Catering
General
- Catering preapproval forms should be sent to the Finance Office 10 days prior to the event so that the funds can be verified, the expense identified as eligible and the request approved by Finance Office and the COO. This process can take up to 5 business days.
- Internal Requisitions forms (if they have to be sent to the finance office to assist with the purchase, as outlined under the catering section) must be sent/received by the Finance Office at least 2 days prior to the start of the event or to the date they must be received by the company.
What are the specific rules around catering or buying food?
a) Hosting expenses must be pre-approved before being incurred.
b) All expenses must follow the MUN Catering Policy.
c) Catering for official visitors will require approval via Visitor Approval Form.
d) Approval for all other hosting expenses will be determined based on the Schedule of Reimbursable Expenses.
I would like to have catering for an event, how do I get it approved?
Currently there is a restriction on ordering food/catering for events unless it is specifically allocated in your operating or research budget.
If catering is an allowable expenditure – what do I need to do?
Prior to ordering any food, you must complete a Pre-Approval catering form and submit it to Finance for approval. The pre-approval catering form can be found at the following link below:
When completing this form ensure:
- The form has to be signed by someone within your unit/division/discipline that has authority to approve this request. Usually this is a manager or chair.
- A copy of the agenda, brochure/ poster, as well as a list of the expected attendees is attached
- The completed form and associated backup should be dropped off at the Finance Office at least 10 days in advance of the start of the event
Note: The original will be kept at the Finance Office and a copy will be returned to the requesting department. A copy of this approval must be attached to every request for catering or food pertaining to that particular function.
Once I have my preapproval what do I do next or how do I go about ordering?
1. HSC Cafeteria (Morrison Healthcare)
• If ordering from the HSC Cafeteria (Morrison Healthcare) – you will need to prepare a MUN internal requisition. This can be located at the link below:
• When preparing this requisition, ensure that you provide the FOAPAL (use account code “76801”). Also include what you want ordered, the prices, the time and date of the event and where the goods are to be delivered. If there is not enough room on the requisition, you may attach an additional page as long as you clearly indicate that an additional page is attached
• Obtain signature of individual in your unit/division/discipline that has authority to approve this request. Usually this is a manager or chair.
• A copy of the pre-approval should also be attached to the internal requisition and both documents should be dropped off at the Finance Office. The Finance Office will have the internal requisition signed and returned to you so that you may bring it to the cafeteria.
Please note: The cafeteria requires that all orders be received at least 48 hours’ prior to catering to an event. Additionally, if you have to cancel an order, the cafeteria requires; 24 hours’ notice for drink orders and 48 hours’ notice for food orders. (To ensure you have your approved internal requisition back in time to send it to the vendor 2 days prior to the event, you such ensure that the internal requisition is sent to the finance office at least 4 days prior to the event.)
2. Outside Vendor
o If ordering from an outside vendor- you will need to prepare a MUN internal requisition. This can be located at the link below:
• When preparing this requisition, ensure that you provide the FOAPAL (use account code “76801”). Also include what you want ordered, the prices, the time and date of the event and where the goods are to be delivered. If there is not enough room on the requisition, you may attach an additional page as long as you clearly indicate that an additional page is attached
• Obtain signature of individual in your unit/division/discipline that has authority to approve this request. Usually this is a manager or chair.
o A copy of the pre-approval should also be attached to the internal requisition and both documents should be dropped off/emailed to the Purchasing clerk at medpurchasing@mun.ca in the Finance Office at least 2-3 days prior to the event or at least 2-3 days prior to the date which the company says it has to be received by so that the clerk can get the requisition approved and sent back, so that the unit may place the order in time for the event. To avoid any mistakes in the order, it is the unit’s responsibility to place the order and to tell the vendor that someone will be in touch to pay via pcard. To accomplish this, the unit should get a contact name when placing the order. The unit will then provide the purchasing clerk with all the supporting documents (preapproval and internal requisition), as well as the contact name and number and the clerk will contact the vendor and pay for the order. If the unit receives an invoice or any supporting documentation when the order arrives, they should also send this along to the purchasing clerk. Please note, while a delivery charge would be an acceptable expense as part of the order, tipping or gratuity is not an acceptable charge and will not be reimbursed.
3. Reimbursement to individual whom paid themselves
• If an individual paid for eligible items for the function and wish to be reimbursed for these expenses, they need to complete a MUN internal requisition which can be found at the link below,
- Catering-Hosting-Pre-Approval
• The completed internal requisition form along with a copy of the preapproval form and original receipts can be dropped off /emailed to the Finance Office to initiate payment. Please ensure that all documents have the necessary approval prior to dropping them off.
Once the event is completed how do I get the invoice paid?
- Please refer to section on paying an invoice.