The policies and procedures on this page apply to Wharton undergraduate student organizations. Policy violations will be addressed through a student-group accountability process beginning with a conversation between organization leaders and Division staff. Failure to follow policies can result in freezing of Wharton Council and non-Wharton Council funds for 3 months to a full semester (excluding summer months). Information about the violations and resulting penalties will also be shared with Wharton Council and the Office of Student Affairs.
Purchases of $250 and under for student organizations can be made through reimbursement; however, tax will not be reimbursed if the vendor is on the PO system. This $250 limit is per event and not per invoice.
Students with out-of-pocket expenses that do not fall into the non-reimbursable categories below must submit expense reports for reimbursement through the Concur Travel & Expense Management (TEM) system within 5 business days of the transaction. Instructions can be found below. Please also note the following:
- If you have never submitted a reimbursement request, please contact ug-finance@wharton.upenn.edu to be added to the system. You will need to include your full name and Penn ID in the email request.
- To receive a payment through Concur, you will need an active United States bank account available for direct deposit. After the Expense function is added to your account, you can go to your profile Settings in the upper right-hand corner, then to Bank Information to complete the process. If you try to submit a reimbursement before your banking information is validated, you will receive an error message.
- Only current students may be reimbursed through Concur for purchases they have personally made. If a family member or other individual needs reimbursement for a payment made on a student’s behalf, they will need to be reimbursed via a non-PO payment method and will be subject to tax.
Please follow these instructions for submitting a Concur reimbursement request. When submitting a reimbursement through Concur you must include the following:
- Itemized receipt
- Proof of Event. For supply purchases, you will need an attendees list or event flyer. For meal purchases, you will need an attendees list.
- Proof of purchase such as an image of the card used with only your name and the last 4 digits of the card showing or a bank statement showing both your name and the expense may be used. (Note that the bank account or credit/debit card must be in the name of the person submitting the reimbursement request.)
The Undergraduate Division will reject reimbursements that are missing any of these requirements.
Non-Reimbursable Items
Non-reimbursable items include but are not limited to the following, please make sure to visit this site for a more complete list:
- Any expenses in amounts over $250 per event—Up to $250 of the submitted expense is reimbursable. Splitting charges to avoid this limit is not permitted, e.g., Paying for a $300 bill with two $150 credit card transactions.
- Meals that exceed these limits—above $25 (breakfast/lunch) and $45 (dinner) per person including tip, tax, and delivery.
- Flights (if booked outside of Concur)—Please use the travel tab in Concur to reserve air travel (instructions). You will need to select Frank De Francis as your travel approver (navigate to profile settings, travel preferences, company information).
- Retreats or social events beyond a 50-mile radius of campus—Only travel and expenses related to non-local events or treks that have a clearly delineated business purpose such as case competitions or company visits are permissible.
- Campus Copy—Please provide the code-192-directly to a Campus Copy representative. When picking up the order, Campus Copy will give you a yellow receipt; write the club name and your name on the receipt, take a picture, and send it to ug-finance@wharton.upenn.edu and copy aarobbin@wharton.upenn.edu and your treasurer.
- University Club—Please ask your assigned staff member for a local account form and the appropriate account number/card and for this vendor at least 3 business days in advance.
- Tax (Some tax is reimbursable, but Penn is tax-exempt in almost all cases. If a Concur reimbursement is done for a PO vendor, the tax will not be reimbursed. Tax on digital goods/services and on allowable dues/memberships is also not reimbursable.)
- Alcohol
- Gifts of any sort—Wharton- and Penn-branded items of less than $100 may be purchased from approved promotional-item PO vendors or the Penn Bookstore. Gift card purchases are never permitted.
- Honoraria for speakers or payments to independent contractors—Payments to individuals cannot be reimbursed through Concur. Please contact ug-finance@wharton.upenn.edu if you are planning an honoraria or a payment to an independent contractor. (Please see Independent Contractors section for more information).
- Deposit holds for future events—Wharton never provides vendors with deposits.
- AirBnB, HomeAway/VRBO, Flipkey rentals—Students should use the Concur travel tab to book hotel lodging.
- Vehicle rentals—Students are not permitted to drive for University business. Please use a PO transportation supplier.
- Purchases made by individuals who are not students, faculty or staff
Assigned Staff Members
| Student Group | Assigned Staff Member |
| Clubs | Ariel Robbins |
| Cohorts | |
| Lisa Podolsky | |
| JWS Society | Isabelle Glass |
| WAB | Jen Murphy |
| WEDIG | Teran Tadal |
| Wharton Ambassadors | Amanda Simpson and Sara Hoover |
| Wharton Council | Ariel Robbins |
| Wharton GUIDE | Ariel Robbins |
| Wharton Wellness | Lisa Podolsky |
Resources
Concur Travel & Expense Management System
Ben Helps Portal – Travel & Expense Management
Ben Helps Ticket – submit a ticket for help with the mechanics of creating a report/updating banking information or general how to. Help Line Concur Travel & Expense – 215-746-4357 Option 3; doftemsupp@pobox.upenn.edu