This document
covers the project budget, making
purchases, and shipping.
Project Budget
Each team has a budget of $700 to purchase materials, supplies, and resources
for the project.
Some materials will be provided in the team
work space, but in general you will need to purchase most of the materials
needed for prototyping. Budgets cannot be used for non project-related items,
including food.
One person on your team should take responsibility for keeping track of
purchases and managing your budget.
Purchases and Reimbursement
If you are unsure about whether using your budget
for a specific purchase is appropriate, please ask the course
instructor.
Remember to use a tax exempt form. MIT will
not reimburse you for tax. Also using the MIT tax-exempt number for non-class
purchases is against the law!
To pay for work done within MIT, you may use an internal
requisition form.
For purchases outside of MIT, there are two ways to draw funds from the
team budget.
A. 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
within a week or two).
B. 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, May 21, 2012. Receipts must be received by then to be reimbursed.
Use your own cash
You can 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.
- 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!
- Save your receipts showing proof of payment...no receipt means no reimbursement.
Write your name and team name on the receipt. Circle the reimbursable
amount (remember no sales tax). For example, Reimbursement, John Doe,
MyTeamName, 04/09/10. Keep a photocopy for your records.
- Attach your receipts to a completed cover sheet (.pdf) and give your receipts to your team budget manager and then they will complete
the following steps below.
- The budget manager
- Your team's budget manager will complete a RFP entry online using SAPweb (download the quick reference card). The course
administrative assistant will fill in the G/L account and cost object when she receives it.
- Once the financial officer has made the entry online, they will bring the cover sheet with original receipts to the 2.744 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. Reimbursements cannot be approved until the originals have been received.
- If you have a direct deposit account with MIT, your reimbursement will go into it directly. Otherwise, a check will be cut for you and sent to the course administrative assistant. She will let you know when you can pick it up.
Request a purchase order
If you are
purchasing within MIT see the internal requisition
section below. For outside purchses you can arrange to have MIT pay for the items directly.You need to provide the vendor with a purchase order
number.
- 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. (You do not have a PO number to give them
yet. You just want to know if they will take such a number over the phone.)
- Have your team budget manager 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).
- The administrative assistant will then obtain the PO and email the PO
number to the person named on the requisition form.
- If the order is not received within a reasonable amount of time, the
course administrative assistant can check the PO status.
- When the package arrives bring the receipt/packing slip to 3-435. MIT will not pay the vendor until they receive the packing slip! The
packing slip should have your name, team and date date received written
on it. If the office is locked please use
the envelope on the door of the office.
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 and team name.
- Drop the form with the course
administrative assistant in 3-435 to obtain appropriate account numbers
and signatures. When completed you can pickup the requisition. 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 and return the blue copy to the course administrative assistant.
Shipping Address
For all orders delivered to MIT, use the following address:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
32 Vassar Street
YourName, c/o 2.744 Team YourTeamName
LMP Room 35-110
Cambridge, MA 02139
Your order will be delivered to the LMP shop.
When the order arrives make sure you save the receipt/invoice/packing slip
and give it to your team budget manager. Please see the appropriate purchasing
instructions for details.
Note: UPS typically delivers to the shipping room (in
the Stata Center) by 10AM. It usually takes MIT an additional day to bring
packages to the shop. Therefore, to get overnight deliveries in one day,
you will need to pick up the materials from the shipping room yourself. You can call 617-253-4744 to see if your package has been received.
