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Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service

How to Complete Reimbursement

Students who purchase items on behalf of their organizations may be reimbursed for their purchase if their group has funding available in its account.  Below are a few resources to help with the reimbursement process.  Each student will be responsible for completing their expense report in SkyVU (Oracle).  Instructions on completing an expense report can be found below.

Before You Begin/Things To Remember

If you have questions about submitting a reimbursement request in Oracle, you can visit office hours in Sarratt 207 for in-person guidance. Office hours are held during the academic year on Wednesdays from 8:00am-4:00pm. Detailed information about completing a reimbursement can also be found Below.

Students Seeking Expense Reimbursement

Reimbursement approval from the coach of the organization needs to be attached to each expense.  NOTE: Approval should be requested prior to the purchase.  Itemization is not necessary unless there is a co-sponsorship involved.  Each expense should be its own expense item.  Attach itemized receipts for each expense.  There can be no reimbursement without a receipt.

The COA String should reflect: 300.10.30500.xxxx.071.000.000.0.0  NOTE: The xxxx is a place holder for the account number generated by the system when an expense category is chosen.   Please use the expense categories, for example:  Catering, Food and Non-alcoholic beverages or Parts and Supplies.

Additional information to input:  NOTE: Use the Search function for each of these steps.

  • Project Number: SO_280200
  • Task number: Unique to each organization
  • Expenditure Organization: 30500 – Student Organizations, Leadership and Service

To avoid loosing the data that has been input:  Remember to save each expense as it is completed.  This guarantees your changes for that expense will be saved.

After all expenses are entered and saved SAVE The REPORT before closing or submitting it.  This will guarantee the expenses you entered will be accurately saved.

Instructions on Completing The Reimbursement Report In Oracle Cloud

As the student submits their expense reimbursement report online in Oracle Cloud, the student will be required to upload receipts (and flyer and attendance data).  They should prepare the receipts and documents for upload by having them accessible on their computers, so they can easily browse and select the documents.  Please note these important facts about receipts that will prevent your report from being rejected and sent back to you:

  • Receipts must have proof of payment shown by the vendor. This is usually the last four digits of your payment card.  If the proof of payment is not on the receipt, your reimbursement will be rejected.  Another document you can provide for proof of payment if needed, in addition to the receipt, is a print-out of your bank statement that shows your account’s last four digits and the relevant charge (you can cover up the other numbers).
  • Receipts should not have sales tax. Vanderbilt is tax exempt.  The Dean of Students’ Office and all administrative offices on campus can provide students with a copy of the Vanderbilt tax exempt certificate to provide to vendors so that sales tax will not be charged.
  • Receipts must be legible and itemized. If the receipt is not itemized, contact the vendor and request an itemized receipt.  If you are unable to provide an itemized receipt, note in comments on the report why you could not do so
  • Alcohol purchases approved by an advisor for professional/graduate students should follow the policy of Student Organizations.

In addition to uploading the receipt(s), the student will also need to upload an event flyer from Anchor Link (if not available, then an official email about the event) and attendance information (this can be a print-out of the Anchor Link roster).  In the description field of the expense report, the student should note the organization’s name and the name, date and location of the event.  Once your receipts and other necessary documents are ready for upload, follow these instructions to submit the report:

  • Log in at Oracle Cloud using link and instructions at top. Note that your log in provides your name and direct deposit data to the Payment Processing Department.  Your reimbursement will be a direct deposit.  If you are a student employee, your Student Employment payroll direct deposit will be used for the reimbursement.  If you have never been a student employee, you must first set up a direct deposit:

Please click here to check out the brand new demo video showing the Manage Bank Accounts feature of the Expenses module – it is available on the SkyVU Instagram account.

  • Go to the navigator in the top left corner (three parallel lines), and under ABOUT ME, click “Expenses”.
  • Click on the + sign at the top to open an expense screen. Enter the date that the purchase was made (this must match receipt).
  • Choose “VU General Expenses” in the template field.
  • In the expense type field, choose the expense type that best fits the purchase. Choose the appropriate travel type for travel related expenses.
  • Choose Nashville, TN in the location field (unless submitting reimbursement for a travel report and then choose the destination city)
  • Enter the dollar amount of the request (you will create one expense item per receipt).
  • In the field for “number of days”, keep that as number 1 (unless it is a travel report and you are submitting a hotel bill where you stayed more than one night and if so, you would enter the relevant number for the hotel nights you stayed).
  • Other fields for “amount” will auto-populate based on your entries above. If you have a hotel bill for more than one night, you will need to itemize the hotel bill.
  • In the description field, enter any additional comments needed to clarify or justify your purchase. You should note here the organization’s name and event name, location and date.
  • Enter the vendor’s name in the Merchant field.
  • At the top right side, click the + sign to upload attachments as outlined above (receipts, event flyer, and attendance record).
  • On the right side of the screen, a “chart of accounts (COA) string” will be auto populated. The student will need to verify and update the COA string for accuracy.  Click on the blue icon to open up the COA box, and make sure it has the following data in it (use either the student organization COA or the Greek student organization COA as appropriate.)

Student Organization Chart of Account (COA) String

  • Entity: 300
  • NetAssetClass: 10
  • FinancialUnit: 30500
  • Account: This will auto populate from the prior type of expense that you chose.
  • Program: 071
  • Activity: 000
  • The fields for Inter-entity, Future 1 or Future 2 will auto-populate with zeroes.
  • Project number: SO_280200
  • Task number: This is the five or six digit Anchor Link number for the student organization. You can search by typing part of your organization name in the “description field” and then selecting the appropriate student organization.  Student Organizations can also provide the number.

GREEK Student Organization Chart of Account (COA) String

  • Entity: 300
  • NetAssetClass: 10
  • FinancialUnit: 30400
  • Account: This will auto populate from the prior type of expense that you chose.
  • Program: 061
  • Activity: 000
  • The fields for Inter-entity, Future 1 or Future 2 will auto-populate with zeroes.
  • Project number: SO_280201
  • Task number: This is the five or six digit Anchor Link number for the student organization. You can search by typing part of your organization name in the “description field” and then selecting the appropriate student organization.  Student Organizations can also provide the number.
  • Click “Save and Close” at top of report.
  • You will be redirected to a different page, select the transaction, and click “Add to Report”. You will need to include a “Purpose” (or description).
  • Go back to the top of the report and agree to the expense policies and click “Save” then “Submit”.

Your submitted report will route to the designated financial unit manager for approval.  If there are any questions or problems with your submission, that manager will contact you.

What If I Do Not See The Expense Tab In My Account?

Share Data Access in Oracle to initiate the Student Expense Only role.

  • Please log in to Oracle here: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/skyvu/ You’ll use your VUNet ID and password. Click on the, “Me” tab, then, on the “Show More” option at the bottom. Select, “Share Data Access“.
  • Click on the widget on the right side of the screen that looks like this or similar:
  • Search for Share my data access, which will lead you through the process of how to share your information.
  • In the upper right corner of the white box drag your mouse pointer over +Add box. It should turn gray.  Then click on it. A dialogue box should open. In the Search Box search for Mark Leners. Please provide US citizenship status (Yes or No),  your address, and the earliest expense date in the notes box. Then click the submit button.