Financial Transactions and Forms

Financial Transactions

Student groups have access to their University funds to spend and receive money on behalf their organizations. These funds sit in an account called a chartstring in the University's accounting system. 

The two main platforms to through which the student group can monitor and access their funds are Prime and Concur. 

  • Prime is the financial system for the University including student organizations.  To ensure that Prime reflects the group's current financial status, both revenue and expense transactions should be processed on a timely basis. 
  • Concur is the University's expense reimbursement system. 

Student organizations may not sign contracts (vendors, publications, services, etc.). Contact Melanie Ibarra, program coordinator, for more information. Expense reports must have a corresponding event in MyPrincetonU, itemized receipts and approval by the organization's treasurer before ODUS processing. If the treasurer incurred the expense, the report must be approved by the organization's president. 

The following expenses are prohibited:

  • Alcohol
  • Gift cards
  • Venmo, Paypal, or equivalents
  • Services (e.g., photographers, deejay's, etc.)

Concur transactions will not appear in the Prime system until they are processed and approved by the student organization treasurer, ODUS administrator and Office of Finance and Treasury. 

MyPrincetonU Event Registration

All student organization activity must be registered in MyPrincetonU. The event date must match the expense reimbursement reports, and applies to weekly group meetings as well as large scale events. If this is a large scale event, meet with the both the ODUS Financial and Program Coordinators as early as possible in the planning cycle. This is an integral part of the planning and budgeting process. 

Princeton University Sales Tax Exemption

Students must present tax exempt forms when making purchases. Do not pay sales tax. Student organizations are an extension of the University, a recognized non-profit with tax-exempt status.  

  • The University's Federal Tax Exempt number 22-73-0009F.
  • Out-of-Pocket-Purchases Form Vendors may require that you bring a printed copy of this form when you are making out of pocket purchases. 

Contact

  • For more help with financial policies, balances and information, please contact Karen Ehee. 
  • For general policies and procedures and programming, please contact ODUS. 
  • For assistance with financial transactions, please contact ODUSINFO.

How Will You Pay for It?

Funding Sources

For more information on University funding sources, contact Melanie Ibarra, program coordinator, for further information on the following:

  • Projects Board
  • Alcohol Initiative
  • ODUS Conference Fund
  • Academic Departments
  • Administrative Departments

Examples:

  • An academic department paying for a performance at a holiday party
  • An academic department funding an event or speaker 
  • Projects Board award for an on campus event
  • Reimbursement from another group for costs related to a co-sponsored event.   

Other Revenue Sources

  • Cash and checks (excluding donations). Deposit cash and checks in accordance with Finance & Treasury procedure within 5 business days.  Groups should not hold cash.
  • Payments collected by the University on behalf of your group

Examples:

  • Payment for services (e.g., a middle school pays your group for performing)
  • Annual dues
  • Prizes received for competitions
  • Gear sales
  • Ticketing revenue from a performance

Cash & Check Deposits

Finance and Treasury procedures are outlined here.  The Departmental Deposit form should accompany all deposits, be sure to indicate your group's department number (e.g., 15XXX).

If your group is depositing cash, please contact the Cashier to schedule a time or date to deliver the cash to 701 Carnegie Center. Checks should be mailed with a completed Departmental Deposit form to:

Princeton University
701 Carnegie Center Cash Operations Suite 434D
Princeton NJ 08540

  • SAFE - If you apply and are awarded funding in SAFE, the amount will be transferred by the funding department
  • Departmental Journal - Money awarded for funding proposals by an academic or administrative department will transferred in Prime.  You will need to provide  your chart string (Dept-Fund Code:  15XXX-Q0001).
  • From Another Student Group -  A payment from another student group may be made by sending an email with the payment details to ODUS Financial Coordinator, Karen Ehee, cc'ing both student group leaders.
  • External Sources review Cash Operation guidelines here.

Donations and Fundraising

Do not use the language of sponsorship. Student organizations are the sponsors. Donors are financial contributors or supporters. Tax deductible giving includes:

  • Individual Donations 
  • Alumni Fundraising (see below for more information)
  • Corporate and Foundation Gifts

Development will process donations sending a letter of acknowledgment for tax purposes to the donor and  crediting the student organization's Prime account. 

Ways to Give: 

  • Check:  Mail check payable to "Princeton University" to Development (address below),   including the student group name and/or number (15XXX) in the memo line.
  • Wire Transfers:  Gifts can be transferred electronically via domestic or international wire transfer payable in U.S. dollars.  Contact Karen Ehee, Financial Coordinator for wire transfer instructions.

Gift Records
PO Box 5357
Princeton, NJ 08540-5357

Legal name is: Trustees of Princeton University
Tax ID number (EIN) is: 21-0634501

Alumni Fundraising Guidelines:

Organized alumni fundraising requests must be reviewed and approved by ODUS, and sent out by Advancement. Alumni may only be contacted outside the Annual Giving period, from July 1st to the end of the fall semester. Groups must submit all requests to ODUS by December 1st. 

Expense Transaction Sources

On Campus Charges

An accounting journal is used to charge student organizations for University services (incl. Building Services, Dining, Student Agencies, etc.)  Journals may only be initiated by University administrators. Debits charge  student organizations for services they use.

Student organizations should provide their chart string (15XXX-Q0001) to the department providing the service in order to execute the charges.   Examples of charges student organizations may encounter are:

  • Dining Services charges for catering a reception
  • Building Services charges equipment rental and setup
  • Public Safety charges for late-night event staffing
  • Picture Perfect charges for photographing an event

Concur Reimbursements

Expense reports should be submitted within 5 days of the purchase date via Concur, the University's travel and expense management system. Click here for a Concur tutorial that shows step-by-step instructions.  The department number is your student organization #15XXX and the fund is usually Q0001.

  • Log into Concur using your own netid.
  • After you are logged into Concur, go to Profile > Profile Settings > Expense Approvers. Type in your student group treasurer's name or net id and press Save. 
  • The Department is your student group number (e.g., 15XXX), the Fund number is the Prime code (e.g., Q0001, B0250, etc) which contains the funds to pay the expense.
  • Once you have submitted the report, the treasurer of the group approves the expense report.  Expenses which have not been approved by the treasurer will be returned.
  • Expenses are directly deposited into the student's bank account set up through TigerHub or, a check will be issued to the student to be picked up at 7 New South. 

Note:

  • Out-of-pocket reimbursements must be submitted via Concur within one week of purchase. 
  • You may only request your own out-of-pocket expenses through your Concur login.  
  • The student organization's treasurer will review and approve each group member's expenses.  Expenses incurred by the treasurer must be approved by the organization's president.

Paying People and Companies

Payments for services to vendors and individuals unaffiliated with the University, as well as travel expense reimbursements for those individuals, are processed through Prime.  The information below describes the process for paying these types of expenses. 

Prior to Event

The first step in the payment process is determining whether or not the vendor or guest is already in the University's financial system. If they are not, they will have to be added by Finance before they can be paid. At least two weeks before your event, and set a WASE appointment with ODUSINFO:

  • A brief description of the event and the service they will be providing
  • MyPrincetonU Event Registration
  • Any Finance-required documentation for foreign and/or domestic payees, in addition to:
    • Name & address of payee
    • Contact name (if different from above)
    • Payee email address
    • Copy of payee visa, insurance, etc. if applicable
  • ODUS-signed contract for the event (except for Student Agency contracts)

For existing payees, ODUS will initiate the payment process. For new payees, the individual/vendor will be contacted directly by Finance to set themselves up as a supplier in Prime.  Students must confirm that their vendors have completed the Finance self-service steps for payment.

After the Event

To pay the vendor after the event, please schedule an ODUS payment appointment with "ODUS Information". Come to the meeting with the following documentation and completed type-written forms:

Per Federal tax codes and University policy, students may not pay a vendor or individual out-of-pocket for services rendered and expect reimbursement from the University (e.g., paying a photographer and submitting an expense report in Concur). If such a reimbursement request is submitted, it will be denied.

Per University policy, students may not hire other students for services without first consulting the ODUS office. Invoices or submitted retroactively (without prior consultation) will not be paid. 

Reimbursement of Individual Travel and Other Expenses

If your group is reimbursing an individual for travel and reimbursable expenses (businesses may not be reimbursed), you will be required to provide the following after the event:

ODUS Credit Card

We believe that there should be no financial burden associated with being a member of a student organization. To this end, ODUS has a credit card for student organizations to use and access group funds. Please note that this card may only be used for purchases that can be made online or over the phone.

Student groups can use this card for purchases if they abide by the following policies and procedures:

  1. Make an appointment with "ODUS Information" at least one business day in advance, and include student organization name, vendor name, and approximate amount of purchase. 
  2. Complete the ODUS Credit Card Form in advance of your appointment.
  3. Receipts or invoices must be sent to [email protected] during the credit card appointment.
  4. All shopping must be done before your appointment. If an online shopping cart cannot be saved, you must have a detailed list prepared. 
  5. A point of delivery must be established for all purchases, usually a Frist mailbox, home address, or department address. The ODUS office is not an acceptable delivery address.

Failure to abide by any of the policies listed above will result in your group's loss of ODUS credit card privileges.

 

Finance Forms

  • Departmental Deposit Form: If your group has received a payment or deposit in the form of cash or a check, fill out this form and take it (and the funds) to the 7th floor of New South for deposit.  Per University regulations, cash should be deposited within 5 business days.  Use chartstring 15XXX-Q0001-4715 (Other Inc-Misc Receipts). For donations, see the Donations and Fundraising section above. 
  • Guest Reimbursement Request: Use this form if your speaker or guest needs to be reimbursed for travel, incidentals, or out-of-pocket expenses. This form should be signed by the guest, scanned, and emailed to [email protected] with copies of all related receipts.
  • Limited Engagement Agreement (US Citizens and Foreign Nationals):  This is an agreement/contract between Princeton and an individual providing a service, used in lieu of an invoice
  • Honorarium Acceptance Form: Princeton student organizations rarely pay Honorariums.  The majority of service providers fall under Limited Engagement Agreement.  See above.
  • Missing Original Receipt Form:  ODUS requires receipts for all expenses.  If you lose or misplace a receipt under $50, please fill out the missing original receipt form in Prime to attach to the expense.  If the expense is over $50, you may find a link in Concur under the Attach Receipt button at the top of the page. 
  • Sales Tax Exemption Form: 27 states do not require Princeton University (and, by extension, Princeton student organizations) to pay state sales tax on all or most purchases of goods and services used in that state. 
  • Form W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification and Certification:  The University's W-9 is available for potential donors.  Please email ODUSINFO for a copy.

Event Planning Forms

  • Eating Club Event Form: This form is required any time a student organizations wishes to hold an event at an Eating Club. This form must be signed by the Club Manager and Undergraduate Club President. The completed form must be emailed to the ODUS program coordinator at least 1 week prior to your event.
  • Standard University Contracts: These are links to University-approved standard contracts

Miscellaneous Forms