Student Union
Account Rules and Purchasing Process

If your group receives funding from Treasury or the VP of Finance—through Budget Allocation, Flat Funding, or an Appeal—those funds will be automatically deposited into your Operating account.​ Flat Funding within the Operating account is available for use throughout the entire school year or until the funds are exhausted.​ Any remaining money in your Operating account at the end of the fiscal year will not roll over. Unused funds will be reclaimed and cannot be carried forward to the next fiscal year.

​

• Student groups may only maintain Operating, Fundraising, and Gift accounts within Workday (WashU's accounting system). No other accounts should be held outside of these three. Failure to comply will result in your student group being referred to Student Conduct.

​

• All funds collected by your group to subsidize an SU Allocation must be deposited into your SU Operating account. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved. 

​

• Collected funds must be submitted for deposit within one week after your event or, if not connected to an event, within one week after collection. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved. A warning will also be issued. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• All expenses incurred by your group must be paid from your SU Operating, Fundraising, and/or Gift accounts. Failure to comply will result in your student group being referred to Student Conduct.

​

• Any fraud, misuse of funds, or embezzlement is not tolerated and will result in your student group being referred to Student Group Conduct.

​

• The Operating account cannot have a negative balance. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved. A warning will also be issued. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• Appeals and re-allocations between events must be approved before any spending occurs. Failure to comply will result in spending restrictions, including denial of credit card use and payment processing, as well as no reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses. 

​

• For student groups receiving support from Advisors, Departments, or Campus Partners, all financial transactions from the student groups' Operating, Fundraising, and Gift accounts must be initiated and processed by the student groups themselves. These groups are required to adhere to established financial transaction rules and processes. Failure to comply will result in no reimbursements to Advisors, Departments, or Campus Partners.

​

• Events must be registered and approved in WUGO (aka Sanctioned Event) before making any event-related purchases and/or collecting money for your event. However, there is no need to register an event in WUGO for non-event-related spending or collections, such as paying dues and collecting dues. For any spending commitments on behalf of the student group for a non-sanctioned event (not registered and approved in WUGO), the group must cover the expenses using their Fundraising and/or Gift accounts. If these funds are insufficient, members will need to use personal funds. Failure to comply will result in the denial of purchase approvals, reimbursements and your Campus Life Advisor will be notified.

​

• A Financial Transaction Form must be submitted in advance for the following: using the WashU Credit Card, paying Invoices via electronic payment or check, Fundraising efforts (excluding donations), Reallocation requests, and Retrieving funds for canceled events. Same-day purchases using the WashU credit card are not allowed. Please note that while submission of this form is required, approval from the Business Coordinator is not necessary before visiting the Campus Life office during credit card hours. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved.

​

• Please review the restrictions list before making a purchase. Failure to comply will result in denial of purchase approvals and reimbursement.

​

• When engaging in contracted services, if the student group enters into a formal and legally binding agreement, all contracts must be signed by a Campus Life Advisor. Students are not authorized to sign contracts. Failure to coply will result in the denial of purchase approvals, reimbursements and your Campus Life Advisor will be notified.

​

• Invoices must be submitted for payment within 7 days of services being completed, goods received, or upon receipt. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved. A warning will also be issued. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• Payments to suppliers for their services must be made using a WashU credit card, ACH electronic payment, or a check. Students are not permitted to pay for services and seek reimbursement. Failure to comply will result in denial of reimbursement, along with a warning. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• Do not hire WashU employees, including student employees, to provide services for your group—we have no way to pay them by the required Payroll process. Failure to comply will result in the individual not being compensated. 

​

• For trips funded in the Operating account, if a student can no longer attend and their flight is canceled, a flight credit will be issued to them. The original expense can be transferred to the Student Group Fundraising and/or Gift accounts. If there are insufficient funds, the student must reimburse SU for the cost of the originally purchased ticket. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved. 

​

• If a personal purchase is mistakenly charged to the Business Coordinator’s credit card, the student group will be responsible for reimbursing the University. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved. A warning will also be issued. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• If a proper receipt with all required information is not provided to your Business Coordinator, no further spending will be permitted until an appropriate receipt is submitted. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved. A warning will also be issued. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• If paying out of pocket for any travel-related expenses, please review the Campus Life Travel Policy before making any purchases. Failure to comply will result in denial of purchase approvals, reimbursements, and your Campus Life Advisor will be notified. 

​

• Expense reports must be submitted within 7 days of the purchase date. Failure to comply will result in denial of reimbursement, along with a warning. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• Gifts, gift cards, and prizes may be purchased using personal funds and submitting for reimbursement. However, a correctly completed [Gift, Prize, Award Form] must be uploaded to the Expense Report to qualify for reimbursement. If submitting this form delays the reimbursement process, you may not be reimbursed, as all reimbursements must adhere to the established deadlines. Failure to comply will result in denial of reimbursement, along with a warning. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• Any expense report in the "Sent Back" status that exceeds the deadline specified on the Trello - Important Dates will be canceled and will not be eligible for reimbursement. Failure to comply will result in denial of reimbursement, along with a warning. After three warnings, your group will be referred to Student Conduct.

​

• For all registered and approved events in WUGO, please complete the Post Event Form within 14 days following your event. Failure to comply will result in frozen accounts, prohibiting all spending, fund collection, appeals, and reallocations until the issue is resolved.