To request approval for catering, please submit the following to medap@mun.ca at least 10 business days prior to the event:

• A completed Catering Pre-Approval Form including FOAPAL to charge (Catering most often is coded to account 76801) and department/division/discipline approval.
• A copy of the agenda, brochure, or poster for the event.
• A list of expected attendees. Note: Catering expenses are based on the maximum reimbursable amounts per person per the Schedule of Reimbursable Expenses.
• Quotes showing proof of expected cost. This can be a formal vendor quote or screenshot from a website/cart if prices are fixed.
• Any relevant back-up related to the expense, such as a fully approved Visitor Approval form or outline of academic objectives if not clearly outlined in other back-up.

To request catering approval for restaurant hosting submit the following to medap@mun.ca at least 10 business days prior to the event:

• A completed Catering Pre-Approval Form including FOAPAL to charge (Catering most often is coded to account 76801) and department/division/discipline approval. Note: Restaurant hosting has a maximum reimbursable amount – refer the Schedule of Reimbursable Expenses.
• A copy of the agenda, brochure, poster for the event if applicable.
• A list of expected attendees.
• Any relevant back-up related to the expense, such as a fully approved Visitor Approval form or outline of academic objectives if not clearly outlined in other back-up.

When submitting a catering request related to a visitor to the University a fully completed and approved Visitor Approval form should be included as part of your back-up. This includes on campus events or restaurant hosting related to a visitor.

For more information on the process of submitting a Visitor Approval form for processing please refer to the Travel section of this webpage.

Once you have your fully approved Catering Pre-Approval form returned to you, you may proceed with confirming your order with your chosen vendor. Keeping in mind:

• It is the unit’s responsibility to communicate with the vendor to organize their event, catering order, delivery specifics, etc.
• Tipping/gratuity are not eligible expenses and will not be reimbursed or paid for by the Finance Office when a credit card payment is required.
• Delivery charges are acceptable catering expenses.
• If ordering from the HSC Cafeteria they typically require 24 hours’ notice for beverage orders and 48 hours’ notice for food orders.

Please refer to the invoice payments section of Accounts Payable.

While larger events providing significant food service will invoice after the fact, some smaller food purchases require payment up front, such as ordering pizza, ordering from a supermarket deli, etc.

If your chosen vendor requires credit card payment up front you can confirm your order with the company and advise that someone will be in contact to pay via credit card.

To request credit card payment, either over the phone or through online ordering, please contact medpurchasing@mun.ca at least 3 business days prior to the event with a completed Internal requisition form and the approved Catering preapproval form.

Yes, if your Catering Pre-Approval form has been fully signed and returned to you a member of the department can now incur the costs directly and submit for reimbursement – this is most often the case with restaurant hosting.

Keep in mind that tipping/gratuity and alcohol purchases will not be reimbursed.

For information on the reimbursement request, refer to Accounts Payable.

All efforts to keep catering and hosting costs within the approved budget as noted on the Catering Pre-Approval form should be made – these approvals are based on University wide policies that we need to adhere to.

In the event the catering/hosting expenses exceed the approved amount you will need to submit a formal deviation request for the additional costs along with your request for payment. Deviation requests should be a formal memo that notes the following:

• The reason the budget could not be maintained
• The extra expense you are seeking approval for,
• Department/division/discipline approval

The Finance Office will then seek approval on the deviation request from the Dean’s Office and proceed with invoice payment or reimbursement based on their approval. Please note that a deviation request is not guaranteed to be approved.