Account Expenditure Guidance
Pre-Expenditure Review – Travel
To ensure appropriate monitoring of awards, the UCF Office of Research is required to review certain categories of travel expenditures to confirm they are allowable on a specific Contracts & Grants (C&G) account. The following types of travel require prior approval:
- Domestic (Continental U.S.) travel exceeding $2,500 per trip, per person
- All international travel
A Spend Authorization must be created in Workday prior to the travel date, in accordance with Florida Statute §112.061. This is the university’s formal document for travel approval. The Spend Authorization and resulting Expense Report must reflect the same worktags for the sponsored research grant.
The travel requisition is routed to the Office of Research (OR) for approval. If sponsor approval is required, OR will consult the PI before contacting the sponsor. Having detailed travel information in the proposal budget can be helpful in such cases.
Travel will be approved by OR if either:
- The travel is allowable based on the terms of the award
- Sponsor/agency approval has been obtained
Unapproved travel expenditures or those restricted by the agency cannot be charged to the C&G account and will instead be charged to the PI’s indirect cost account, or to the department, college, or institute as needed.
OR’s review is solely to determine allowability per the award’s terms. Financial Affairs and the PI’s department remain responsible for ensuring that budgets are not overspent.
Fly America Act
The Fly America Act (41 CFR 301-10.131 through 301-10.143) mandates that all federally funded travel be booked on U.S. flag carriers (or under qualifying code-share agreements), unless specific exemptions apply.
International travelers on federal grants may qualify for exemptions but must obtain prior authorization. For eligibility criteria and instructions, refer to the Fly America Act Exception Form.
Export Control & International Travel
International travel with UCF-owned equipment may be subject to export control restrictions. For guidance, especially regarding the transport of computers or scientific devices, contact the Office of International Collaboration and Export Control (OICEC) at exportcontrol@ucf.edu.
Pre-Expenditure Review – Equipment
All equipment purchases must follow bid/quote thresholds as outlined in the UCF Purchasing Manual.
Federal Property Control System Analysis regulations require the Office of Research to review all C&G equipment purchases for allowability. Prior to making a purchase (via requisition, computer store, expense card, or PCard), the PI or designee must submit a requisition in Workday. The requisition routes to OR for approval.
If agency approval is required, OR will consult the PI before proceeding. Once approved, OR will upload the authorization email into HRS and ensure appropriate decal info is documented in Workday.
Decal Instructions
Approved equipment will receive the proper decal, based on the funding source:
- FS – Florida Solar
- CG – Contract and Grant
- CF – Central Florida
- BV – Brevard Campus
- DB – Daytona Beach Campus
- SO – South Orlando Campus
- US – U.S. Federal
This decal data must be included in the Workday record so Property and Inventory Control can apply the correct identifier. Requisitions missing this information will be returned to the PI or forwarded to OR for correction.
OR will make every effort to respond within one business day of receiving the PI’s request.
Note: Equipment purchases made within 90 days of the project end date require additional justification.
Personnel
Personnel policies for C&G-funded projects follow the same procedures used for departmental (E&G) funding. For full details, refer to UCF Human Resources.
Some projects may have export control requirements that restrict foreign national access, dissemination, or participation.