1. Submission and payment of claims
2. Approving claims
3. Prior authorisation of claims
4. Receipts for mixed business and personal expenditure
5. Reimbursement via Concur for visitors
6. Reimbursement after completion of form
7. Payments for participants in research trials or panels
8. Payments for individuals attending interviews
9. Claiming for a companion
1. Submission and payment of claims
Non-employee expenses may be claimed via Concur for visitors, or using the visitors’ claim form. Institutions may create their own form, if required, but must first have this approved by Head of Accounting Services. If all required information is provided, reimbursement will be faster if processed through Concur for Visitors. For other categories of non-employee claims, refer to Categorisation of non-employee table in the policy. Details of how to process expenses in Concur for visitors are available from the Expenses Hub for visitors. The Information for institutions on accessing and using the the Cambridge Casual Workers System is on the Human Resources webpages.
1.1 Minimising the need for claims
Where possible, institutions must pay directly for costs such as travel, hotel expenses, to minimise the need for costs to be met by the non-employee.
Cash must not be given from tills or employees’ own funds, and then claimed back via expenses.
1.2 Receipts required
All expense claims, based on actual cost incurred, must be supported by adequate evidence, for example, receipts, invoices, or bills. Credit card slips are not acceptable as a receipt.
If contactless payments are made, for example, debit or credit card tap to use the London Underground, and the cost is greater than £5, provide a copy or extract of the card statement, with personal details redacted, as proof of expenditure.
1.3 Exceptions
There may be circumstances where it is not possible to obtain a receipt, e.g., cash payments for parking, or where receipts have been lost or destroyed. In such cases the claim may be reimbursed if the justification is considered appropriate.
Additionally, there may be situations where the department sees a need to deviate from these procedures. Before proceeding with any action, pre-approval from the Head of Accounting Services must be obtained.
1.4 Deadlines for submitting and approving claims
It is important that the University accounts for spend in a timely manner. Therefore claims should be completed as soon as possible and not later than one month after the expenditure occurred, unless for practical reasons, institutions have agreed to a later deadline with the non-employee.
Institutions must have processes in place to ensure claims are approved and coding checked as soon as practical after the claim has been submitted.
In particular:
• all claims against grants, donations or other funding sources must be completed before their deadline
• at year end, claims must be processed prior to the close of the Accounts Payable (AP) module for that financial year
1.5 Payment of claims
Expense claims which are fully approved in Concur for visitors will be interfaced into CUFS the following day. A BACS payment will be made to the individual in the regular payment run. Where the claim is processed manually, the process may take longer.
1.6 Claim delays
The University will not reimburse individuals any interest charged on personal credit cards unless it can be shown that the University caused unnecessary delay in processing the claim.
2. Approving claims
In interpreting the University’s Expenses Policy for Non-employees, consideration must be given to the fact that the University has charitable status. Therefore, institutions must be able to demonstrate good use of funds.
2.1 Heads of Institutions’ responsibilities
Heads of Institutions (HoIs) are responsible for ensuring that a signed Visitors Agreement, where relevant, is in place and all expense claims are in line with the Non-employee Expenses Policy, its annex, and the procedures of this section.
HoIs may delegate approval tasks in writing, but they remain accountable for decisions taken. Further guidance can be found in the Governance and Compliance chapter of the Finance Procedures Manual.
2.2 Who can approve claims
Claims must be approved by an employee to whom the HoI has delegated such tasks, and who has sufficient authorisation limit to approve all items within the claim.
2.3 Responsibilities of approvers
Approvers must take care when entering or checking information on expense claims, ensuring that any claim:
• is appropriately pre-authorised
• has a clear and justifiable business rationale
• is supported by documentary evidence, e.g., receipts/invoices, or exceptional circumstances exist where this is not the case
• has the expenses categorised correctly
• complies with the University’s Non-employee Expenses Policy and its annex
• has been coded accurately and appropriately (for example, charged against a research grant)
Finance Teams (Second line approvers)
In addition to the above checks, finance teams must confirm that claims have been approved by the appropriate budget holders, principal investigators (PIs) or their delegates.
3. Prior authorisation of claims
Visitors or other non-employees should be formally advised in writing of what is allowable expenditure, rates and how expenses will be reimbursed before any arrangements for the visit are confirmed. Agreement from the budget holder must also be obtained. A signed Visitors Agreement must be obtained, if relevant.
4. Receipts for mixed business and personal expenditure
Where an expense being claimed includes a mixture of University business and personal expenses, only the business portion is to be claimed. A note must be included to explain why the full amount has not been claimed.
5. Reimbursement via Concur for visitors
Visitors using Concur for visitors will be automatically setup on AP. Refer to Concur for visitors Expenses Hub, (Raven login required).
6. Reimbursement after completion of form
The individual will need to be set up on the AP suppliers’ database as an individual for payment to be obtained. They can then submit a visitor’s or a pre-approved, institution-specific expenses claim form.
7. Payments for participants in research trials or panels
Payments for participants in the UK can be made via Concur for Visitors, cash or vouchers.
If participants are overseas, contact the Head of Accounting Services to discuss the most appropriate arrangement for payments.
UK cash payments for research participants
If making cash payments, institutions must ensure there are adequate arrangements in place to store the cash securely, and appropriate administrative controls to make and record the payment.
Requests for cash must be made to the Cash Management team by email at least one week in advance of when the cash is required. The email must include:
- the purpose of the payment, e.g. the name and description of the study
- the date the study will take place
- the set amount that is going to be paid to each participant
- the number of participants attending
Cash Management will arrange for this amount of cash in the appropriate denominations to be available for the institution to collect from the bank.
Institutions must maintain a record of actual monies paid out to participants which should include:
- the name and address of the participant
- the amount paid
- the participant’s signature
Where large sums of cash are involved, Cash Management may advise payment should be made via an alternative method.
Payment in vouchers
Whilst the University does not have a formal arrangement in place for the supply of vouchers, it may be possible for departments to purchase these directly from a supplier, contact the AP Helpdesk for details.
8. Payments for individuals attending interviews
If pre-approved, claims may be made via Concur for Visitors, or alternatively via the visitor’s expense form. Please refer to the HR Division website for the latest information on eligibility and procedures.
9. Claiming for a companion
There may be occasions where an individual requests reimbursement for a companion or carer. These extra costs would be acceptable under reasonable circumstances. Pre-approval would be required on a case by case basis. For example, where the individual needs to have a companion to travel. Another example is where the accompanying person has some special skill or qualification associated with the individual’s visit to the University, such as an interpreter. This does not necessarily need to be full time.
Approved 09 January 2025