BSA Expense Reimbursements
The Basic Science Administration Procurement Team processes expense reports for faculty, researchers, students and staff in the departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Cell & Developmental Biology, Microbiology-Immunology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, and the Center for Genetic Medicine. Our team’s goal is to streamline the expense reports process while following Feinberg's Travel and Entertainment Guidelines, Northwestern University and sponsored policies.
Reimbursement Form
Please complete the BSA Expense Reimbursement Form to request a reimbursement. Note, users may need to sign into Northwestern’s Online Passport, Single Sign On (SSO) System to access the form. In addition, all supporting documents including receipts should be uploaded as one PDF file.
Travel Receipts
The university’s reimbursement policy is based on documentation of actual business expenses, supported by original itemized receipts. Original itemized receipts must be submitted for all travel expenses. Monthly credit card statements and/or travel agency invoices and statements alone are not acceptable as back-up documentation. Receipts are not required for meals and incidental expenses if the per diem reimbursement method is selected. Please review the Travel Reimbursement and Expense Reimbursement checklists for guidance. In addition, please review the documentation guidance below.
Transportation
- Airfare: E-ticket receipt and boarding passes
- Ground transportation: taxi, rail, shuttle service, and parking
- Personal auto use: Google map showing route origin, destination and mileage
Lodging
- Hotel: Final bill showing number of nights and amount paid
Conference Registration
- Registration receipt showing conference fee payment and the name and dates of conference
Meals
- Restaurants: Itemized receipt listing the items purchased
- Tips are reimbursable. Submit the receipt showing the tip amount that was included with the meal.
- You must pay for only your portion of a group meal and identify your portion on the receipt. Do not pay for other travelers’ meals.
Exceptions
If you are requesting reimbursement for an expense that falls outside of the travel policy guidelines, you will be required to complete an exception form.
Travel More Than 90 Days
Per Diem
An alternative to submitting receipts is the use of per diem. Per diem is a method of reimbursement for travel expenses that allows a set dollar amount per day. The maximum rate is determined by the government and varies by city. Northwestern University has instituted the use of per diem for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) only. Partial per diem is allowable. The first and last day of travel are charged at 75% of the daily rate.
Use of per diem must be established before the trip commences. If you are traveling courtesy of the funding of your advisor or PI, you must obtain his or her authorization in advance to use per diem.
When submitting your expense report with per diem, print the table showing the rate for the city you visited from the GSA website.
Expenses Included in the Per Diem M&IE Rate
- Meals
- Snacks
- Tips and fees
Receipts Required When Using Per Diem
- Airfare
- Hotel
- Conference registration
- Parking
- Transportation between your home and origin airport and between the destination airport and conference site.
- Transportation between your hotel and places where meals are taken.
Personal Automobile Mileage
Travel using privately owned vehicles may be desirable to save time, transport equipment, or reduce cost when a number of persons are traveling together. The mileage reimbursement rate is based on U.S. Federal Government reimbursement rates. This reimbursement covers all fuel, maintenance, insurance, transportation, and operating costs. Fuel costs are included in the per-mile reimbursement rate and are not reimbursed separately for use of privately owned vehicles. Tolls and reasonable parking charges will be reimbursed in addition to the mileage allowance.
Commercial Rental Vehicles
Commercial rental vehicles should not be used if less expensive transportation is available. The University's designated vehicle rental agency should be used whenever possible and midsize, economy, compact or subcompact vehicles should always be rented. Travelers should not purchase a collision damage waiver (CDW) from the rental agency if the rental is in the U.S. or Canada; coverage should only be purchased for international rentals. Travelers must report all accidents to the Northwestern Office of Risk Management within 24 hours, and immediately when any accident results in any personal injury or towing of a vehicle. The traveler should follow the rental agency accident report instructions, in addition to forwarding a copy of the report to the Office of Risk Management.
Foreign Travel
Use of foreign-based carriers is restricted on sponsored programs. Use of foreign carriers is allowed on non-sponsored sources of funds. See the "Fly America Act" for more information.
For a transaction in a foreign currency, the original itemized receipt plus documentation of the exchange rate is required in the form of:
- a credit card statement, or
- a calculated U.S. dollar equivalent on the date of the transaction. For currency conversion, please use Oanda.