General Guidelines

• UBC Funds refer to donations and sponsorships from industries, UBC units, APSC units, and funds from external parties raised by using UBC's Brand.
• All student groups must use and claim University funds in a responsible manner. Expenses incurred must be reasonable, appropriate, and necessary. If any spending or financial activity doesn’t follow the rules, APSC finance team may report it to the APSC Professional Development team for further action.
• Detailed receipts from vendors must support all expense reimbursement claim items. If a receipt is missing, the claimants must acknowledge the receipt is missing and certify that the receipt is unattainable, and the expense has not and will not be claimed from any other source.
• Claims must be submitted for reimbursement process within 60 days after the invoice date or shipping date.
• Student groups are not permitted to open and/or maintain external bank accounts at financial institutions to manage UBC or UBC affiliated funds (e.g., AMS, EUS funds). This includes funds from external sponsorships, AMS, EUS, and internal sponsorship from UBC units.
  • AMS and EUS are operating with a Finance System that is different than the system used within the UBC Departments and it is administered by the AMS Finance Team only. Any funding questions for the funds in AMS or EUS, ensure to connect with the right Finance Team for clarification.

An official university financial account (Worktag) needs to be created for Engineering Design Team’s fund management. The Worktag (formerly speedchart) is used to track Engineering Design Teams’ financial activities. A worktag is required when submitting reimbursement claims and requesting purchasing support from stores and departments with appropriate pre-approval from the team and Faculty Advisor. 

Email the Engineering Design Team Coordinator (team.engineering@ubc.ca) to set up an appointment for a new account.

• Student groups are responsible for developing a professional budget outlining all expected income and expenses for the teams’ projects/activities and financing their projects.
• Student groups will be responsible for any deficit in the account due to overspending.
• Student groups are not permitted to give team funds to other individuals or groups. Types of prohibited transfers include awards, donations, stipends, honorariums, and payments to another team or any team members. 

• Engineering Design Teams should contact APSC Finance (finance@apsc.ubc.ca) periodically, preferably once a month, to request a copy of their financial account ledger summary.
• Use the ledger summary to compare the UBC financial records with the team’s internal tracking to ensure accuracy and catch discrepancies early.
• It’s normal for the team’s records to differ slightly from the finance team’s records due to timing delays in processing payments, deposits, and reimbursements.
• UBC receives a 67% rebate on the GST portion on most purchases. As a result, the ledger amount may appear lower than what you paid because GST is partially refunded to the university. For example: you pay $112 for an item ($100 + 5% GST + 7% PST) for UBC. You are reimbursed the full $112, but the ledger will show $108.65 ($100 + 1.65% GST + 7% GST) because UBC receives a GST rebate.
• If you buy goods for use in BC from a seller who does not charge taxes, UBC must add PST afterwards (“self-assessment”). This means the ledger amount may appear higher than what you paid. For example, you pay $100 for an item with no tax charged. You are reimbursed $100, but the ledger will show $100 + $7 PST, because UBC must self-assess PST on the purchase.
• If you notice discrepancies or have questions about specific transactions, reach out to the APSC finance team for clarification or support.

• Donors and sponsors might have specific terms and conditions on eligible expenses and/or unused funding (surplus). Some allow the student groups/teams to carry forward the unused funding to future years, but some might request the unused funds to be returned. Student groups are expected to ensure the expenditures are in compliance with UBC policy and donor/sponsor’s requirement.
• Student groups will be responsible for any deficit incurred in their UBC accounts due to overspent. Monthly, quarterly, and/or annual budget plans should be in place to track funding.
• When there is deficit in the UBC account:
  • Student groups need to work with APSC finance team for reconciliation to ensure no duplicate payments, erroneous expenditures, or any unclaimed funds from other affiliated units (e.g., PAF, AMS, SPF, etc.). Ensure all incoming funds listed on the groups' budget have been received in the UBC accounts.
  • If both records are aligned and correct, student groups should seek for additional fundraising opportunities to cover the deficit.
  • Expense claims and new purchases must be on hold until the deficit is clear and the new funding can sustain the group/team's operational activities. 

• Each student group needs to delegate at least two specific members as signing authorities to approve financial transactions.
  Design Teams: Teams fill up the Finance Account Information Form if they need to update signing authorities - check the "Update Account" box. The existing approver then emails ASPC Finance Team (finance@apsc.ubc.ca)with the completed form, CC'ing the EDT Coordinator (team.engineering@ubc.ca).
• Other Student Groups: The existing approver may email departmental finance team for record update.
  • Changing Faculty Advisor, please refer to the “Faculty Advisors” section for additional information and the faculty advisor change form.

Student groups might have travel opportunities for conferences or competition. All travel expenses should be reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, taking into consideration safety, practicality, and efficiency. Pre-approval from the APSC Professional Development team must be obtained along with completion of safety training for each trip. Refer to the Competitions page for required information and action items. Safety training must be completed prior to the trip. All travelers are to obtain pre-approval from their captains/leadership who are responsible for the budget before scheduling their travel plans.

Pre-travel expenses, such as airfare and conference registration, can be submitted for reimbursement as incurred upon pre-approval from APSC PD team. These pre-travel claims must be refenced in the final claim for a trip by providing the proof of travel, such as boarding pass, transportation ticket, etc.
 

• The standard for reimbursement of accommodations should be based on the lowest price of a standard room.
• All air travel should be at the lowest available economical fare on the most direct route.
• When one team member will be arranging for the bookings, but payments are made by various team members. Each team member who paid must submit reimbursement request individually and receive the funding directly from UBC.
• If the travel costs will be paying by the store or department, Pre-Approved Purchasing Form must be completed, fully approved, and provide to the store or department at the time of submitting the purchasing request. Inform the store/department to attach the pre-approved purchasing form when claiming the expenses from the financial account (worktag). 
   

Vehicle Rentals

• Vehicle rentals are permissible if they are deemed to be the most economical option when conducting UBC/student group business.
• Cost of luxury, sport and full-sized vehicles are non-reimbursable.
• Vehicle rental is only permitted for out-of-town travel unless with pre-approval from APSC PD team. “Out-of-town” is defined as outside of Lower Mainland and Bowen Island. Engineering Design Teams might be allowed for car/truck/trailer rental for large prototype and parts transportation with written pre-approval from APSC PD team.
• Always refuel the vehicle prior to return to avoid high refuel costs charged by the vendor.
• Ensure Collision Damage Waiver is available as Safety & Risk Services offers Rental Vehicle Insurance coverage if arranged with them in advance. Refer to Appendix A for contact information.
   

• EDTs may purchase gift cards for non-service payments. For example, a prize from a lucky draw at the event or a thank you gift for guest speakers.
• Non-gift card options should be considered first as some gift card types are considered taxable income that required to collect SIN number from the recipients for Tax purposes.
• The gift amount must be less than $100.
• Gift cards cannot be used as payment against invoices or in exchange for services provided by individuals (e.g., as a pre-arranged fee for a guest speaker or training fee).
• Pre-paid credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex cards with pre-load value), Amazon gift card, eBay gift card, and other gift cards from a similar distributor platform are considered taxable income that requires SIN number for T4A tracking purposes.