Step 1:  REQUEST FOR SERVICES:

Before entering into an agreement with an individual for services, approval must be received. Follow these steps to obtain approval:

1)                   Department completes Request for Services of Independent Contractor/Consultant form and Employee/Independent Contractor Checklist.  Be specific and thorough in drafting the attachment (detailed description of work to be performed) requested in item 3 on the Request for Services form.  Be sure to include dates and location of work.

PLEASE NOTE:  If the individual is not a U.S. citizen, additional documents must be submitted before payment can be made.  The purpose of these documents is to determine whether the individual is eligible to work in the United States and if so, whether the University is required to withhold tax on any payment made.  Contact Accounting/Fiscal Services for a list of documents required.  Once the non-citizen’s work eligibility and tax status has been determined, it is likely that (s)he will have to complete additional documents required by the IRS. 

2)                   Forward this information for division approval.

3)                   After division office approval, these documents are forwarded to Accounting/Fiscal Services.  The information on these documents is reviewed jointly by Accounting and Human Resource Services to verify that the criteria for an independent contractor/consultant is satisfied.

•        If the request meets the criteria, Accounting/Fiscal Services will forward these documents to the Provost’s Office for non grant funded  and Vice Provost for Research for grant funded  to conduct a review and approve for the University.

•        If the request does not meet the criteria, these documents will be returned to the department with the recommendation that the appropriate hiring process be initiated.

4)                   If approved by the Provost’s Office/Vice Provost-Research, the request is returned to the department.

Step 2:  PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACT :

1)                   After receipt of approved Request for Services and Checklist, the department completes the Personal Services Contact and submits this document to the independent contractor/consultant for signature.  If the contractor is also employed at the University in another capacity, an Independent Contractor/Consultant Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form must also be forwarded for completion to the contractor/consultant at this time.

The following items of the Personal Services Contract must be completed: 

DOLLAR AMOUNT (see item 2, total),

COMMENCEMENT DATE (beginning date of contract),

COMPLETION DATE (ending date of contract),

PROJECT TITLE (or brief description of work to be performed),

THIS AGREEMENT paragraph should be completed with the date contract is submitted for signature, and the Consultant/Contractor’s name.

Item 1) Attachment A  - Provide a copy of the detailed description of work specifications prepared in response to item 3 on the Request for Services form.

Item 2)  - Provide detail about the contracted amount.  Also provide specific payment terms (e.g. “contractor will submit invoice when payment is to be made”,  or “Contractor to be paid in lump sum at end of contract period”, “Contractor is to be paid half at beginning of the contract period and half at the end”, “Contractor to be paid in installments, at three month intervals with the first payment scheduled for September 1, 2000”).

2)                   Upon receipt of the original signed contract with attachments from the contractor, the department forwards these documents to the Provost’s Office for review and approval.  If approved, the Provost’s Office will forward the contract to the department.

Step 3:  PAYMENT VOUCHER PREPARATION:

1)                   The contractor should submit an invoice for the work performed.  After completion of the work performed by the independent contractor/consultant, the department should prepare and print an on-line non-purchase order voucher, obtain the required signature(s) and attach a copy of the approved Personal Services Contract, Request for Services of Independent Contractor/Consultant and the Employee/Independent Contractor Checklist to the voucher.

2)                   These documents should then be forwarded to the Accounting/Fiscal Services department for payment.  Please note:  If a contractor is being paid in more than one installment, these documents must be submitted with the non-purchase order voucher each time payment is requested.

3)                   The original copies of the Personal Services Contract and Request for Services should be retained in the Department’s files.