See How do I request a new research fund? for the information on setting up a new research fund. Once a fund has been authorized by the appropriate Specialist, Financial Operations will create the fund and send you email notification with the new fund number. 

Using research funding typically involves hiring research personnel, purchasing goods and/or services, and arranging travel for data collection and/or research dissemination. For more information on these activities, see the links below, or contact your Post-Award Research Specialists, Bethany Penn and Ronda Appell, for guidance.  

How do I hire a research employee? 

Procurement services 

What do I need to know before I travel for university business? 

Contact the designated Specialist for assistance with extending a research fund.  

A new Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration came into effect in April 2020. The Tri-Agencies have shifted away from lists of eligible expenses to a more flexible approach in which all expenses must adhere to the principles and directives outlined in the new guide, as well as any program-specific guidelines. The four principles that govern the appropriate use of Tri-Agency grant funds are:

• Grant expenditures must contribute toward the direct costs of the research/activities for which the funds were awarded and the benefits should be directly attributable to the grant.
• Grant expenditures must not be provided by the administering institution to their research personnel.
• Grant expenditures must be effective and economical.
• Grant expenditures must not result in personal gain for members of the grant team.

Invoices payable to individuals (independent contractors) can be sent to asg.payroll@usask.ca along with the fund number(s) to be charged and they will submit for payment. Alternatively, the invoice can be submitted directly to ConnectionPoint for processing via the Service Income Requisition e-form. Social insurance number, date of birth and a direct deposit form (or a wire transfer form for foreign currencies) is required for first-time payees.  

Invoices payable to companies can be sent to asg.finance@usask.ca along with the fund number(s) to be charged and they will submit for payment. Alternatively, the invoice can be submitted directly to ConnectionPoint for processing using the Pay a Company e-form.  

University faculty and staff can request reimbursement by creating an expense report in Concur or by submitting their receipts to ConnectionPoint via the Request a Reimbursement e-form. For more information see How can I submit for a personal reimbursement? 

Reimbursement for guests must be requested by a delegate (USask faculty or staff member). The request may be submitted via Concur (if the guest has a Guest Profile with an assigned delegate) or via the Request a Reimbursement e-form.  

For reimbursement involving out-of-province travel, one of the following must be included with the reimbursement request: a signed Authority to Travel form or an approved Concur Travel Request (4-letter travel code).  

See page 2 of the resource How to Engage a Cultural Service Provider for the information that is required for payment. This information may be sent to asg.payroll@usask.ca and they will submit the payment request, or the request can be submitted directly to ConnectionPoint via the Request a Cultural Service Provider e-form.  Payment can be issued by cheque or by direct deposit, at the recipient’s choice. If direct deposit is desired and they are a first-time recipient, a direct deposit form is required. 

Information required to pay an honorarium may be sent to asg.payroll@usask.ca or submitted directly to ConnectionPoint via the Honorarium e-form.  This includes payee name, address,  phone number, name and date of event, honorarium amount an fund number(s) to charge. The recipient’s social insurance number, date of birth and direct deposit form (or wire transfer form for foreign currencies) is also required for first-time payees.  

Most goods and services (provided by companies) up to $10,000 may be paid by PCard, with the following exceptions: 

• Some types of expenses require pre-approval, regardless of amount. See the list here.
• Some types of expenses are not allowed on a PCard at all. See the list here.

Services payable to individuals cannot be paid using PCard. Instead follow the process for paying a service provider. For general information about PCards, refer to PCard Usage and Guidelines. 

General steps for hiring research personnel include:

1. determining the category of hire (e.g. PSAC, non-union) and the research group (e.g. professional, technical, administrative);
2. advertising the position (not required in some cases);
3. interviewing and/or selecting the preferred candidate;
4. preparing a letter of offer; and
5. setting up payroll.

For more information, see How do I hire a Research employee?

For assistance with preparing a letter of offer once the category of hire has been confirmed and a candidate selected, contact asg.payroll@usask.ca or submit the appropriate e-form to ConnectionPoint. For research, it will most often be the e-form for Non-Union, Research, Research Associates or the e-form for PSAC – Graduate students.

Always check the preferred suppliers list and the Indigenous suppliers list to see if there is an identified vendor for the good or service you require. 

For goods up to $10,000 provided by external suppliers, PCard is the preferred method of payment. Contact your department coordinator if you do not have your own PCard. If the supplier does not accept PCard, submit a Purchase Request. 

For services up to $10,000 a contract or written agreement is required. Use the Agreement for Service template or submit a Purchase Request for assistance.  

Contracts are required for all goods and services over $10,000. Submit a Purchase Request for assistance. Note that multiple quotes and/or competitive bidding may be required. 

For more information, see Procurement Services.  

Invoices payable to independent contractors/service providers can be forwarded to asg.payroll@usask.ca along with the fund number(s) to charge and they will submit for payment. Alternatively, you can submit the invoice to ConnectionPoint directly via the Service Income Requisition e-form. Social insurance number, date of birth and a direct deposit form (or a wire transfer form for foreign currencies) is required for first-time payees.  

A list of all your active research funds and their respective balances can be found in PAWS under “My Research Funds”. If you do not see that option on the left-side menu when you are logged into PAWS, enter “research” into the search bar at the top of PAWS and hit enter. Once you have located My Research Funds, click the button next to it to add it to your Favourites.  

You will also receive a monthly emailed report of your active research funds and balances. For more information on viewing and understanding research balances see How do I view and read and research activity report? 

Moving expenses between research funds requires a journal voucher (JV). For assistance with this, contact asg.finance@usask.ca or submit a ticket to ConnectionPoint via the Correct a Transaction e-form. 

Once a research project is complete and all eligible expenses have been processed, fund closure can be requested by contacting research.accounting@usask.ca or the designated Specialist.