Reimbursement Procedure

Planning to receive a reimbursement for travel or research expenses?

Pro tips before you spend any money:

• Make sure to save all receipts and any other physical documentation (order forms, registration confirmation, flight itinerary, ticket information, etc.).
• When purchasing multiple things from one vendor, request an itemized receipt.
• BU URBAN cannot reimburse you for membership fees to professional societies or organizations.
• BU URBAN cannot reimburse you for alcohol expenses.
• If you are buying physical supplies for a research award, consult with the URBAN Program Manager (URBAN@bu.edu) about your purchasing plan. BU URBAN cannot reimburse you for non-food sales tax or anything you have purchased from Amazon with your personal credit card. Instead, we have options internally for purchasing supplies for you from BU approved vendors or Amazon.
• If you are booking conference travel and lodging or paying registration fees, please discuss your plan with the URBAN Program Manager to determine which expenses can be paid for through BU directly. In the event that a conference is cancelled, it will easier to process the reimbursement through BU.

When you’re ready for your reimbursement, please complete the reimbursement form linked here and closely follow the directions below.

1. To complete the fields in the “Expense Information”section, please enter the following information:
   • BU Host, Advisor, or Supervisor Name: Emily Walton
   • BU Host, Advisor, or Supervisor Email: urban@bu.edu
   • 10-Digit BU Account Number (to charge for expenses): 9090000058
     
   • Expense Name: YYYY_MM_DD_Reimbursement_First and Last Name_(Semester YYYY Name of Award)
     • For example, “2024_11_06_Reimbursement_Emily Walton_(Fall 2024 Broadening Participation Award)”
     • Please reference the semester that you submitted your RTA application
   • Purpose of Expense: Semester YYYY Name of Award Reimbursement
     • For example, “Spring 2025 Travel Award Reimbursement” or “Fall 2024 Research Award Reimbursement”
     • Please reference the semester that you submitted your RTA application
2. Itemized Expenses:
   • If driving, use the GSA Mileage Reimbursement Rate. Note that rate for 2023 is $0.655/mile (source). Please be sure to confirm the latest mileage reimbursement rate prior to completing this section.

Final notes:

• For Research & Travel Awards, please review your award letter carefully and take note of the deadline to spend funds.
• For Travel Awards, reimbursements are due one month after the dates of your meeting.
• In addition, awarded funds are intended for the projects described in your application. If research or travel plans change from the initial application, please email the URBAN Program Manager (urban@bu.edu) with a request for a re-purposing of funds along with a justification. If it is deemed that the re-purposing of funds remains aligned with the original application, your request will be approved.