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Expenses

There are funds available to you for research expenses, such as travel, page costs and conference fees. Please see your contract for the amount available to you.Ìý Your expenses must meet university guidelines and be backed up by receipts in order to be reimbursed.

If you have any questions about expenses and reimbursements, please contact Carolyn (wca@uwaterloo.ca) or the Physics financial officer, Vanessa Risser (finance.physics@uwaterloo.ca).

• Expenses are submitted online through the Concur system. Your account on Concur must be set up by the Finance Officer.Ìý To start the process, please provide Carolyn with your employee ID number, which you can find on your WorkDay profile.
• Once your account is set up, you will receive confirmation of the set-up, training documents to explain how to use Concur, and other important information relating to your account.
• When purchasing items, please remember to keep electronic versions of all receipts and proof of payment in order to submit expenses on Concur. Claims should be submitted through Concur within 120 days of purchase.
• Carolyn or Vanessa can help with Concur problems.Ìý You can allow Carolyn to modify (e.e.g, select the correct account) your in-progress Concur claims by making her a delegate.

• Relocation costs for you, your spouse/children, and your household goods are reimbursable up to the amount specified in your contract.Ìý Expenses related to travel to apply for immigration paperwork can also be claimed.Ìý Please keep any receipts and boarding passes (if applicable) to support your claim.
• Please refer policy 28 for more details about reimbursement for relocation costs.

• The University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ can get competitive pricing on most Apple products..ÌýÌýFind pricing and generate .pdf quotes byÌýsearching for À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ in Ontario and browsing as a guest on the .Ìý
• EmailÌýthe PDF to VanessaÌý(finance.physics@uwaterloo.ca)Ìýand she will make the purchase.
• Products will need to be delivered to UW.Ìý

When purchasing equipment, including computers, please note that the university regulations stipulate that equipment purchased with funds allocated is the property of the university and must be returned at the end of your contract.

Software

• You may purchase any software or licenses required for your research.
• Please note that paid software is not an eligible expense if there is an alternative is free or is licensed centrally by the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, without strong justification. (Being used to one piece of software is not a strong justification!)

Office Furniture

• You may not put in an expense claim for office furniture, such as desks, chairs or shelving. However, you may purchase table-top items such as standing deskÌýconversion kits or laptop stands.

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You can claim expenses related to taking a visitor/speaker out for a meal, subject to the following conditions:

• You must note in the claim that this was a hospitality meal for a visiting speaker.
• You must include all the names and affiliations of all present at the meal.
• The speaker is covered up to $100, all others are covered up to $40, for a total of $250 for the meal.
• The cost of alcohol cannot be reimbursed.
• If the visitor is an astroseminar speaker, please use account 10002-10017 100.

Fees

• You may claim any fees required for research, such asÌýconferenceÌýfees, journal page fees, and fees for visas required for research travel.
• Work permit fees are considered a personal expense but any travel required to obtain the work permit can be claimed.Ìý

Keeping Track

• Postdocs are expected to keep a tally of their expenses and self-regulate within the limits. If it becomes apparent that an overspend has occurred, the WCA reserves the right to refuse to refund claims.ÌýÌýYou can ask Carolyn to help identify how much you have spent.
• If you are funded from two or more sources (e.g., funded 50/50 by the WCA and a faculty member), you should ensure that you split your claimsÌýbetween the two accounts.ÌýÌý
• You can move up to half of their allowance, if unspent, from the previous year into the current year.
• WeÌýalso allow postdocs to move up to half of their allowance from the adjacent future year if a significant amount has been spent in the current year on non-travel expenses such as computing. This is usually the case in the first year of employment.
• Any movement in allowance is subject to remaining within the total for the length of employment, obtained by multiplying the number of years’ service by the allowance per year.