Updated Version

Internal Purchase Protocol

Archived Document

Please use the following document as guidance for your purchase reimbursements

Related Resources:

• 💸 Master Finance Sheet: WARG Financial Ledgers

• 🪚 EMS Purchase Protocol: E3 Engineering Machine Shop Purchase Protocol

Important Notes

• Please request and gain the approval of a Sub-team Lead before you make any purchase via Discord by creating a post in #⁠ops-purchase-reqs. Please @ your sub-team lead and @OPS-FINANCE in your message. Then, wait for approval by a sub-team lead for WEEF/ENGSOC/MEF & team-lead (director) for team funds. If you are a sub-team lead, you would need the approval of another sub-team lead or lead.

• Only 1 reimbursement request per person can be filed per day.

• When choosing sources of funding, Please use the sources that Expire First. Please check by going to: WARG Financial Ledgers spreadsheet > “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger” sheet > “Total left (according to raw sheet)” column.

• For purchases over $100, please try to use the procurement process to minimize your reimbursement wait times.

• For WARG purchases the easiest place to ship things is the WARG bay. For address and shipping information for the bay please see Bay Policies :

Shipping Address:

Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group
Engineering 5, 1006
200 University Ave W
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1

Please note if you’re shipping something online that the address should be entered in as:

• Name = Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group

• Street Address (Address Line 1) = 200 University Ave W

• Apartment/Room Number (Address Line 2) = Engineering 5, 1006

• Province = ON

• Zip Code = N2L 3G1

• City = Waterloo

When filling out the reimbursement form

• Claim numbers are auto-generated and should be unique, there should only be a list of numbers with no other symbols.

• Gas reimbursement should be placed in the "Travel" category, Others are for all other expenses.

• There needs to be a signature on the claimant section.

• The bank statement needs to show your name, date, and last 4 digits of your card. If your bank statement isn’t ready yet, you can show a screenshot from your account showing the transaction

  (as long as the transaction is completed and not still in pending status).

• Recipt provided need to show the date of purchase and match the last 4 digits of the credit card.

• Everything needs to be combined into ONE PDF file, please use: https://combinepdf.com/

• If you are attaching an e-statement as proof of purchase, please blur out the unrelated transactions.

Commonly Asked Questions

• What if I have a reimbursement past 120 days?

  • Here are two different sample letters for use when expenses are being claimed outside of the 120 day period (See attached).  Please note that you just write and submit your letter as part of the expense claim package – the associated finance will take care of getting it signed by the Dean.

• Can we provide a receipt/Tax rebates for our sponsors?

  • The university doesn’t provide any donation receipts for tax purposes to sponsorship funding.  If a company or individual chooses to donate they can get a tax receipt, but their contribution cannot be publicly acknowledged i.e. you can’t put their name or logo on your website, in presentation, on your project, etc.  Think of it this way… you only get one benefit from your contribution to a team: as a sponsor your benefit is public recognition, and as a donor your benefit is a tax receipt.

    Second, if the company decides to donate instead of sponsor, the university can only provide a standard donation receipt that lists our not-for-profit business number. 

Step 1: Approval

• Please request and gain the approval of a Team Lead before you make any purchase via Discrod by creating a post in #⁠ops-purchase-reqs. For each item, please indicate the item (with link if available), quantity, cost, what it’s used for, and the WEEF/EngSoc/MEF/Team Funds account you plan to use to fund the purchase. Then, ping the corresponding sub-team lead in your approval request message.

Then, wait for approval by a sub-team lead for WEEF/EngSoc/MEF & team-lead (director) for team funds. Decide on which account (from WEEF/EngSoc/MEF/Team) to use to fund the purchase. Procure when possible.

Step 2: Purchase
You can either purchase and reimburse it, or procure it (ask the university’s financial representative to place the order for us).

Please see the specific instructions below, depending on whether you are drawing fundings from a WEEF, EngSoc, EMF account, or from Team funds. Also, Purchase & reimburse has different instructions than procurement:

a) Reimbursement:
This applies to all WEEF/ EngSoc/MEF/ Team fund purchases. Please save your bank statements, documents, shipping address, tracking number, etc. Make sure documents like bank statement has your name on it, to verify you are the purchaser.

Short-cut if buying from Amazon: You can use the Amazon Final details instead of the invoice. It has all the required payment and shipping information:

Open

Open

Amazon-specific instruction and photo credits go to Sarah R. Feeney

b)Procurement
Please see the last section called “Procurement Purchase” for more details.

Step 3: Filling out the WARG Financial Ledgers: raw sheet
This applies to all WEEF/ EngSoc/MEF/ Team fund purchases. Please fill out the ledger ASAP after the purchase so as to prevent double-dipping of the same funds. And please see specific instructions filling out the ledger based on whether you are drawing funds from WEEF/ EngSoc/ MEF/ Team funds to fund your purchase.

Note:

a) Please record one Vendor per row, even if you’re currently making 1 big purchase from multiple vendors, and you’ll be using the same funding account.

b) Please record purchase cost in CAD.

 Step 4: On Discord > #ops-purchase-reqs > the thread you created for this purchase, please take photos & indicate where you placed the received item(s)

WEEF and EngSoc funds require the approval of a lead. In the case that the purchase is made by a lead, the approval of another lead is required.

• This process is based on reimbursement.

• If possible, ship items to the WARG bay. The full address can be found above.

1. Verify that the item you are trying to purchase has funding, always use the oldest possible funds as they expire. Please go to: WARG Financial Ledgers spreadsheet > “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger” sheet > “Total left (according to raw sheet)” column.

   1. WEEF funding expires after 2 years

   2. EngSoc funding expires after 1 year

2. Item/service that requires purchase → Save your receipt. Please provide the following:

a) The invoice or Order confirmation showing the supplier name and date of purchase, etc.

b) Shipping confirmation or packing slip for the order if the invoice does not show the item has been shipped.

I advise you to look over the EngSoc Sponsorship Claim Form attached below to ensure you record/have all the information needed from your purchase to fill out the form. On the receipt it must be clear you paid for the item. You must also include a credit card statement showing the expense (also showing that YOU paid for it).

3.Fill in the “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Raw” page of the excel spreadsheet, up until you finish filling out the “Purchase Authorizer Name” part.

EngSoc: Fill out the sponsorship claim form, put the sponsorship claim form + invoice/order confirmation + credit card statement into 1 pdf, then drop the doc share link on that page.

Note:

• On the sponsorship claim form, FILL OUT ANY CELL THAT HAS AN X, FILL OUT THE REASON FOR REQUEST AND FILL OUT THE EXPENSE TABLE. 

• If the invoice does not show the item has been shipped, please also provide the invoice/order confirmation with the shipping confirmation or packing slip in the pdf.

4. Using your university email address, please send your sponsorship claim form, alongside a receipt to uwarg@uwaterloo.ca

Subject line: "EngSoc Reimbursement for [NAME OF ACCOUNT USED]"

Template:

"Hello! I am submitting a claim for WARG's EngSoc [eg. F20/W20/S21 ,  name of item] reimbursement - I have attached the required documentation. I, [name], certify that all expenditures in this claim adhere to the University's policies, were incurred by me for University purposes, and have not been/will not be reimbursed from another source."

Notes:

• We will then forward the email to vpfinance@engsoc.uwaterloo.ca for you and cc your email address so you’ll immediate get EngSoc’ Funds' reply email!

• Please make sure you use the WEEF account name and number, not the description of the item being purchased. This is really important to make sure your purchase goes to the correct account. Sample account name: WEEF - Airframe -W21-167

WEEF and EngSoc funds require the approval of a lead. In the case that the purchase is made by a lead, the approval of another lead is required.

• This process is based on reimbursement. For procurement, please see steps 1, 3, and 4 that are specific to using a WEEF account to make a procurement request.

• If possible, ship items to the WARG bay. The full address can be found above.

1.Verify that the item you are trying to purchase has funding, always use the oldest possible funds as they expire. Please go to: WARG Financial Ledgers spreadsheet > “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger” sheet > “Total left (according to raw sheet)” column.

1. WEEF funding expires after 2 years

   1. EngSoc funding expires after 1 year

2.Item/service that requires purchase → Save your receipt. Please provide the following:

a) The invoice or Order confirmation showing the supplier name and date of purchase, etc.

b) Shipping confirmation or packing slip for the order if the invoice does not show the item has been shipped.

I advise you to look over the Expense Claim Form attached below to ensure you record/have all the information needed from your purchase to fill out the form. On the receipt it must be clear you paid for the item. You must also include a credit card statement showing the expense (also showing that YOU paid for it).

3.For both WEEF reimbursement and procurement: Fill in the “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Raw” page of the excel spreadsheet, up until you finish filling out the “Purchase Authorizer Name” part.

For WEEF reimbursement only : Fill out the expense claim form (for undergraduate students), put the expense claim form + invoice/order confirmation + shipping confirmation/packing slip + credit card statement/screenshot showing purchase + table of allocations into 1 pdf, then drop the doc share link on that page.

Note about the expense claim form:

• On the expense claim form, FILL OUT ANY CELL THAT HAS AN X, FILL OUT THE REASON FOR REQUEST AND FILL OUT THE EXPENSE TABLE. 

The Expense Table looks like this. Please change the date, description, and dollar amounts to match your purchase. Also, please indicate whether an advance has been issued to you.

4.Attach a screen shot of WARG's current table of allocations You may find the documents here under Past funding proposals (Documents | Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation | University of Waterloo (uwaterloo.ca)).

See sample attachment below*

• If the invoice does not show the item has been shipped, please also provide the invoice/order confirmation with the shipping confirmation or packing slip in the pdf.

5. Using your university email address, please send the PDF with the email template in the description to : uwarg@uwaterloo.ca . We will then forward the email to studentdesigncentreengineering@uwaterloo.ca for you and cc your email address so you’ll immediate get WEEF Funds’ reply email!

Subject line: "WEEF Reimbursement for [NAME OF ACCOUNT USED]"

Template:

"Hello! I am submitting a claim for WARG's WEEF - [NAME + NUMBER OF ACCOUNT USED] reimbursement - I have attached the required documentation.

I, [name], certify that all expenditures in this claim adhere to the University's policies, were incurred by me for University purposes, and have not been/will not be reimbursed from another source."

Note: Please make sure you use the WEEF account name and number, not the description of the item being purchased. This is really important to make sure your purchase goes to the correct account.

Sample account name: WEEF - Airframe -W21-167

MEF funds require the approval of a sub-team lead. In the case that the purchase is made by a sub-team lead, the approval of another lead on the same sub-team is required.

• This process is based on reimbursement. Please see the procurement section if you are using MEF Funds and want Sarah to help us make the purchase instead.

• If possible, ship items to the WARG bay. The full address can be found above.

1. Verify that the item you are trying to purchase has MEF funding, always use the oldest possible funds as they expire. Please go to: WARG Financial Ledgers spreadsheet > “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger” sheet > “Total left (according to raw sheet)” column.

2. Item/service that requires purchase → If you want to buy the item(s) using MEF fundings, you must first buy the item(s) using our team account. Save your receipt, bank statement, etc. Note: UWARG would reimburse the buyer asap, then MEF would reimburse UWARG for all the MEF-funded purchases in 1 round, at the end of the 1-year period.

3. Fill in the “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF” Raw page of that excel spreadsheet, up until you finish filling out the “Purchase Authorizer Name” part. Since MEF reimburses all the payments to WARG once at the end of a given time period, and we would like to reimburse back our purchasers sooner that that , WARG will give you the reimbursement $ from our team funds. In this case , please request a reimbursement from team funds, provide an expense claim form package, and in the expense claim form’s “Destination/ Reason for Request” section , put down MEF full account name and its proposal number, along with “Team Funds”.

For example, “MEF F23 #1239-20-0031” and “Team Funds” to help both we and the university (representative : Sarah) keep track of claims when we submit it to MEF.

4. Since WARG will be reimbursing you immediately using our team funds, please fill out the “Team Funds Raw” page of that excel spreadsheet for the MEF purchase , up until you finish filling out the “Purchaser’s First Name” part. Fill out the expense claim form (for undergraduate students), put the expense claim form + invoice/order confirmation + shipping confirmation/packing slip + credit card statement/screenshot showing purchase into 1 pdf, then drop the pdf share link on that page.

Note: On the expense claim form, FILL OUT ANY CELL THAT HAS AN X, FILL OUT THE REASON FOR REQUEST AND FILL OUT THE EXPENSE TABLE. 

The Expense Table looks like this. Please change the date, description, and dollar amounts for your purchase. Also, please indicate whether an advance has been issued to you.

5.Send the relevant documents with the email template in the description to  uwarg@uwaterloo.ca

Note: Attach the receipt ( Must show seller and purchased item), and a bank statement ( showing your name and the purchase , you can blur out all other transactions) into the email.

Using your university email address, email the PDF file that combined the

Expense Claim Form, Receipts, Proof of purchase (eg. Bank statement screenshot that shows your purchase) and send to uwarg@uwaterloo.ca with the following message:

“My name is [name] from WARG. I am sending this Expense Claim Form to get reimbursed for [item/service name] from the team funds.

I, [name] certify that all expenditures in this claim adhere to the University’s policies, were incurred by me for University purposes, and have not been/will not be reimbursed from another source. ".

Notes:

• We will then forward the email to studentdesigncentreengineering@uwaterloo.ca for you and cc your email address so you’ll immediate get reply email!

• Please make sure you use the WEEF account name and number, not the description of the item being purchased. This is really important to make sure your purchase goes to the correct account. Sample account name: WEEF - Airframe -W21-167

Team funds require the approval of the team lead or technical director. In the case that this purchase is for the team lead, the approval of another lead is required.

Note: Do NOT use this form for parts/components/specific items unless the team lead or technical director has explicitly told you to use team funds. Use WEEF/EngSoc funds (see above)

• This process is based on reimbursement.

1. Item/service that requires purchase → Save your receipt. I advise you to look over the Expense Claim Form (for undergraduate students) attached below to ensure you record/have all the information needed from your purchase to fill out the form. On the receipt, it must be clear you paid for the item. You must also include a credit card statement showing the expense (also showing that YOU paid for it).

2. Fill out the “Team Funds Raw” page of that excel spreadsheet , up until you finish filling out the “Purchaser’s First Name” part. Fill out the expense claim form (for undergraduate students), put the expense claim form + invoice/order confirmation + shipping confirmation/packing slip + credit card statement/screenshot showing purchase into 1 pdf, then drop the pdf share link on that page.

Note: On the expense claim form, FILL OUT ANY CELL THAT HAS AN X, FILL OUT THE REASON FOR REQUEST AND FILL OUT THE EXPENSE TABLE. 

The Expense Table looks like this. Please change the date, description, and dollar amounts for your purchase. Also, please indicate whether an advance has been issued to you.

Note: MEF purchases wouldn’t require providing the pdf share link. No expense claim form needs to be filled out.

4. Send the relevant documents with the email template in the description to  uwarg@uwaterloo.ca

Note: Attach the receipt ( Must show seller and purchased item), and a bank statement ( showing your name and the purchase , you can blur out all other transactions) into the email.

5. Using your university email address, email the PDF file that combined the Expense Claim Form, Receipts, Proof of purchase (eg. Bank statement) and send to uwarg@uwaterloo.ca with the following message:

“My name is [name] from WARG. I am sending this Expense Claim Form to get reimbursed for [item/service name] from the team funds.

I, [name] certify that all expenditures in this claim adhere to the University’s policies, were incurred by me for University purposes, and have not been/will not be reimbursed from another source. ".

Notes:

• We will then forward the email to studentdesigncentreengineering@uwaterloo.ca for you and cc your email address so you’ll immediate get reply email!

• Please make sure you use the WEEF account name and number, not the description of the item being purchased. This is really important to make sure your purchase goes to the correct account. Sample account name: WEEF - Airframe -W21-167

• If reimbursement includes fuel expense, please add “all fuels are purchased for University Vehicles." to the email.

Procurement purchases require the approval of the subteam lead or director. In the case that this purchase is for the team lead, the approval of another lead is required.

• This process is designed to alleviate individuals of financial burdens for purchases over $100

• Procurement Purchase is currently only applicable for WEEF, MEF and Team Funds, not EngSoc Fundings

• If possible, please add all items to a cart and forward the cart URL instead.

Notes about cart URL:

1.Please check that your URL carries forward all the items in your cart. There is a possibility that when we open your URL, we get an empty cart on our end.

If your URL opens to an empty cart, please add the items to your cart using an incognito browser or clear your cache and cookies.

If the cart link still doesn’t work, then please provide a link for each product in your procurement request email. Please also indicate the quantity and price for each product, especially because the price can fluctuate between the time you send the email and the time the purchase is made.

2.Exception of when you would not need to give a URL link:

If you have a pro-forma form from the vendor, who quoted the prices and quantities of everything you’ll buy. Then, please send the pro-forma form document instead of a URL link of your cart.

Procurement Purchase steps:

1. Find and locate needed items and services online → email WARG’s email (uwarg@uwaterloo.ca) with the following template.

“Hello,
I hope this email finds you well.
WARG [Insert subteam] would like to order:
- Product Full Name/ Size (If relevant) / Company / [Price] / Quantitiy / URL
(Ex. XT60PW-M - Transfer Multisort Elektronik – electronic shop (~$25) QTY(25)
Total amount of order : $$$. Please bill to [Insert Exact Name of allocations] ( EX. “WEEF - EE PCB Components – W22-241”. ) The corresponding allocation screenshot from WEEF’s website has been attached to this email. Last of all, please let us know the purchase’s final cost, as some items may change prices from the time this email is sent to when the purchase is made.”
Thank you for your assistance.
Best,
[Signature]“

Notes:

• This email will be validated by WARG operations team before being forwarded to Finance (StudentDesignCentreEngineering@uwaterloo.ca). We will cc your email address so you’ll immediate get Finance’s reply email!

• Each WEEF account has a proposal number, but ENGSOC, MEF, and Team Funds don't.

• If reimbursement includes fuel expense, please add “all fuels are purchased for University Vehicles." to the email.

2.

WEEF: If you are using a WEEF account, please go to the “WEEF Funds” section and follow steps 1,3,4 there regarding account selection, filling out the internal ledger, and obtaining the table of allocation.

MEF: For MEF, please go to the “MEF Funds” section and follow all the steps there, except filling out the expense claim form. Since the item(s) haven’t been purchased yet, please enter the estimated purchase cost on the excel sheet as the cost. And, mark the status of your purchase as “Awaiting final cost” under the purchase status column. A WARG representative will update the actual purchase $ on your behalf after the purchase is complete.

Team Funds: Please go to the “Team Funds” section and follow all the steps there. Since the item(s) haven’t been purchased yet, please enter the estimated purchase cost on the excel sheet as the cost. And, mark the status of your purchase as “Awaiting final cost” under the purchase status column. A WARG representative will update the actual purchase $ on your behalf after the purchase is complete.