Most events at MIT Sloan require making payments, whether for food, facilities, decorations, or other items. Below, you'll find detailed information on the four options you have for making payments. Additionally, you'll find MIT's tax exempt forms, so you can ensure you are taking advantage of MIT's tax exempt status, and information on navigating travel expenses, contracts, prize payments, and non-profit donations.
1.
MIT's procurement system
Pros: Shop, buy, pay and view transactions, direct invoicing. (Easy to purchase)
Cons: It's slow! We recommend starting the payment process at least two weeks in advance.
3.
Pay with SLO credit card
Pros: Relatively quick and easy
Cons: Under $500 only, limitations on use
2.
Pay out of pocket for small dollar purchases and request a refund
Pros: Quick (no advanced paperwork)
Cons: You are gambling that you will be reimbursed; some reimbursements may take a while to process
4.
Transferring money between accounts
Pros: Quick, easy, no limit to amount of money, doesn't require a form
Cons: Only for moving money between MIT accounts
Buy-To-Pay is MIT's procurement system, which provides you with direct access to online catalogs of many suppliers as well as preferred vendors. Use Buy-to-Pay to access/create requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, and reports.
B2P Overview
Purchase via Punchout Catalog
How to create a PO
Complete Requisition Details
Invoicing
B2P Tips and Tricks
1. Determine what you want to buy
2. Submit a requisition (request for permission to buy)
3. Receive permission in the form of a purchase order (PO)
4. Submit invoice to invoices@mit.coupahost.com
5. Get your thing or use the service!
For more details on how to spend club funds via Buy-to-Pay, please see our detailed guide here.
Club Finance Leads are responsible for submitting all requests for club members' reimbursements on Atlas. This allows your club more oversight of expenditures, and streamlines the approval process.
If everything is in order you should receive a reimbursement check about 2 weeks later. (Students are eligible to receive reimbursements through direct deposit, please manage your payment preferences through Atlas).
If you want to pay for something yourself and then be reimbursed by an MIT account, check with Student Life to make sure in advance that the account can and will reimburse you! We can only approve club and Student Life department accounts.
Please track your reimbursement, but do not click on the Document number after you submit the RFP. This action will pull the RFP back to you inbox and will not be able to be approved.
*$500 limit on purchases
The Student Life Office manages an Institute credit card with a strictly enforced $500 purchase limit. Splitting a purchase so its components are each under $500 is not allowed. If your club's account is in good standing, then you are entitled to use it for certain types of purchases, typically food. Ask Student Life in advance if you can use the card by filling out this form. *For purchases over $500, use Buy to Pay.
The MIT credit card cannot be used for:
Note:
If you do not turn in your itemized receipt in a timely manner, you will receive a warning by email. If you still do not turn in your receipt, the Student Life Office will determine an appropriate action (typically suspension of credit card privileges for the club).
A Journal Voucher (JV) is a quick and easy way to transfer money between two MIT accounts. All you need to do is complete this online form.
Be sure to check in with Student Life (E52-101) after you submit the form in order to confirm that the transfer has gone through, as there are occasionally reasons why it cannot.
1. Account number money should be transferred from
2. Account number money should be transferred to
3. Amount of money to be transferred
4. Brief description of why the transfer is taking place
A travel expense is any expense incurred while traveling on MIT business. This may include hotels, airfare, restaurants, gas, reimbursement of personal vehicle mileage, etc. While "traveling" and "trip" may sometimes difficult to define, there are some expenses that will ALWAYS be defined as a travel expense: airfare, hotel, rental cars, gas for rental cars, personal vehicle mileage, or interstate train or bus fare, for example.
For more detailed information on the Institute Travel Policies, please visit the VPF Website.
Students are permitted to use the Student Life Travel Card for group travel for official student organization business. The travel card should not be used for individual travel.
MIT is exempt from paying state sales tax, which means you can save money on food and other items. Be sure to inform your vendors of this in advance.
When travelling on MIT business, there is a difference between “occupancy tax” and other local taxes and fees for hotel stays. This is reimbursable, as it is not sales tax. If you are travelling on MIT business and incur occupancy taxes on your hotel bill, you should include them on the travel expense report.
All other sales tax is not reimbursable, and you will need to use the tax exempt form (per state).
If you are travelling in a state that does not recognize MIT sales tax exemption, you may also be reimbursed for any taxes paid out of pocket.
Here is the link to find the sales tax list per state, and that recognize MIT’s sales tax exception and to download the corresponding form: Sales Tax Exemption Listing.
First and foremost: DO NOT SIGN CONTRACTS! Contracts may only be signed by designated employees of MIT. If you personally sign a contract, you may be liable for any resulting debt and legal liability.
Notify the Student Life Office as soon as you know that a vendor will want a contract or agreement (includes any document that discusses liability or indemnification, or that uses the word "contract"). Notify us prior to making any arrangements with the vendor.
Prize money is awarded to people individually, not as a group, is taxable income, and therefore follows certain rules. As a tax exempt institution, there are some people MIT cannot pay at all and others to whom MIT can only pay a percentage. It is important that you set and manage the expectations of all entrants in your competition - they are competing for the prestige of winning an MIT Sloan competition; prize money will be paid if legally possible
In order to evaluate each winner and pay any prize money we can legally pay, you will need to provide the following information about the winners. Please fill out the winner's information and return it to Rebecca Bourke in MIT Sloan Student Life Office.
Collect this information immediately upon determining the winners and send it to the Student Life Office as quickly as possible. Follow-up with the Student Life Office to confirm that the data is complete, and to track the process of processing and sending the award to the winners. As always, you (the student organizers) are the project managers who must follow up to determine that this process is completed.
Approval is needed for your MIT Sloan Student Organization to donate funds to another non-profit organization. The donation funds need to come into your organization's account with the specific purpose of being donated to the charitable organization. Typically, student organizations host events to raise these funds. Please complete the proposal found here to apply for approval to donate funds to a non-profit organization. Please send completed proposal to slquestions@mit.edu.