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Guidelines for Purchases and Reimbursements

  1. Please submit all finance-related requests via MAE’s request and tracking portal here.
  2. All requests require supervisor’s signature.
    1. Faculty may leave this line blank and staff with obtain Dr. Grigoriadis’ signature.
    2. Students should obtain account information and approval from their advisor before submitting their requests.
  3. Ensure that your address is updated both on your request form and in UH system (via your Payment Works account).
  4. For questions regarding a pending request, please submit comment via the specific request in the tracker, or send email to mebizops [at] central.uh.edu (mebizops[at]central[dot]uh[dot]edu)
  5. Two staff and a few students primarily manage financial requests for the entire department. With this in mind, please make a note of the following:
    1. Allow 2-3 business days after submission for staff to begin processing your request.
    2. You can request an update from staff after 3 business days if there have been no status updates to your request and you haven’t been contacted by a staff member.
    3. While we are willing to expedite processing for urgent requests, these are expected to be truly urgent and infrequent.
    4. Certain purchase requests may take up to 6 weeks to be processed so please submit requests as early as possible.
  6. Purchase Requests:
    • Complete a separate form for each vendor and attach the corresponding quote.
    • Invoicing (payments via voucher) is the department’s preferred method for purchases. For this, vendors must be registered in PaymentWorks. If you submit a request for a new vendor, they need to create a profile and the approval typically takes around 2 weeks (registration for international vendors may take longer). Please submit your requests as much in advance as possible.
    • For online purchases, provide the exact link to the item, ensuring that all specifications (e.g., color, size) are already selected. Indicate these details on your request form as well.
    • Be aware that we have daily and monthly limits on our procurement card. Consider requesting an invoice from the vendor or paying for the items personally and then seeking reimbursement.
    • Note that all business purchases should be shipped to the department: 4226 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Engineering Building 1, Room N207 (or specific room), Houston, TX 77204-4006. Shipments to home require justification and are subject to disapproval by Accounts Payable.
    • Clearly state the purpose and benefit of the purchase—this information is essential for auditing. Include details on how the item will be used and its benefit to the university or research project (Purpose and Benefit).
    • Include your cost center or SpeedType (a 5-digit number) for the "Paid Off Account #". Students should obtain this number from their advisor.
  7. Reimbursements:
    • You may include receipts from up to 5 different vendors on a single form. Please ensure all corresponding receipts are attached.
    • If the receipt does not display the last four digits of the credit card used, attach proof of payment, such as a credit card statement. Highlight the relevant transaction and redact any sensitive information.
    • Only actual expenses will be reimbursed. Discounts or coupons should not be included in reimbursement amount.
    • Tax reimbursement is allowed up to $10 per purchase. Please note that tax reimbursements from State accounts are unallowed.
    • Reimbursement requests should be submitted within 60 days of the purchase date to avoid having the amount treated as income and subject to taxation. For prompt processing, we recommend submitting your request within the same week as the purchase.
  8. Meal Reimbursements:
    • Provide names, titles, and affiliations of all participants. For example:
      • Maria Chartier, Financial Coordinator, UH staff
      • Dr. Jane Smith, Assistant Professor, UH faculty
      • Dr. John Doe, Professor — Yale University, Seminar guest speaker