Contact: msepay@uw.edu
Table of Contents
What Driver Worktag to Charge
Any type of purchase or reimbursement will require a driver worktag to process. Consult the chart below for the person to contact.
- Faculty advisers will assign research driver worktags to graduate students and undergraduate advisees working in their labs under their direction and may submit a purchase request under the faculty’s delegated authority.
- Students who have submitted an AMP Project Agreement Form or an SRP Agreement Form should consult with their faculty adviser about obtaining a driver worktag to purchase materials and supplies needed to support their research projects.
- Teaching assistants, working with the faculty and the technician in charge of each lab, will obtain supplies for use in specific courses. They may submit under the MSE Department’s delegated authority. These orders will be approved by MSE Staff and the administrator.
Purchase/Payment Request
Effective June 20, 2025: Purchases and payments are handled by the College of Engineering Shared Environment.
Purchases
To request a purchase be made, fill out the Purchase Request Form. If you have more than 10 items for a single supplier, you may attach the ESE Order Form for your convenience.
Catalog Suppliers: A list of catalog suppliers can be found on the Catalog Purchases website.
Capital Assets: If you think your purchase request qualifies as a capital asset, you must indicate that in the Additional Comments field on the Purchase Request Form. More information about capital assets can be found on the Capital Equipment webpage. Capital assets do not include depletable resources such as minerals or timber.
M&E Tax Exemption: If your purchase qualifies for M&E tax exemption, you must choose “Yes” in response to the “Is this a Machinery & Equipment (M&E) Purchase” question on the Purchase Request Form. In general, to qualify for the M&E tax exemption, equipment must have a useful life of greater than one year, be used more than 50% annually on qualifying research, and have an acquisition cost of $200 or more. More information about the M&E tax exemption can be found on the M&E Sales Tax Exemption webpage.
Sole Source: A sole source justification is required for every purchase over the Direct Buy Limit ($10,000 including shipping and handling but excluding tax) unless the purchase is being made from an existing contract, the supplier is specifically named in the funding source award documents, or the purchase is being competitively solicited. More information can be found on the Sole Source Justification webpage. If you purchase needs a sole source justification you must fill out and submit the Sole Source Justification Form, download the PDF generated on the confirmation screen, and attach the PDF to the purchase request form.
Invoice payment
To request to pay an invoice, submit a General Finance Help Request ticket. Please include approval from the PI or department staff (if departmental fund) to pay and the worktag(s) to be charged.
Additional information
-
All students, postdocs, and staff must upload a PDF of approval from their PI or department approver (in case of non-faculty fund) when submitting a request for purchasing or invoice payment. The permission must state the funding worktag(s) and item(s) or service(s) for which approval is being given.
-
If requesting a purchase or invoice payment from a grant fund, in addition to stating the business purpose of the item(s) or service(s), you must include an explanation of how the item(s) or service(s) benefits the grant project being charged. Examples of reasonably detailed responses include: “Equipment for fabricating custom parts needed for experiments” OR “To improve Li metal battery performance.” An example of an unacceptable response is “Item for grant research.”
-
Payment for services provided (such as through an independent contractor or consultant) are not reimbursable. Instead, you will need to submit an invoice for payment directly to the contractor or consultant using the Invoice Payment process above.
Assistance
Training Video for Purchasing: 2025-6-18--Purchasing Training.mp4
After watching the video, if you have questions about purchasing or about filling out the necessary forms, please submit a General Finance Help Request ticket.
Purchase Reimbursements
Effective January 11, 2024: Purchase reimbursements are handled by the College of Engineering Shared Environment. If you are a UW employee (anyone with an appointment in Workday), fill out this form to submit your purchase reimbursement request. If you are a UW student who is NOT employed by the University, fill out this form to submit your purchase reimbursement request. By submitting this form, you confirm you have not previously been reimbursed for any of these costs from any source.
Note: On the form, please make sure that “College of Engineering Shared Environment” shows in the Shared Environment box. If it does not, please choose to route it to the College of Engineering Shared Environment. If you have any questions, please write to the MSE Administrator at lanip@uw.edu.
Travel Reimbursement
Effective January 11, 2024: Travel reimbursements are handled by the College of Engineering Shared Environment. If you are a UW employee (anyone with an appointment in Workday), fill out this form to submit your travel reimbursement request. If you are a UW student who is NOT employed by the University, fill out this form to submit your travel reimbursement request. By submitting this form, you confirm you have not previously been reimbursed for any of these costs from any source.
Note: On the form, please make sure that “College of Engineering Shared Environment” shows in the Shared Environment box. If it does not, please choose to route it to the College of Engineering Shared Environment. If you have any questions, please write to the MSE Administrator at lanip@uw.edu.
Please submit the preapproval and receipts for a travel reimbursement. Please note that all requests must be accompanied by preapproval. All travel must follow UW travel policies. Your grant and contract sponsors may have more rigid regulations, and they supersede the UW policy.
Meals Per Diem: If you are requesting meals per diem and do not know the rate, put 1.00 in the Total Meals Per Diem box. Then, in the Additional Comments box, state you do not know the correct per diem rate and list the days and meals (breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner) for which you would like to claim a meal per diem. The Shared Environment will calculate the appropriate meal per diem amount when they enter the expenses into Workday, based on your location of travel and the days and meals for which you are requesting a meal per diem.
If you are splitting the reimbursement costs between two separate reimbursements, include a note in the Additional Details section about which costs should be reimbursed now and which were reimbursed earlier or will be reimbursed later.