Direct Pay

CSUSM Direct Pay Guidelines

Effective November 18, 2024

These guidelines apply to all Business Units including CSUSM, CSUSM Corporation, CSUSM Foundation, and ASI.

Direct Pays are payments against a department account without the establishment of a purchase order (PO). All reimbursements must be made within 90 days of original purchase or service date.

Any exceptions to these guidelines must be approved by the Accounts Payable Manager.

ProCard Preferred: Please use ProCard whenever possible. Personal credit cards should be used on a limited basis such as urgent situations. More information on the use of a ProCard.

Where should I process my payment request?

Any purchases/payments must follow all applicable policies/regulations:

Purchase Categories

Any purchases/payments must follow all applicable policies/regulations:

PURCHASING CATEGORIES AND ACCOUNT CODES
ACCT CODE	CATEGORY	CHANGE
660017	Advertising* Advertising includes print, radio, and online advertisements. For advertising with terms and conditions, please contact Procurement & Contracts.	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
660927 (Other Catering) 660928 (Other Meals)	Catering by Sodexo or an Approved Caterer. A Hospitality form is required. If there is a catering contract it must be approved by Procurement & Contracts. CSUSM Catering	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
604803	Cell Phone Reimbursement ($50)	Direct Pay
660805	Community Outreach/Sponsorship-Hospitality form required. (i.e., purchase tables at events with no terms and conditions to be signed). For events with terms and conditions to be signed, contact Procurement & Contracts or CSUSM Corporation.	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY)
Varies	Follett Books/Supply Purchases (No Software)	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
Varies	Gordian/JOC Fees (FDMA)	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY)
660820 (Other Hospitality) 660962 (Promotional Items)	Hospitality* (only reimbursements or payments to students can go through Direct Pay). Refer to Hospitality for definitions. Hospitality includes, but is not limited to, promotional items, and participation incentives and awards.	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00. Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
660861	Insurance (IRM and CORP Admin only)	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY)
616005	IITS Hardware Technology - Visit: IITS TRP Form and attach IITS approval.	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY). If a purchase can go on ProCard instead Procurement will notify requestor during Procurement review.
660805	Memberships or subscriptions* (no software, Software as a Service, or online services).	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
660944: Other Awards/Honors 660945: Incentives	Non-resident Alien (due to tax restrictions, non-resident aliens must receive an award or incentive in ACH payment or check form and not through a gift card). Monetary awards to employees or student assistants must be paid through Payroll.	Direct Pay
Varies	Other: (includes chargebacks, emergency loans, inter/intra-unit transactions, legal invoices pre-approved by CO and submitted by Risk, pass through expenses, reissue of stale dated/escheated checks, salary advances, tax return payments, uploads, etc.; may also require Procurement & Contracts/Corp approval).	AP Manager Approval
660001	Postage & Freight (Distribution Services only).	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY)
660002	Printing*. For Printing with terms and conditions that need to be signed, please contact Procurement & Contracts.	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
660009	Registration* (i.e., training, webinar, seminar, conference, etc. [no travel]).	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
613803	Student Teacher Agreements	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY)
660003	Supplies* Supplies include consumables (low value, everyday items) with no single item equal to or greater than $5,000 (caps are inclusive of shipping and taxes).	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY) if over the ProCard single purchase limit of $5,000.00.
Varies	Utilities: 605001: Electricity 605002: Gas 605003: Oil 605004: Water 605005: Sewage	Requisition should be processed in P2P (CSUBUY)

*Use ProCard as the first option (cannot exceed your per transaction limit typically $5000). If ProCard was not used, state the reason on the direct pay form

Any purchases/payments must follow all applicable policies/regulations:

Procurement Policy CSUSM or CSUSM Corporation
CSUSM Hospitality Guidelines
Property Control Policy
Public Relations Funds Policy CSUSM Corporation
Payments to Students Guidelines
Cell Phone Reimbursement Guidelines

The following expenses are prohibited for Direct Pay:

Payments for Agreements/Contracts
Travel (use a Travel Claim)
Gift Cards (see business unit purchasing procedures)
Payments against Purchase Orders
Services (a PO/Agreement is needed)
Space Usage off-campus (a Facilities Use Agreement is needed)
Independent Contractors
Software includes Software-as-a-Service, online services, online subscriptions and any information technology or interconnected system or subsystem that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information.

Direct Payments requiring supporting documentation:

Food Purchases – See CSUSM Hospitality Guidelines
Event-related Purchases – See CSUSM Hospitality Guidelines

Approving Authority

Note: Requestors seeking reimbursement for themselves may not sign as an approving authority.

One-up Manager/Supervisor/Department Chair (only required for employee reimbursements)
Fiscal Authority (If the One-up Manager/Supervisor/Department Chair does not have fiscal authority)
Office of Sponsored Projects (for CORP 85xxx projects only in addition to Fiscal Authority)

Documentation: Attach original receipts/documentation. (Please include additional copy of back-up to be sent with the check to vendor if appropriate). See“Direct Payments requiring pre-approvals/supporting documents” section above for additional documentation requirements.

See Cell Phone Guidelines for cell phone reimbursement.

Roles & Responsibilities

Roles & Responsibilities List
Role	Responsibility
Requestor/Submitter	Certifies expenses are necessary, appropriate to the occasion, reasonable in amount and serve a purpose consistent with the mission and fiduciary responsibilities of the University. Confirms the expense is allowable per the University Direct Pay Guidelines and applicable policies and procedures. Certifies accurate approving authorities were entered in the Adobe Sign workflow. Does not seek duplicate payment or a payment paid by another source. Attaches required supporting documentation.
Approving Authority	Principal Investigator (if applicable): Ensuring expenses charged to funds authorized for the purpose. One-up Manager/Supervisor or Department Chair: Substantiates expenses are necessary, appropriate to the occasion, reasonable in amount and serve a purpose consistent with the mission and fiduciary responsibilities of the University. Approving Authority/Fiscal Authority: Confirms the expense is allowable per the CSU Direct Pay Guidelines and applicable policies and procedures. Office of Sponsored Projects (if applicable): Ensuring expenses are an allowable expense per the grant agreement. All involved in the review or approval routing: Approving/denying the Direct Pay form in a timely manner. Denying requests not directly related to official University business.
Accounts Payable	Validates fiscal authority. Validates purchase is an allowable category. Confer with Procurement as necessary when the category “Other” is selected. Ensure appropriate supporting documentation is submitted.

Process

Timeline: Forms for reimbursement must be submitted within 90 days of original purchase or service date. Check PeopleSoft within 15 working days of submission for confirmation of payment.

Complete the Direct Pay form (link below).
Attach original itemized receipts and any other supporting documentation. (Please include additional copy of back-up to be sent with the check to vendor if appropriate). See “Direct Payments requiring pre-approvals/supporting documents” section above for additional documentation requirements.

Employees Only: If not already receiving direct deposit through Accounts Payable Employee Direct Deposit for AP Reimbursements Form (make the selection from the Adobe workflow drop down menu) This will only need to be completed once, unless banking information changes.

Complete the Direct Pay Form on Adobe Sign: Direct Pay Form

Questions?

All forms will route automatically to Accounts Payable once completed in Adobe Sign. For any questions, please contact Accounts Payable at:

accountspayable@csusm.edu (for stateside submissions)
apcorp@csusm.edu (for CSUSM Corporation submissions)
apfnd@csusm.edu (for Foundation submissions)