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 or less may be eligible for reimbursement. However, please note that most sales tax cannot be reimbursed. To avoid paying tax, consider using a Purchase Order (PO), which allows for tax-exempt purchasing.
Reimbursement Process:
- Please submit expense reports via Concur TEM within 5 business days of the transaction.
- First-time users: Email ug-finance@wharton.upenn.edu with your full name and Penn ID to be added to the system.
- You must have a U.S. bank account for direct deposit. Add your banking info under Settings > Bank Information in Concur.
- Only current students can be reimbursed for purchases made in their own name. Payments made by others must go through a non-PO method and may be taxed.
- Include the following with your submission:
- Business purpose (reason for the expense)
- Itemized receipt
- Showing “Paid” and listing what was purchased
- Proof of event
- For supplies: An attendees list or event flyer
- For meals: An attendees list
- Proof of purchase (e.g., card image or bank statement showing your name and last 4 digits)
Missing documentation will result in rejection of the reimbursement.
Meal Limits:
- $35 per person for breakfast/lunch
- $55 per person for dinner (tax and tip included)
Important Notes:
- New Policy (7/1/25): All Concur reports must be submitted within 60 days of when the actual purchase occurred. Anything submitted after the 60-day limit will be rejected unless the following applies:
- The expense occurred before the new policy went into effect
- Extended personal illness
- Death in the family
- Unanticipated extended leave of absence
- Travel outside the country for an extended period of time if documentation cannot be readily sent to the University
- This policy applies to all expenses, including digital subscriptions.
Important: Please remember that being unaware of the policy does not qualify as an exception.
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:
- Expenses Over $250: Only the first $250 of any submitted expense is reimbursable. Splitting charges to bypass this limit (e.g., using two $150 transactions for a $300 bill) is not allowed. This policy applies to both individual purchases and group events. For group meals where the entire bill exceeds $250, only $250 can be reimbursed and cannot be split across multiple cards to avoid the limit.
- Meals that exceed these limits—above $35 (breakfast/lunch) and $55 (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.
- 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 and giveaways 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 book lodging through a hotel.
- 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 | Isabelle Glass |
| Cohorts | |
| Lisa Podolsky | |
| JWS Society | Isabelle Glass |
| WAB | Isabelle Glass |
| 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