DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Business Office Staff
For Business Office Financial and Accounting Assistant contact information.

• iBuy: Northwestern’s online marketplace of preferred vendors. Requires the Finance, Facilities, and Research Administration Systems Express Access Form. Items purchased on iBuyNU are referred to as catalog requisitions. iBuy should be used before Chemistry Online Purchase System. When you are buying from a company whose catalog is not on iBuyNU, it is called a non-catalog requisition and you will use them Chemistry Online Purchase Request System.
• Chemistry Online Purchase Request System: Requires Chemistry online PO systems form. Chemistry’s internal system for placing orders with non-iBuy vendors when items needed cannot be found in iBuy. For any troubleshooting needs or questions, please contact Brandon Kendrick in the Chemistry Business Office.
• Request Cost Allocated Across Multiple Projects: This form will need to be submitted each time you are placing an order that is being allocated across multiple sponsored projects at the time the order is initiated.
• myHRlearn (University) Information and Training Guides on Northwestern Financial Systems.
• NUPortal: The dashboard used to access financial system applications.
• NUFinancials: Northwestern’s main financial management information system used for procurement, expenses, and payments.
• Northwestern Purchasing Resource Services (University Services): Information and guidelines on purchasing at Northwestern.

Purchasing

Business Office Contact: Chris Moores and respective Accounting Assistants Andre Phelpsor Olga Shvarts for selected research group.

Graduate students, Post-Docs, faculty, and staff will be given access to iBuyNU, Northwestern's online shopping catalog, should they need to purchase items for research or academic use. Please see the access form below.

All purchases are officially made by the Business Office staff. Students, staff, faculty, and post-docs can only request a purchase through iBuyNU or the Chemistry Online Purchase System and are not authorized to order directly from the company.

• Finance, Facilities, and Research Administration Systems Express Access Form (iBuy & Expense Reports)
• Introduction to iBuyNU Interface Reference
• Assigning a Cart for the First Time: Carts should be assigned to Accounting Assistant based on pdf of assigned research groups.
• Chemistry Online PO System Access Form (submit to respective Accounting Assistant )
  • Chemistry PO system problems should be directed to Chris Moores exclusively. Keep in mind it may be a problem the Business Office is already addressing.
  • Ordering: Orders are not faxed by our office, but rather they are automatically faxed by Purchasing upon approval of the order. After 24 HOURS, if you are concerned that the vendor has not received the fax, contact your respective Accounting Assistant to get your purchase order number. You can then call the vendor to check if they have received the order by referencing the purchase order number. If they have not received it, verify the vendor’s fax number and email your respective Accounting Assistant to let them know. Please keep in mind that large dollar orders may take longer than 24 hours as they require multiple levels of approval, some outside of this office.

  Payroll

  Business Office Contacts for Graduate Students, Visiting Scholars, Post Docs, and Staff: Chris Moores

  Business Office Contact for Temporary Employees and Work Study: Lynn Mandenberg

  • Time & Leave Entry:KronosJava | Non-Java (Human Resources)
  • Time & Leave Approval
  • Federal W-4 Submit directly to payroll.
  • Illinois W-4 Submit directly to payroll.
  • Tax Withholding Tables (Human Resources)
  • E-Verify/I-9 (Human Resources)
  • Personal Data Form (Human Resources)
  • Direct Deposit Application (Human Resources)
  • Work-Study Program (Financial Aid)

  Expense Reports

  Business Office Contacts: Lynn Mandenberg

  Employees of the university, i.e. anyone who is paid regularly by the university, are able to enter their own expense reports for reimbursement using the NUFinancials System. Please see the Business Office contacts above to get access to the NUFinancials System and for further details on how to enter expense reports.

  All receipts must be original and they must be itemized in order to be reimbursed. You should process your reimbursement within 30 days of travel, but definitely before 90 days have passed since your date of return. If you are missing proper receipts, processing a reimbursement more than 90 days from your last date of travel, or have any other policy exception, please fill out the appropriate form below explaining the reason why. Include this form in your expense report.

  • New Electronic Signature Process
  • 90 Day Justification Memo Form (WCAS)
  • Policy Exception Form

  Travel and Entertainment Policies

  Business Office Contacts: Chris Moores

  • Travel, Entertainment, & Courtesy Policy
  • Chicago & Evanston Hotel Discounts
  • Special NU Evanston Restaurant Fixed Price Menus

  Finance, Facilities, and Research Administration Systems Express Access Form

  For iBuy shopper access and Expense Entry access:

  Completing the form: Please print the Finance, Facilities, and Research Administration Systems Express Access Form. Complete the following sections on page one.

  • Applicant Information Section (Top of Page 1) – Date, NetID, Name, EMPLID (I.D.# on WildCARD), Title, NU Email, Department, Work Phone
  • NUFinancials – Data Entry and Inquiry Section (Page 1) – Check the box for Expense Entry and iBuyNU shopper
  • Required Signatures (Bottom of Page 1) – Sign and date on the applicant signature line.
  • Page 2 is not required for this access.

  PI signature is not required on this form. Once the form has been completed, return it to the Business Office. The form should be placed in the inbox outside of K136 (inside the Business Office suite). Business office will sign as the Department Head and forward the completed form to WCAS Administration and Financial Operations IT for processing. Once access has been granted, you will receive an email from foitsecurity@northwestern.edu with a summary of your access to the system. At that point, you are free to login to the NU Portal following the instructions for Logging into iBuy and change password provided under Purchasing.

  For other access requests:

  If you are trying to gain access other than expense entry and iBuyNU shopper, please follow the job aid link below for further instruction or contact the Business Office for further information

  Hiring Guide: Non-Student Temp-Hire, "Zero Years", and Interns

  Steps for Temp Hires: Student, Non-Student, Work Study, “Zero Year” & Interns

  For Student, Non-Student, Work Study and “Zero Year” Hires:

  This information should be sent to Lynn Mandenberg to begin the process of hiring approximately two months prior to arrival. New temps cannot be processed after the second week of August.

  • Last Name, First Name
  • Category (Student, Non-Student, Zero Year, Work Study)
  • PI
  • Timecard Approver
  • New Hire email attachments (Fed W4, IL W4, Personal Data Form, DCFS)
  • Rate (Minimum for Non-Student and Student Temp is $14.00/hr)
  • Funding chart string
  • Appointment start & end dates

  Step 1: Faculty Assistant will send an email to the potential employee, to request the required paperwork: Personal Data Form, DCFS, Federal W-4, Illinois W4, I-9 instructions for both Section 1 and Section 2, etc. If the potential employee doesn’t respond in a timely manner, the PA will follow up.

  Step 2: Background check
  After Lynn has processed the paperwork and HR has begun processing, the student will receive an email from HireRight and must initiate the background check within three business days before the link expires. The PA will not be cc’ed on this email, as the email is automated, but the PA should follow up at some point with the temp hire to emphasize they must be on the lookout for the email from HireRight, as the background check will need to clear before NetID is issued. HR takes 10 business days to process all temp employee submissions.

  Step 3: NetID
  Although the hire will be getting an automated email asking them to activate their NetID, the PA should also follow up to ensure this has been done (the NetID is key to completing final steps – for instance, setting up their direct deposit and completing the online RCR course, required for any student getting paid on a grant.)

  For “Zero Years” Hire:

  “Zero Years” are new graduate students who are going to be working the summer prior to becoming a full-time student. Their appointment cannot extend past the 31 st of August as they become a student as of the 1 st of September.

  The process is the same as above, but note the following stipulations:

  • The VISA for non-US citizens doesn’t allow them to work as a temp. Students with a work visa working in your lab for the summer quarter, they will need to register for summer classes and the PI will pay a full quarter of tuition.
  • The student must provide proof of insurance prior to working in the lab.
  • The hourly rate of pay is $23.08 per hour.
  • August 2nd will be the cut off for hiring an incoming graduate student as they begin their graduate student tenure on the 1 st of September.
  • No overtime is allowed on federal grants; do NOT allow them to work more than 40 hours per week. Overtime will be charged to the PI’s discretionary account.
  • The student will be funded from account code 60120 and if paid from a grant, you must confirm that 60120 is open on that grant.
  • Students cannot be hired through centers.
  • After the student has been hired, a “manager” will need to approve the timecards of the temp every two weeks. This doesn’t have to be the PI – a supervisor or lab mentor is sufficient. This bi-weekly approval can either be sent to Mary Lynn by the manager or, if set up beforehand and agreed upon by the PI, an approval email from the group assistant.

  The Departmental Assistant will coordinate the process of internship approvals with the business office. Note – interns may not work more than 20 hours per week. The following information for the potential intern should be sent to Alexis Foster:

  • Full name:
  • Email address:
  • Date of internship:

  The Departmental Assistant will gather the appropriate forms from the intern to initiate a background check (required) and submit for a NetID.

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  • Department of Chemistry
  • 2145 Sheridan Road
  • Evanston, IL 60208
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  • General Questions: NUChemistry@northwestern.edu