A chargeback is the allocation of costs whereby a department providing goods and/or services to another department charges-back the department receiving the goods/services. Chargebacks are away to control and allocate costs and not a mechanism for increasing the operating budget for departments providing goods and/or services.
Pursuant to University Guidebook Policy 3009. 02, guidelines for establishing and administering chargebacks are set forth below.
Guidelines:
- The establishment of new chargebacks and the renewal or modification of existing chargebacks shall be approved prior to implementation. Departments wishing to establish new chargebacks or renew/modify existing chargebacks should complete a chargeback worksheet, which requires the approval of the department chairperson or director, area executive director or dean, area division officer, and the Budget Office. Chargeback worksheets are available online.
Completed worksheets should be sent to the Budget Office no later than April 15th of the preceding fiscal year of when the chargeback is to become effective.
- A chargeback may be assessed when goods and/ or services are requested by the financial manager of the department receiving the goods and/or services. A chargeback also maybe assessed when essential services are provided, even for services not explicitly requested (i.e., Police security services for an event on campus).
- The department that is assessing a chargeback should verify the account to be charged with the signature authority of the budgetary unit being charged.
- Chargebacks should be assessed within 30 days of when the goods and/or services are provided.
- Chargebacks should reflect the direct cost of goods and/or services provided and which are not already budgeted in a non-charge back line. The department providing goods/services should be able to clearly demonstrate and document how the chargeback is calculated. Such documentation should be available upon request and may be requested by the department that is being charged.
- The financial manager of the budgetary unit being charged should approve or dispute the authorization for a chargeback within 2 weeks of the assessment. Disputes over chargebacks shall be handled by the Budget Office on a case by case basis.
- With the approval of the Vice President for Finance & Administration, a chargeback may be waived for goods and/or services that are of primary value to the university as a whole. In these circumstances, the goods and/or services would be budgeted in a specific department, or centrally, instead of allocated to the receiving budgetary unit.
- Questions concerning chargebacks may be directed to the Budget Office at extension 2489.
Budget Office – Chargeback Guidelines
Effective January 2011