All requests are entered through the SAFE system on the SA website. Only a club's listed President and Treasurer are able to access SAFE.

See pages 7-9 of the SA Finance Handbook.

SA is except from NY sales tax. A tax exempt form contains our tax payer ID and verifies to a vendor that we are tax exempt. Tax exempt forms are specific to each vendor and will be sent to a vendor directly upon a club's request. Additionally, tax exempt forms explicitly state that they are only applicable when SA is the direct purchaser.

A PO is an approved request for funds. After you put in a funds request on SAFE, and provide all necessary supporting documentation, your request will be reviewed by SA Officers and the University’s designee. Once a request gets all the required approvals, a PO will be issued with a corresponding PO number.

SAFE only sends an automatic message when updating the information, or sending a message, not when you upload new documents. If you upload new documents after your initial submission, send a message in SAFE so we are notified. If it's been a few days and your PO hasn't been updated, please put a message into SAFE. SAFE allows all finance staff to see and answer your message, emailing finance staff members about your PO will always be slower than using SAFE.

A vendor that has an established relationship with SA and its clubs. They are familiar with the PO process, and we know that they accept PO’s. Payment requests for these vendors are processed more quickly. A drop-down list of preferred vendors can be found on SAFE.

New vendor accounts are set up by our fiscal agent, not by SA finance staff. Additionally, new vendor accounts have to be set up before SA can process any requests for that vendor. That additional step takes a few business days and will significantly slow down the turnaround time on your request. Vendors already set up can be processed as soon as SA has all required supporting documents so they will be processed significantly faster. It is extremely recommended to use a vendor we already have.

You will provide the PO number (visible via SAFE) to the vendor. Alternatively, the vendor may request a printed copy of the PO, which you can request from the SA office (350 SU).

After the vendor provides the service, you MUST acquire an itemized receipt /invoice from them. These must then be submitted to the SA office no less than 30 days after the service is provided, the sooner the better. SA needs to receive and upload the original receipt/invoice before we can print the check to pay your vendor. Any documentation uploaded to SAFE is done prior to the purchase and is only considered as a quote, a final original receipt or invoice is required to be submitted for every transaction.

Advance checks are an alternate form of purchase order. With standard POs, payment is provided to the vendor after the service is provided, advance checks are printed prior to the service and provided to the vendor at the time of service. Only certain types of purchase are eligible for advanced checks. Similar to a PO, you must acquire a “paid in full” invoice from the vendor and submit it to SA. For more information, see page 10 of the Finance Handbook.

Reimbursements are only processed in cases where a PO is not practical. For example, if a vendor will not accept POs, or your club goes on a trip and your member pays for gas, a reimbursement will need to be processed. Note that the reimbursement request must be processed and approved PRIOR to the purchase, following the same timeline as a PO. Reimbursements are not a way to avoid going through SAFE to get paid after your event. Reimbursements must use a check or card payment; we will not reimburse any payments made in cash or any other form of payment.

No, under no circumstances can cash payments be reimbursed.

You need an approved PO request in SAFE prior to the date of your purchase. If the reimbursement is for a club member paying for goods/services, the student must provide a receipt, as well as a bank statement. The bank statement must include the last 4 digits of the card used to make the purchase, and must match the card number on the receipt, and the charge must match the amount on the receipt. If you incur charges over the amount approved in SAFE, you will not be reimbursed for the difference.

Any time you want to spend money.

You need a food permit from EH&S any time your club is providing food that is not commercially packaged.

If the food is commercially packaged or served by at certified establishment such as a restaurant or catering venue. More details can be found on the Environment Health & Safety website.

Yes, but the winners must come pick up their prize and fill out two forms in the SA office after the event. The club officers must email sa-treas@buffalo.edu with the winners name and prizes prior to the winners being able to collect the prize. While you are more than welcome to give out award certificates, SA finance staff will only hand out prizes to the person indicated on the list emailed.

Yes, clubs may award gift cards of up to $75 dollars for non-ticketed events and $150 for ticketed events.

SA processes club requests for transportation and lodging.  There are request forms on the SA website for flights, car rentals, bus rentals, and hotels. The relevant form must be completed in addition to a funds request on SAFE. Please email ubsa@buffalo.edu before requesting flights or out-of-area vehicles.

SA has multiple vehicles owned by SA available to clubs. SA also rents an Enterprise fleet with a local location that is also available for clubs to use at no cost. While SA will book vehicles at other Enterprise locations, they are not included in our fleet agreement and will be billed to the club.

Yes, your club can request a reimbursement through SAFE prior to the trip. The request must be approved prior to the trip.

SA has an account with Red Roof Inn. They accept POs, making the request process quicker, and preventing your club from losing money if a cancellation happens.  Many other hotels won’t take POs; we cannot approve requests for such a request. When submitting a SAFE request for Red Roof Inn, you must also submit a Red Roof Inn request form via the SA website.

In addition to a SAFE request, you must submit a contract review form via the SA website.

If the organization is unwilling to accept a PO, SA will provide an advance check, although there are extra steps associated with this. SA will need to see a request for an advance from the organization. Once this is received and a SAFE request is approved and PO Ready, a check will be mailed directly to the organization. After this, the club will need to provide SA a paid-in-full invoice from the organization. If this invoice is not received, your club’s budget may be frozen.

No, they must be paid with a PO. They will get a check in the mail after the service is provided.

Submit a club fundraising request form (under contract review form on the SA forms site); SA will fill out the online form for the club and send all communications to the requester.

We can do several different fundraisers. For example: Chipotle/Blaze fundraisers, merchandise sales, bake sales, volunteering at SA events, and more. If your club has an idea for a new fundraiser, reach out to the SA Treasurer via email.

No, under no circumstances can your club budget be used to pay for alcohol. See page 16 of the Finance Handbook for any other unacceptable expenditures.

Custom Ink and Al Ross  are preferred vendors, but your club may use other reasonably priced vendors. All merchandise purchased through SA must have the SA logo visible. If you use any university marks or logos, the design must be approved by the UB Trademarks and Licensing office. They can be contacted at UBTrademark@buffalo.edu. If the merchandise is intended for personal use, e.g. sweaters that club members will keep, a merchandise sale must be set up through the Ticket Office, and students can purchase the merchandise through the Ticket Office.

Submit a SAFE request as you normally would. Be sure to include a screenshot of your Amazon cart with accurate item quantities. Once the request is approved, the Finance department will order the items and contact your club once all items are arrived and ready to be picked up. Please allow at least 5 extra business days when submitting an Amazon request.