In all cases, you should first let your financial officer know what you are intending to purchase for budgeting purposes. Financial officers need to track expenditures and submit spreadsheets (.xls) documenting all expenses. If you are unsure about anything, ask your financial officer first. Remember the appropriate purchasing guidelines.

Don't forget to use a tax exempt forms for class purchases. Use of the MIT tax-exempt number for non-class purchases is against the law! Don't be the first 2.009 student to go to jail for tax fraud!

To pay for work done within MIT, you may use an internal requisition form.

For outside of MIT purchases, there are three ways to draw funds from the team budget.

A. Use the team credit card. Get one of the team financial officers to make the purchase for you using the team card. The financial officer will submit receipts to the course administrative assistant so they can approve the charge to the card.

B. Use your own cash (or credit card). Buy what you need, keep the receipts and submit them to your financial officer. The financial officer will fill a request for reimbursement, file it with the course administrative assistant, and then you will be reimbursed (typically in two weeks to one month).

C. Request a purchase order so that MIT purchasing office will buy the items for you. The financial officer will fill out a requisition (internal or external), the course administrative assistant will process the requisition, MIT will issue a purchase order number, and then you place your order using this number.

All receipts must be turned in according to the instructions below no later than Monday, December 14, 2008. Receipts must be received by then to be reimbursed.

Use the team credit card

Your team will have two credit cards with a combined, overall limit of $6000. The cards will be in your financial officer's names. The individual cards also have a maximum monthly limit of $2000. The cards should be ready roughly 2 weeks after your first lab, and the financial officers will need to participate in an MIT credit card training course before receiving the card. The course will take about an hour.

There are a number of restrictions on how the card may be used but the 2.009 guidelines for budget use is a good starting point.

• After you have determined what needs to be purchased, get one of your financial officers to place the order using the credit card. Remember to use the tax exempt form because MIT will not pay for the tax! If the package is being shipped, be sure to get an estimate on delivery time and use the correct shipping address.
• When the package arrives place the receipt/packing slip in the drop off box located in the 2.009 office area within the Pappalardo lab. There is a folder in your team color for receipts.
• Your financial officer will pickup the original receipts from the drop box in the 2.009 office area and then submit them to the 2.009 administrative assistant. There is a second drop box in 3-435, located with the course administrative assistant. If the office is locked please use the envelope on the door of the office. Receipts should include the name of the financial officer and the team color. The financial officer should also keep a photocopy of receipts for their own records.
• If there are no problems with the purchase, the course administrative assistant will approve the charge when the bill is received from MIT purchasing.

Use your own cash

You can also use your own credit card or cash to buy items and then be reimbursed afterwards. If all stars align correctly, you might be reimbursed in as little as two weeks.

• After checking the budget with your financial officer, buy the needed items you need using your own funds. Remember to use the tax exempt form because MIT will not pay for the tax! That is, you will not be reimbursed for sales tax. Remember to obtain a price quote and detailed ordering information, including availability and shipping information.
• Save your receipts showing proof of payment... no receipt means no reimbursement. Write your name, team color and section letter on the receipt. Circle the reimbursable amount (remember no sales tax). For example, Reimbursement, John Doe, Green B, 10/15/09. Keep a photocopy for your records.
• Submit your receipts to a team financial officer and then they will complete a white request for payment form (RFP) following the next steps in this list. You can leave receipts for the financial officer in the drop box within the 2.009 office area in the Pappalardo lab. There is a folder in your team color.
• The financial officer will pick up the original receipts from the drop box and fill out the RFP form using a spreadsheet template, as shown in the provided sample. The course administrative assistant will fill in the account number.
• Staple the RFP and receipts together for the course administrative assistant. Also, There is a drop box in 3-435, located with the course administrative assistant. If the office is locked please use the envelope on the door of the office.
• The financial officer should keep and one set of copies for your accounting files in case something gets lost!

Request a purchase order

You can arrange to have MIT pay for the items directly. If you are purchasing within MIT see the internal requisition section. You need to provide the vendor with a purchase order number.

• After clearing the purchase with your financial officer, contact the vendor to obtain a price quote and detailed ordering information, including availability and shipping information. Remember the price quote cannot include sales tax! Ask the vendor if they will take a purchase order (called a PO) from MIT. They will usually do so over the phone. (You do not have a PO number to give them yet. You simply want to know if they will take such a number over the phone.)
• Have your financial officer meet with course administrative assistant to prepare the PO. You will need all ordering information and the price quotation, including shipping charges (again no sales tax).
• Put the form in the drop box within 3-435 (with the course administrative assistant). The financial officer will keep the other copy for your team books.
• The administrative assistant will then obtain the PO and email the PO number to the person named on the requisition.
• If the order is not received within a reasonable time, the course administrative assistant can check on the status of the PO.
• When the package arrives place the receipt/packing slip in the drop off box located in the 2.009 office area within the Pappalardo lab. There is a folder in your team color for receipts.The packing slip should have your name, group color and letter on it along with the date received. MIT will not pay the vendor until they receive the packing slip!
• Your financial officer will pickup the original receipts from the box in the 2.009 office area and then submit them to the drop box in 3-435, located with the course administrative assistant. If the office is locked please use the envelope on the door of the office. Receipts should include the name of the financial officer and the team color.

Use an internal requisition form

This is the method of payment to use when purchasing items within MIT (such as the central machine shop) or selected vendors. A vendor list is available at: http://web.mit.edu/ecat/.

• Obtain a requisition form from the course administrative assistant.
• Fill out the form, including the descriptions of the items that you need. Write down the estimated total cost at the bottom right hand corner of the form where it asks for an estimated quoted price. Include your name, team color, and section letter.
• Take the form to your financial officer. If your financial officer checks the drop box in the 2.009 office area within the Pappalardo lab, you can leave the form in your team's folder. If they do not check this regularly you should bring the form to them directly to avoid delays.
• The financial officer will drop the original requisition into the envelope on the door of the course administrative assistant (3-435). The administrative assistant will obtain appropriate account numbers and signatures and place the requisition in a pickup box in 3-435. The course administrative assistant will keep the blue copy of the form.
• Obtain the goods and write down the actual prices for the purchased items on the form.
• Give the white copy of the form to the internal vendors at MIT.