and DGSOM Department of Psychiatry

Finance Office

Reimbursements

Can I pay for something out of pocket and get reimbursed later?

Use of employee’s personal funds and reimbursements for procurement of goods or services is discouraged.  Please note that not all purchase of  items is reimbursable.  Before incurring a personal expense, please consult with either your fund manager to verify whether you may be reimbursed for the item.

What is an After the Fact Purchase?

It is our Department’s obligation to comply with Campus procurement policy and procedures.  The University’s Procurement policy requires that a valid Purchase Order (PO) be in place prior to execution of any services or receipt of products. The PO should be issued at the time of commitment to the vendor prior to any services being rendered. Per University guidelines, orders may not be issued to pay invoices after-the-fact for any goods or services already received. This allows for University terms and conditions to be presented to the vendor when the order is placed, otherwise the vendor’s terms and conditions may govern the transaction. Vendor terms and conditions may violate UC policies, may not provide the required protection, or may have onerous business terms.

After the Fact purchases are transactions that deviate from UCLA Policy 740: Purchasing Goods and Services. Resolution requires sign-off from the staff’s PI or Center/Division Director, the Semel Chief Administrative Officer, and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities.  

What should I do if I am making a request for reimbursement for an after the fact purchase?

Staff should not submit the After the Fact justification form. The first step is drafting a strong justification and corrective plan and submitting the draft justification to the Chief Administrative Officer. 

The justification must address the following steps for the invoice to be considered for payment. 

  1. Detail events that led to the deviation from policy. Briefly give the background story.
    • Unacceptable: We did not understand the procedures.
    • Acceptable: X vendor was contacted by Y staff person to provide Y service. The vendor was not enrolled as a UCLA vendor. The service was executed. The vendor submitted an invoice for the service requesting payment.
  2. Please explain why service was finalized/performed prior to establishing a PO?   Unfortunately, neglect or ignorance of the policy is not sufficient. Be straightforward and explain the reasons why University policy was not followed. Each case is different.
    • Unacceptable: We were in a rush and needed the service urgently.
    • Acceptable: The staff person was insufficiently trained, the staff person’s supervisor did not adequately monitor the employee’s workflow, an unexpected leave caused a break in the flow of University procedures, etc.
  3. Explain how the program or decision makers will prevent this from reoccurring in the future. Each case is different.
    • Unacceptable: We are tightening our ship.
    • Examples: Staff will be retrained in Policy 740, supervisor will be retrained in Policy 740, a system to monitor the employee’s workflow will be implemented, the responsibilities associated with procurement procedures are reviewed with department administrators and PIs, etc.
    • Note: It is helpful for the justification to contain language acknowledging the seriousness of the deviation from policy and the commitment to ensuring that it is not repeated.
    • *Semel requires dissemination of the attached policy to the Center’s Faculty and Administrators.
  1. When drafting the justification, include the following information:
    • Dept. Requestor Name:
    • Department No:
    • Department Name:
    • Vendor Name:
    • Requisition No:
    • Requisition Amount:
    • Is this ATF Request for services provided by an individual/independent contractor?
    • Then add the justification for deviation from policy.
  2. Once the After the Fact justification is drafted, submit it to the Chief Administrative Officer by email.  The justification will be incorporated into the After the Fact form, and the appropriate signatures will be obtained.

Although ATF purchases may not be intentional in most cases, the Vice Chancellor’s Office and Accounts Payable are very strict on approving these transactions and review may take time. If your Vendor becomes upset because they are not receiving payment quickly, the onus of smoothing that relationship partially lies with the individual or office that transacted the purchase, as well as the Vendor. Standard business practice for any Vendor is to receive a valid or official PO from a company prior to fulfilling an order. Unfortunately, an invoice alone is not a contract for payment without a valid PO. 

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