note: US General Services Administration (www.gsa.gov) also provides access to additional travel information).

3.   The per diem method is preferable due to its simplicity and reduced cost of administration. However, a traveler may be reimbursed for less than the per diem rate if they so choose.

4.   If the federal per diem rate changes during a trip, reimbursement will be based on the federal rate in effect for each day of travel.

5.   The time, place, and business purpose of the overall travel must be substantiated using USNH standard travel forms (see Procedure 07-004 Travel Expense Reimbursement).

6.   Different per diem rates apply to the following:

a. Travel inside the continental U.S. and the District of Columbia
b. Travel outside the continental U.S.
c. If a specific per diem rate is not available for a town or city, the applicable county rate should be used. If no rate is available for the county, the CONUS (contiguous United States) rate must be used per the IRS regulations.

7.   When claiming per diem allowance, no receipts should be submitted.

B.   WHEN PER DIEM RATES MUST BE ADJUSTED

Per diem rates must be adjusted in the following circumstances:

1.   A traveler is not entitled to be reimbursed for the applicable portion of per diem for any meal provided as part of a conference registration fee. For example, using the data in the table below: if the full day per diem is $50 and breakfast is provided at the conference, the allowable reimbursement would be reduced by $11.25 resulting in a payment of $38.75.

2.   A traveler is not entitled to be reimbursed for the applicable portion of per diem when a colleague, vendor, or other third party pays for a meal.

3.   A traveler is not entitled to be reimbursed for the applicable portion of per diem when the USNH traveler claims the actual cost of a business or entertainment meal (see Procedure 08-009 Meals and Entertainment).

4.   Hotel breakfast included in the hotel/lodging reservation price or international airfare meals provided as part of the airline ticket price for longer flights do not require a deduction from the per diem allowance.

5.   On the first and last day of travel, a traveler is entitled to 75 percent of the appropriate M&IE rate regardless of what time the traveler departs or returns and there is no need to adjust for any provided meals on first or last day of travel.

C.   HOW TO ADJUST PER DIEM RATES

1.   A traveler in the continental U.S. who is entitled to less than the full per diem rate as described above should claim reimbursement for meals expense according to the following schedule:

A. USNH VEHICLE RENTAL CONTRACTS

Travelers requiring a rental vehicle at an off-campus location should obtain the most cost and energy efficient rental agreement. For UNH, KSC, PSU, Chancellor's Offices, GSC and UNH-M travelers, the USNH Procurement Services Office should be contacted for information on current rental vehicle contracts. In general, subcompact or compact vehicles are considered appropriate and reasonable for USNH travelers. Travelers with AAA or AARP memberships may receive discounts which exceed those negotiated by USNH and are encouraged to use those discounts.

B. PAYMENT METHOD

The preferred payment method for vehicle rentals from USNH-contracted local rental agencies is the USNH purchasing card. This applies to UNH, KSC, PSU, Chancellor's Offices, GSC and UNH-M travelers. If the USNH purchasing card is used to rent a vehicle, insurance coverage is provided in the event there is damage to the rental vehicle. USNH's business auto policy provides liability coverage on all rental vehicles.

C. INSURANCE COVERAGE

1. USNH employees using the USNH purchasing card for travel in the U. S. and certain overseas destinations should decline the CDW (collision damage waiver) and LDW (loss damage waiver) as this coverage is provided through the Wells Fargo MasterCard Purchasing Card program and through USNH's business auto insurance policy with Acadia Insurance. Travelers using the USNH purchasing card, or another means of payment will not be reimbursed for CDW or LDW charges if they accept the coverage or choose to use another means of payment, unless pre-approved in writing by the USNH Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs or designee. Travelers with a USNH purchasing card should contact Wells Fargo at 1-800-932-0036 prior to travel to inquire about insurance coverage for overseas rentals. If separate coverage is required, a written explanation on the travel expense voucher as well as supporting documentation is necessary for reimbursement of the CDW charges.
2. Travelers who are not employees of USNH but are authorized to rent a vehicle for USNH business, including spouses, job applicants, guest speakers, colleagues of employees and USNH students, will have CDW and LDW coverage under the MasterCard contract only if (a) their names are on the vehicle rental agency contract at the time the vehicle is picked up and (b) the vehicle rental is charged to a USNH purchasing card.
3. In the event of an accident with a rental vehicle charged to the traveler's USNH purchasing card, the traveler should contact MasterCard at 1-800-MC-Assist. MasterCard representatives will handle the claim with the rental agency. The USNH PCard Program Administrator and USNH Policy & Risk Office must also be notified of the accident as soon as possible.
4. In the event of an accident with any rental vehicle not paid for with a USNH purchasing card, notification must be sent to the USNH Policy & Risk Office.

D. OPERATING EXPENSES

1. Reimbursable expenses include rental fees, gasoline charges, parking, tolls and other operating costs such as flat tires, wiper blades, etc.
2. Non-reimbursable expenses include parking tickets, fines and penalties, towing charges, accidents, theft, and purchased insurance (CDW and LDW) for employee-rented vehicles charged to a USNH purchasing card.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The following items are generally reimbursable to the extent they are reasonable and necessary business expenditures:

1. Business office expenses (fax, copy services, internet charges, etc.)
2. Business phone calls
3. Conference fees
4. Currency conversion fees
5. Inflight internet access fees
6. Fees for the purchase of traveler's checks
7. Gasoline for refueling a rented car
8. Ground transportation (train, taxi, bus, subway, Uber, Lyft, etc.)
9. Laundry and dry-cleaning charges for trips exceeding five calendar days
10. Parking and tolls (Note: Drivers of USNH vehicles with a U plate are exempt from paying tolls in NH. They may be asked to show their campus ID's.)
11. Reasonable personal phone calls that allow the traveler to stay in touch with his/her family. A ten-minute call per day of travel is considered a reasonable guideline.
12. Tips up to 15% for transportation such as taxi, Uber or Lyft.
13. Tips up to 20% of meal cost (only if actual expense meal option is chosen).

Please refer to Procedure 07-014 Non-Reimbursable Travel Expenses for examples of items not reimbursable, or refer to 07-013B Travel Policy Cheat Sheet.

USNH will only reimburse a traveler for items paid personally (conference fees, plane and train tickets, etc.) after the travel has taken place.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Travel Policy Cheat Sheet  * Magnify document as needed to view and print.

The following items are generally not reimbursable. Note: This list is not all-inclusive.

1. Services, except for items noted in 07-004. (USNH employees should procure services and goods through purchasing methods approved and facilitated by Procurement).
2. Alcoholic beverages
3. Portion of per diem for conference meals paid as part of registration fee (see Procedure 07-007, Travel Meals). Any exception to this rule due to disability or medical condition(s) requires approval from the Campus ADA Compliance Officer, or equivalent. All other exceptions to this rule require campus CFO or designee approval.
4. Movie rentals, theater tickets, newspapers, magazines, prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, etc.
5. Insurance on rental automobiles for USNH employees (see Procedure 07-010 Vehicle Rental Expenses)
6. Trip/Flight insurance. Any exception to this rule due to disability or medical condition(s) requires approval from the Campus ADA Compliance Officer or equivalent. All other non-disability/medical condition exceptions to this rule require campus CFO or designee approval. The cost of any insurance/protection is the responsibility of unit and must be funded within existing budget allocations. Additionally, the purchase of any insurance must be approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor/manager and/or the individual responsible for approving the travel request for USNH.
7. Parking tickets and fines for traffic violations
8. Personal expenses
9. Personal portion of airfare while on USNH business
10. Personal-use portion of a car rented for USNH business
11. Repairs or towing of personal vehicles used for USNH business. These costs are included in the mileage reimbursement rate.
12. Expenses incurred by spouses, partners and families or rate increases occasioned by presence of spouses, partners and families (see Procedure 08-007 Spousal Expenses)
13. Laundry service for trips of five days or less
14. Personal aircraft usage
15. Extra baggage charges for personal items, such as golf clubs, skis, etc.
16. Fees to check-in or board early, fees for preferred seating, fees for expedited security check, flight change fees and any other optional fees are generally not reimbursable. Exceptions to this rule due to disability or medical condition(s) require approval from the Campus ADA Compliance Officer, or equivalent. All other exceptions to this rule require campus CFO or designee approval.
17. Childcare or pet care costs
18. Loss or theft of cash advance money or airline tickets
19. Locksmith charges
20. Lost baggage, luggage, and briefcases
21. Souvenirs and personal gifts
22. Health club fees
23. Tips on meal, bellhops and chambermaids if employee is reimbursed via Federal meals & incidental expense (M&IE) per diem rate.
24. Security deposits for temporary lodging/housing in which an employee is staying while traveling on USNH business. (See Procedure 04-008 Cash Advances (for travel and other purposes) for options regarding security deposits.)
25. Campus parking permits
26. Gas for personal vehicles or personal recharging fees for electric vehicles (EV’s)

Please refer to Procedure 07-013 Misc. Reimbursable Travel Expenses for examples of items reimbursable, or refer to 07-013B Travel Policy Cheat Sheet.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

• Personal Reimbursement Form in Excel format
• Non-Employee Travel Reimbursement Form in Excel format

For detailed instructions on the Personal Reimbursement Form, see the Travel & Expense Administration section of the USNH Finance Hub.

• Lost Receipt Form

• PCard Expense Form

• Travel & Expense: foc.expense@usnh.edu 
• P-Card Forms/Receipts: foc.pcard@usnh.edu 
• Treasury: usnh.treasury@usnh.edu 
• Policy & Risk Management: usnh.policy@usnh.edu, usnh.risk@usnh.edu 

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

 The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Unless there is written delegation of authority from the officials below to someone else, the following authorizations are required prior to commitment of USNH funds for these expenditures:

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.