Honorarium, Gift, Purchase Orders and Research Subject Payments Webinar Questions & Answers

Q: Do we pay honorarium through BearBuy?

A: Yes, honorariums are paid through the BearBuy Payment Request Form.

Q: What is the specific documentation needed for honorarium payments?

A: Please review the Requesting an Honorarium payment pages for specific details on required documentation.

Q: The SCM website says an individual can choose to assign or transfer their honoraria to another individual or entity, so we can submit payment to the entity, correct? 

A: No. The payment cannot be transferred or assigned to any other individual or entity. An individual must decline the payment before performing the activity and request that the payment be donated to a charity.

If you have an honorarium payment that was declined and you would like to honor the request to donate the funds to a charity, these payments must first be reviewed and approved by UCSF Government & Community Relations/Chancellor’s Office using the Supplemental Form for Donations & Charitable Contributions. Once you have that approval, use the BearBuy Payment Request Form to submit the payment to the charity. Choose the Activity Type Donation/Contribution on the Payment Request Form. Be sure to attach the fully approved Supplemental Form for Donations & Charitable Contributions to the Payment Request Form.

More information about the donation process can be found here.

Q: Can an individual decline an honorarium for themselves and request payment to her clinic that she owns instead?

A: No. An individual can decline an honorarium and only request that it be donated to a charity prior to performing the activity. It cannot be given to a business that is not a charity. Additionally, the person should not benefit from the funds when the payment is sent to a charity.

Q: How do you pay honorarium to speakers outside of USA (without social security number) is the honorarium taxed?

A: Foreign individuals that do not have a Social Security Number can be paid an honorarium. They would first need to register as a supplier. They may also be subject to taxes. More information on the requirements to pay foreign individuals can be found here.

Q: Are there certain forms needed if an honorarium is over a certain amount?

A: Honorarium payments of $2500 and up to $5000 must be approved by the Vice Provost – Academic Affairs. Review this form for information.

Q: What is the difference between participant incentive payments and honoraria?

A: Honoraria are for specific types of activity for an individual's special service or distinguished achievement where propriety precludes setting a fixed price. Activities are generally academic in nature and are typically a(n):

• Special lecture, a short series of such lectures, concert or other creative academic-related activities
• Short-term participation in a seminar or workshop as a guest speaker or panelist
• Speaking engagement
• Appraisal of a manuscript or article submitted to a professional publication

Q: One of my Principal Investigators (PIs) received an honorarium but it was paid in a restricted account and it's not allowed. How do I find out who paid the honorarium and the purpose? That information is not available to me in UCPath.

A: Supply Chain Management only pays honoraria to non-employees. Honoraria to employees are paid through Payroll.

Q: Can you please confirm the service level time for approval from AP on BearBuy Honoraria?

A: The service level depends on the volume of requests that are received. Also, at this time, Supply Chain Management Accounts Payable has limited staffing, so there may be extended payment processing times. To help facilitate payment, be sure that the payment has all the necessary documentation needed for the payment and it is policy compliant. Also, submit your request for payment as soon as the activity has been completed to allow for ample time to process the payment. If your payment does not meet the honoraria definition, please submit your request through the appropriate channel.

Q: Is the University considering working with reloadable debit cards for study participant incentives?

A: Yes. The campus has given feedback on this being a desired payment channel and we are exploring options in a University Request for Proposal (RFP).

Q: Are gifts to non-employees taxable?

A: Gifts can be taxable if they exceed $600 a year. However, please note the limits in G-42 policy. The policy limits are designed to prevent taxation of the gift.

You would want to avoid giving a gift that is taxable. Gifts are often given as a gesture of goodwill with a University business benefit. To maximize the benefit and goodwill, you would not want your recipient to have to pay taxes on the gift.

Q: Can you talk more about an appropriate “business purpose” for gifts to non-employees?

A: The gift must benefit the University, furthers a University business purpose, and is clearly necessary to the University’s fulfillment of its role as a good community citizen. The business reason for making the gift or the business benefit the University expects must be documented in writing.

Q: How would I understand all the necessary forms that are needed to submit a Purchase Order (PO) for amount-based POs or professional services PO?

A: Review Supply Chain Management’s Procurement 101 and Buying Goods and Services pages:

• Procurement 101
• Buying Goods and Services

Q: How do you access the Procurement 101 training? I was unable to find it at the Learning Center.

A: Procurement 101 training is located here on the Supply Chain Management website.

Q: Please describe the difference between the PO types for hiring someone for services.

A: The Supply Chain Management website has descriptions and information on purchasing different goods and services here.

Q: Are there any downsides to requesting a Procurement Card (P-Card)?

A: We encourage departments to consider using P-Cards for low-value/low-risk purchases as it can make these purchases easier for your department. There are not downsides to having a P-Card, but rather considerations and understanding its use. The P-Card does have a maximum amount that can be charged for any single purchase and there is a monthly credit limit. It should not be used for high-value and high-risk purchases (ex: controlled substances, independent consultants, etc.).

For more information, review the Supply Chain Management P-Card pages for more information (must be logged into MyAccess to view).

Q: How do you define "low value and low risk" for purchasing with P-Cards?

A: Review the Supply Chain Management P-Card pages for more information (must be logged into MyAccess to view).

Q: If a supplier doesn't accept POs or refuses to use Transcepta, what do you advise?

A: If a supplier sells goods or services, they should accept a purchase order. The reason for this is because a purchase order has UC terms and conditions that is shared with the supplier. The supplier agrees to the UC terms and conditions when accepting the purchase order and fulfilling the order. If there is an issue with your purchase, the UC terms and conditions can protect the University from risk or financial loss.

If you have a supplier that does not accept a purchase order, talk to the supplier and explain that UCSF does business using purchase orders to see if they will accept one. If they do not, consider using another supplier, in particular one of the contracted BearBuy catalog suppliers. These suppliers often have negotiated pricing and ordering is easy with catalogs. There are also existing agreements established with these suppliers.

If your supplier accepts a credit card and you are making a low-risk and low-value purchase, you may use a UCSF Procurement Card (P-Card) to make the purchase. Learn more about P-Cards at (login using MyAccess).

Q: Is there a possibility for us to review vendor invoices directly in Transcepta? Sometime they have questions and I cannot see what they see.

A: If the supplier submitted invoices through Transcepta and there are issues with the invoice in Transcepta, the invoices will not be sent to BearBuy. Transcepta will notify the supplier that there is an issue with the invoice. Suppliers should carefully note any notifications or error messages they see and take action to correct the issue.

If suppliers need assistance with an issue in Transcepta, they can contact Transcepta support at: [email protected], (888) 221-2026 Option 3, or 949-382-2842.

Campus departments can refer suppliers who are having trouble to Transcepta support. Additionally, if you or the supplier would like to request help from Supply Chain Management, you or the supplier can also request help from the Response Team:

• UCSF Faculty, Staff & Students (via MyAccess) 
• External Suppliers & Customers 

Q: When should we add a supplier in BearBuy versus referring supplier to the Transcepta registration process?

A: Suppliers need to register with UCSF to be a supplier. Instructions are available here.

Transcepta is a separate registration process. However, after a supplier registers to be a UCSF supplier, they are encouraged to then register for Transcepta here.

There are also reminders and instructions on the Supplier Information Form/Substitute W9 that suppliers use to register as a UCSF supplier, to sign up for Transcepta. Our UCSF POs also contain information that ask suppliers to register for Transcepta.

Q: How much faster are payments through Transcepta?

A: Transcepta helps to get supplier invoices into BearBuy faster than manually processing invoices. Transcepta invoices (if they do not have any issues or errors in Transcepta), are sent from Transcepta to BearBuy in one to two business days, which is much faster than manually processing an invoice. This helps to shorten the time to get invoices into BearBuy and help facilitate faster payment.

Q: We have summer interns that we need to pay for their work by an hourly rate. Usually they are from other institutions, but sometime they are from UC. What is the best way to go about paying these interns? PO or payroll?

A: Consult with UCSF Human Resources (HR) as they have a classification for student interns. These interns could be paid through Payroll. The BearBuy Payment Request Form also has an Activity Type for Summer Student Programs for student interns.

Q: If an invoice is incorrect and a correction needs to be made, is there a preference on how to handle this? Is a credit memo preferred over refusing the original invoice and having a new one issued?

A: You will want to communicate and coordinate with the suppler closely on discrepancies. If the invoice has already been paid, or it has been approved for payment, or the supplier would like you to pay the invoice first, then you would work with the supplier on a credit memo.

If your invoice is still pending your department’s approval, then you should closely coordinate with the supplier and agree on not paying the invoice. If the supplier agrees you do not need to pay the invoice, you can reject the invoice in BearBuy and have the supplier submit a new corrected invoice. Please note that if you reject an invoice in BearBuy, the supplier should use a new unique invoice number for the corrected invoice when submitting the invoice through Transcepta.