Purchasing Card Info Sheet - Guide to Purchasing Cards questions. Answers where P-Card documents should be sent and provides a checklist to assist with submitting all of the appropriate forms.

Purchasing Card Reallocation Forms

• P-Card Journal Entry Form - 10 lines or less
• P-Card Journal Entry Form Example 
• P-Card Journal Import Form - more than 10 lines
• P-Card Justification Form 
• P-Card Justification Form Example
  
  
• The Fiance Job Aids website provides an example and tips for completing a Journal Import 
• Whether a Journal Entry or a Journal Import is used, the Reference # needs to have a prefix of "GCR" (ex. GCR123456). Please obtain a Reference # from Accounting Services.
• When a Journal Entry is completed, forward the Journal Entry to Grants & Contracts Administration, along with the P-Card Justification form, PaymentNet Statement of Account, and a copy of the receipt(s).
• When a Journal Import is completed, the electronic form should be emailed to Kathleen Howes or Allison Peyton in Accounting Services. In addition, a hardcopy of the Journal Import form, P-Card Justification form, PaymentNet Statement of Account, and a copy of the receipt(s) should also be sent to Accounting Services.
• The reference number of the original P-Card charge must be listed on the Journal Entry or Journal Import. This number can be found on the Budget Transaction Detail.

With the implementation of Cost Accounting Standards, the University needs to track all expenses associated with Grants and Contracts. This includes not only the charges on the Grant or Contract but all contributed effort or other Cost Share charges. UND must be able to account for all commitments made in a proposal even if we are not required to report them to the sponsor. Therefore be aware that if you are including time and effort for UND faculty or staff in a proposal, they will be required to certify to their effort through our Personnel Activity Confirmation System.

Cost Accounting Standards also apply to reimbursement of travel on grants and contracts.  Travel on a grant or contract is allowable if the individual is receiving salary from or documenting effort on that funding source.

The "Fly America Act" and what it means to your international travel plans.

Fly America Act - Exception Request Form

This checklist is intended to assist staff with the appropriate classification of external support. Some judgment will be required to classify an award if items are checked in both areas. Each award must be considered in the whole rather than any single element. This checklist is not intended for direct federal grants and cooperative agreements.

• Budget restrictions or formal financial accounting during the life of the project
• Objectives to be achieved by the use of funds
• Subcontracts (where we are receiving funds as the Subcontractor)
• Prior approvals from sponsor required
• Key personnel are listed
• Period of performance 
• Invention/data rights (intellectual property)
• Binding legal relationship (obligates recipient to perform and sponsor to pay)
• Deliverables are part of the agreement
• Reporting requirements (financial or technical)
• The sponsor retains authority to withhold funds pending satisfactory completion of project objectives
• Cost sharing

• No contractual requirements. However, objectives may be stated and use of the funds may be restricted to a particular purpose (professorship, scholarship, travel or research in a defined area - e.g. diabetes).
• Award is irrevocable.
• No period of performance is specified.
• Formal financial accounting is not required and there is no requirement to return unexpended funds. However, a report to the donor on the utilization or impact of the gift may be requested.
• The cash is received prior to incurring any expenditures.

Salary Corrections

The function of the GCA is to properly administer sponsor funding. After the fact salary adjustments are always carefully monitored due to sponsor requirements. If an adjustment is necessary, the correction should be done in a timely manner (within 90 days). No corrections should be requested after effort has been certified on a Personnel Activity Confirmation form.

In order to be consistent with Appointment Revision Forms and have an accurate audit trail for both internal and external auditors, a UND Retroactive Distribution Request form has been developed to assist in submitting the necessary information and can be found on the Payroll website. The form should be used for all Salary Corrections and will require the signature of the Principal Investigator.

Summer Salary

Summer Salary with Grant, Cooperative Agreement or Contract Funding

The following is being provided for faculty with nine-month appointments and being paid on a grant, cooperative agreement or contract during the summer.

• Faculty having nine-month contracts may be employed for up to three full months' salary on research grants or other sponsored program activities provided the sponsoring agency's rules do not prohibit such salary payments and the total cumulative salary being paid to the faculty member from all University sources does not exceed the equivalent of three months salary. Section III Part 5.1.2 of the Faculty Handbook
• This includes salary from grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, teaching responsibilities, and summer graduate research professorships'.
• Summer salary of nine-month faculty should be charged to federal grants at a rate no greater than 100% of the base salary for compliance with Federal OMB Circular A-21, Principles for Determining Costs Applicable to Grants, Contracts, and Other Agreements with Educational Institutions.
• Base salary used for computing summer salary will be the base salary of the faculty member's current academic year appointment (that ends May 15th) divided by the number of months in their academic year contract. This amount would be the monthly salary rate and would be used to calculate the summer salary for the period May 16th through August 15th. For example, a nine-month faculty member with a base salary of $90,000 for the current academic year ending May 15th would have a summer salary rate of $10,000 per month ($90,000/9 months = $10,000).
• The annual increase in base salary, for nine-month faculty, is not effective until August 16th of each year.
• Normal research assignments are not considered overload.
• If you are paying yourself a full summer salary (three full months), your time commitments should reflect a full time work schedule.

Program income means gross income earned by UND that is directly generated by a supported activity or earned as a result of a grant, cooperative agreement or contract. Program income includes, but is not limited to:

• Conference fees.
• Income from fees for services performed.
• The sale of commodities or items fabricated under an award (books, videos, etc.).
• The use or rental of property acquired under a grant, cooperative agreement or contract.
• License fees and royalties on patents and copyrights.

Program Income Usage

Program income will be used in one or more of the following ways:

1. Additive alternative. Program income is added to the funds already committed to the project. It is used to further eligible project or program objectives under the terms of the award.
2. Matching alternative. Program income is used to finance part or all of the matching costs of the project or program.
3. Deductive alternative. Program income is applied toward the allowable project cost during the award period. Thereby reducing both the sponsor share and the matching share.
4. No restrictions. Program income can be used by the department as they see fit. Expenditures must follow University Policy.

Program income that is earned during the award period and falls under the alternatives one to three listed above, must be expended during the award time frame. If the additive or matching alternative is in effect and all of the program income can not be spent during the award period the excess would be used in accordance with the deductive alternative.

The following examples illustrate the alternatives.

An agency awards $100,000 for a project. The project generates $10,000 of program income.

• Additive alternative. The total project cost could now be $110,000.
• Matching alternative. If UND were required to provide a 20% match ($20,000 - UND and $80,000 - Agency) the project would be reported as follows:

$10,000 program income
$10,000 UND match
$80,000 agency

• Deductive alternative. The agency would now only fund $90,000.

Sometimes it is necessary to have a fund and project established prior to the execution of the final award document. These guidelines outline the requirements for establishing an account that will be used for pre-award costs. It is inappropriate to charge pre-award costs to a non-sponsored account and transfer them later. The following criteria apply:

• The request should contain a description of the sponsor assurance.
• The anticipated award amount.
• The projected start date of the award.
• The department must accept the financial risk in the event an award is not forthcoming, the start date is changed by the sponsor or an acceptable agreement can not be negotiated.

GCA reviews and approves the request and sets up the fund and project.

A cost overrun occurs when directs costs charged to a grant, cooperative agreement or contract are in excess of the awarded amount. Deficit spending on these funds is inappropriate and should rarely occur. When such an occurrence exists, the deficit must be moved from the grant, cooperative agreement or contract to a departmental account.

The departmental account to which the charges are being transferred should have the same function as the grant, cooperative agreement or contract. Specifically if the deficit fund has a function of research, the departmental fund should have a function of research. The same would follow if the function was instruction or other sponsored.

If the deficit is incurred in anticipation of additional funding, a memo should be prepared by the department accepting the responsibility for the cost overrun should the funding not be forthcoming. See preaward costs for criteria.

Grants and Contracts Journal Entry Form

Cost Transfer Explanation and Justification Form

All expenditures moved on or off a grant or contract fund require the completion of the Grant and Contract Journal Entry form.  If the charge is greater than 90 days, the Cost Transfer and Justification form must be completed and accompany the Grant and Contract Journal Entry form.

FAQs

• There is an original charge coming from the Printing Center, Postage, Library, Motor Pool, Duplicating, etc. that is not charged to the correct funding source.  How do I correct this? 

If the expenditure needs to be moved on or off a grant or contract, the Grants and Contracts Journal Entry form needs to be used to move this expenditure to the correct funding source. 

• I need to transfer an expenditure but it is greater than 90 days.  What forms do I need? 

You will need to complete the Grant and Contract Journal Entry form AND the Cost Transfer and Justification form.

• I need to reallocate from a Purchasing Card to a Grant or Contract fund.  What forms do I need to fill out? 

You will need to complete the P-Card Justification form and the Grant and Contract Journal Entry form.  You do not need to fill out the description on the GCJE form as that information is already entered on the P-Card Justification form.  Please remember a Journal Import is needed if there are more than 10 lines.

• What date do I go by when determining whether a P-Card reallocation is greater than 90 days? 

You will go by the statement “for transactions posted between 00/00/0000 to 00/00/0000” ending date.  If you are filling out a P-Card Justification form that is 90 days past statement end date you will need to complete the Cost Transfer and Justification form to accompany the Grant and Contract Journal Entry form.

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