Finance & Accounting

Policy Highlights

• DRI does not guarantee payment to vendors or reimbursements if the policy and procedures are not followed.
• Payment to vendors and reimbursements are not guaranteed if the expense is not listed on the projects awarded budget.
• Disallowed Expenses will automatically be rejected and not paid.
• Principal Investigators and Authorized Study Administrators are responsible for verifying fund availability prior to making purchases.
• PIs or their designees are responsible for ordering, maintaining, and verifying the procurement of goods and services.
• All personnel should make every effort to make purchases with established DRI vendors and avoid using personal funds that result in reimbursement requests.
  • DRI vendor account numbers will be provided upon request.
• Contact Accounts.Payable@dri-va.org to inquire about setting up a new vendor account.
• Any single non-consumable item that is $5,000 or more must be approved by DRI prior to purchase.
• All equipment is the property of DRI and does not belong to any individual, Principal Investigator, or staff member.
  • Equipment will be tagged by a DRI staff member.
  • Tagged items will be inspected and inventoried by DRI annually.
  • Equipment with a value of $150 or more will be subject to a DRI asset tag.

Purchasing Procedure

1. Email a completed copy of the Purchase Order Form to the vendor; CC Accounts.Payable@DRI-VA.org.
   • To ensure the order is placed on the proper account, please include the DRI Account/Customer # in the subject line of your email.
     • Bill To DRI Account # xxxx
   • If the order is being placed via the phone or a web portal, send the Purchase Order Form directly to Accounts Payable.
   • This form is required for DRI audit purposes.
   • If you receive an order confirmation, forward it to Accounts Payable.
2. Once you have received the item(s), send a signed & dated copy of the packing slip to Accounts Payable.
   • If a packing slip was not provided, send an email to Accounts Payable notifying us that all items were received.
   • If there are any order issues, notify the vendor and Accounts Payable.
3. If you receive the invoice, forward it to Accounts Payable.

Reimbursement Procedure

1. Email a completed copy of the Check Request Form to Accounts.Payable@DRI-VA.org.
   • Justification for using personal funds versus an established DRI Vendor Account is required.
   • Include itemized receipts when submitting for reimbursement.
   • If the purchase was made online (ie. Amazon), confirm that items were received prior to submitting for reimbursement.

Links to Related Resources

• Purchase Order Form
• DRI Vendor List
• Disallowed Expenses
• Check Request Form

Policy Highlights

• All studies requiring participant payments will be required to utilize the ClinCard payment system. If a participants rejects (in writing) the use of ClinCards, a check can be requested.
• It is the responsibility of the study administrator to:
  • Disclose the terms and conditions of participant reimbursements in the research protocol.
  • Ensure an applicable Informed Consent Form (ICF) is authorized by the subject to which payments will be made.
    • The ICF should outline the amount, schedule, and process for receiving payments on the MasterCard ClinCard.
  • Ensure that reimbursement funds are properly prorated across visits and procedures, so they do not constitute or appear as undue pressure and/or coercion on the subject to volunteer for, or to continue participating in the research study.
  • Maintain the security of the participants personal information in accordance with HIPAA privacy guidelines.
• PI’s and study administrators are responsible for notifying DRI when a user and/or study is no longer active. Failure to notify may result in continued fees.
• Any participant payment requests outside of the milestone payment outlined in the ICF requires written pre-approval by a DRI staff member. Reach out to Accounts.Payable@dri-va.org with request details; any requests submitted in ClinCard without the proper approval will be rejected.

PROCEDURE

1. If applicable, Principal Investigators can authorize a study administrator by submitting an Authorized Study Administrator form to Accounts.Payable@dri-va.org.
2. To get your study set-up in the ClinCard portal, submit the ClinCard New Study Form to Accounts.Payable@dri-va.org.
   • Include a complete copy of your ICF with the form.
   • Please note that ClinCard charges on a per user basis for their monthly access fee; to reduce fees, we ask that as few users as possible are created for each study in ClinCards.
3. Coordinate with DRI Accounting Staff to pick up the requested number of ClinCards from the Denver Office.
4. Once you have completed your profile set up, you will be able to register participants, issue ClinCards, and request payments.
   • Participant payments are approved by the DRI Accounting Team daily. Funds are available to participants within 24-48 hours barring any atypical circumstances such as weekends and holidays.

current expense schedule

• • Each physical ClinCard is $4.00
  • Each card load is $1.15
  • The monthly access fee is split between active projects. The rate will change monthly based on how active the project(s) are and how many users are registered.

Links to Related Resources

• ClinCard New Study Form
• Authorized Study Administrator Form
• ClinCard User Guide

Policy Highlights

GENERAL INFORMATION

• All travel must have a demonstrable research relevance or be related to an approved staff or patient education activity.
• The PI or designee is responsible for verifying funds are available in the project account prior to the travel event.
• All travel expenses must be paid by the traveler and will be promptly reimbursed post-travel.
  • The only exception made to this policy is if meeting registration fees $300 and above are requested in advance, in which case a Check Request Form must be submitted. Please see the Reimbursements Policy for more details.
• Prior approval from the sponsor is needed for consultant/subject travel charged to a sponsored award.

WHILE BOOKING

• The most economical and direct mode of transportation should be booked.
  • Any flights booked outside of Coach or Economy class require additional justification.
  • The use of private automobiles must be approved in advance by the Executive Director.
• Travelers should make every effort to ensure they have obtained the best available rate for their hotel, preferably with the conference sponsor.
  • Hotel costs cannot exceed 150% of the government rate without DRI pre-approval.

TRAVELING

• No receipts are required for meals and incidentals. The applicable federal per diem rates for destination cities can be found at https://www.gsa.gov/travel.
  • Per diem will reimburse at 75% of the rate for the destination city for the day of arrival and day of departure. All days in between will be reimbursed at 100% of the rate.
  • You must deduct per diem reimbursement for each meal provided in association with your travel (eg, lunch provided at a conference). You can determine the meal’s per diem amount by consulting the Meals and Incidental Expense Breakdown on the GSA website: https://www.gsa.gov/travel-resources.
• DRI will not reimburse travelers for expenses related to spouses, children, and companions while traveling.
• Ground transportation reimbursements are limited to travel between the airport/train station and the hotel.
• The use of rental cars must be approved in advance by the Executive Director.

LOCAL & FOREIGN TRAVEL

• Mileage may be reimbursed for local travel to workshops, seminars, symposiums, and business-approved travel.
• Foreign travel will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must be pre-approved by a DRI staff member.

SUBMITTING YOUR REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST

• Reimbursement for completed travel is required within 30 days of the last day of travel.
• To be processed, a signed Travel Reimbursement Form should be submitted to Accounts.Payable@dri-va.org
  • Please include all required receipts and a copy of the program or conference announcement.
  • AIRFARE: Include all taxes and fees. The itinerary is required to reflect a breakdown of all charges as well as proof of payment.
  • PARKING: Airport parking will be reimbursed up to the maximum rate in effect for long-term parking. Short term and daily rates will not be reimbursed above this maximum.
  • HOTELS: The original hotel invoice documenting the payment is required; the hotel invoice must show a $0.00 balance due. Liquor, video rentals, room service, and other non-business-related expenses will be deducted from reimbursement.
  • MILEAGE: Mileage above what you would have driven to work can be reimbursed. Include a Google Maps (or similar) PDF of the route you took which clearly shows the start & end points and the total miles driven.
• Insufficient project funds or inadequate documentation and justification of miscellaneous reimbursement requests will result in non-payment.
• Exceptions to this policy may only be made by the designated authority or the Board of Directors.

LINKS TO RESOURCES

• Travel Reimbursement Form
• Per Diem Rates

Links & Downloads

• Acronyms & Definitions
• Delegation of Signature Authority