Creating a spending plan

All programs are now required to submit a spending plan to the Study Abroad office via this tool.

Important Things to Consider When Creating a Spending Plan

Developing a program budget is an important first step in planning a faculty-led study abroad program. When creating your budget, keep the following things in mind.

Keep Costs Down	All costs associated with faculty-led programs are covered聽by student program fees, and hence are ultimately borne by students. We want to keep costs down to make these programs as affordable and accessible as possible to students. Less expensive choices are often more culturally appropriate. Keep this in mind!
Student Numbers	Your proposal budget should be written for a set number of students that can feasibly be聽recruited and supported All program costs must be covered using this number of students If you select聽fewer or more students, this spending plan may聽incur a deficit or surplus See the Surplus or deficit policy to learn聽how money carries over from one program to the next
Exchange Rates	Exchange rates constantly change; Protect your budget by budgeting a bit more than you expect to pay
Research Prices	Research and get actual prices from vendors in your program location, using local currency whenever possible
Economic Conditions	Ensure that political and economic conditions will not present barriers to the success of your program. Make sure you will be able to make advance payments and withdraw cash in country
Program Staff	Budget for yourself and extra staff where appropriate
Allowable/Unallowable Expenses	Know what program funds can and cannot be used to purchase Program funds CANNOT be used to pay for alcohol, gifts, or donations. Avoid purchasing durable goods that will have聽a life after the end of the program. These become property of the program and will be stored by 91探花Study Abroad. Know and abide by the .

Before using the Spending Plan Tool, identify all expenses you will have during the course of your program. It may be helpful to draw up an itinerary with all your activities and their associated costs to make sure you are accounting for all expenses. Here is an that subtotals your expenses by category, which will help you to fill out your spending plan (note that this step is optional).

It is important to be aware of the financial restrictions of the country(ies) you are visiting. Many countries will have cash withdrawal limitations and their own set of rules when it comes to payments and the movement of funds.

We highly encourage you to research these restrictions so that when you are in country, you are equipped to mitigate many of these problems. If your program will need a large cash amount, this may be a stress during your program. It is best to plan early and consider how to either have SAFA pay your vendors in advance or create an action plan while you are in the country.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

Do vendors in your location accept credit cards without chips?
Are there severe ATM withdrawal limitations? What is the maximum amount that can be withdrawn daily?
Are there high fees for using ATM machines? Are there ATMs at certain locations or banks that charge lower or no fees?
Can you pay some of your vendors with U.S. dollars withdrawn in the U.S. before you leave?

RESOURCES

The , available through 91探花Libraries, provides country-level information and analysis.

It鈥檚 very important to speak with your vendors ahead of time about payment terms to make sure their expectations are reasonable and that we are able to meet them. Any payments made to program vendors must comply with . Contact the Study Abroad F&A team with any questions about payment terms or methods.

General Policies
For most study abroad expenses, the 91探花policy allows up to a 50% deposit to be paid to the vendor before the program, with the remaining amount ideally being paid after services are rendered.

We will consider making exceptions on a case by case basis, but it鈥檚 in your program鈥檚 interest to not pay in full before your program in case of student withdrawals or unsatisfactory delivery of goods/services.

Available Payment Methods
Make sure to talk to your vendors about what kinds of payments they accept. See below for the different payment methods available and their turnaround times.

Payment methods	Payer	Description/turnaround time
Direct credit card (CTA or Procard)	Study Abroad F&A	Preferred method, takes 1-3 days for vendor to receive.
Wire payment (for existing vendors)	Study Abroad F&A	Generally takes 2-4 weeks for vendors who are registered as 91探花suppliers; payment requires detailed bank account details from vendor. $15 fee per wire transfer.
Wire payment (for new vendors)	Study Abroad F&A	Generally takes 3-5 weeks to register and pay a new vendor. Payment requires detailed bank account details from vendor. $15 fee per wire transfer.
聽Field Advance	聽Program director	Funds on a debit card you can use in the field; to be used only for expenses that cannot be paid in advance.
聽Rome Center	聽Rome Center staff	If your program is in Rome, Italy, the Rome Center can assist you with many payments such as home base and excursion lodging, transportation, and museum admission.
聽Reimbursements (out of pocket)	Program Director (reimbursement processed by Study Abroad F&A)	We hope to avoid the necessity of using own money to pay for program expenses, but can reimburse you if you must pay for items with personal funds.

The Spending Plan Tool

The 聽was created to help you create a more detailed budget that not only includes estimated expenses and revenues, but vendor names and payment methods. The tool is designed to enable you to better plan the financial aspects of your program, and will also provide Study Abroad Finance & Administration with greater details of your program鈥檚 expenses to expedite payments made on your behalf.

Timeline and Due Dates

PROGRAM PHASE	SPENDING PLAN TIMELINE
Proposal	Request a new spending plan template for your program via the . A Google budget should be created and shared with you and your co-director(s) within an hour. Fill out the required fields for a preliminary spending plan and submit a PDF with your proposal.
Approval	Once your program has been approved by the Study Abroad office and your department, continue to refine and fill out your spending plan as you acquire more details from your vendors and have a better idea of how many students will participate in your program.
Confirmation	As soon as enough students have enrolled in your program to enable it to be self-sustainable, your program will confirmed. Finalize and submit your spending plan approximately six weeks before your program begins, and begin sending invoices to Study Abroad F&A for payment. See our online for details on our payment policies and procedures.
Pre-departure	Study Abroad F&A will communicate with you to confirm the amount of your field advance and will initiate the processing of your meal per diem.
Post Program	When you are preparing a proposal for the next iteration of your program, complete聽the and select “Recurring” for the last question to duplicate your prior budget. (This only works if your prior budget was already in Google, not SPLAT)

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