Gift cards for any amount are disallowed for employees. No exceptions.

Physical Gift Cards should be kept under lock and key at all times to ensure proper physical security and to protect from theft and loss. Access to the gift cards and keys to the lock areas should be limited to the individual(s) responsible for safekeeping of the gift cards.

PURCHASING

Gift cards may be purchased in the following ways:

• Cash Advance (for research)
• ProCard
• Tango 

More information on these processes may be found in the appropriate tabs above.

FAQ

No. If students are working anywhere else at UT (other than the department), they would be considered students who are also employees.

Can restaurant or food gift cards be purchased on a ProCard?

Restaurant gift cards or food gift cards should not be purchased with a ProCard. Follow the appropriate distribution timeline and reconciliation policies.

Can a UT staff member be reimbursed for gift cards or food gift cards?

Per Accounts Payable, an employee can be reimbursed for the purchase of gift cards.  However, reimbursement may only be issued upon confirmation of distribution via reconciliation. The employee being reimbursed would also need to provide proof of payment (cash or credit card receipt); Paypal is not allowed. 

When purchasing gift cards using your ProCard, the below guidelines must be followed. Please refer to HBP 9.1.7.C and HBP 9.1.7.J for additional guidance.

ProCards should only be used if you will be distributing the cards within a 30 day period. For any distribution periods exceeding 30 days, a Cash Advance or Tango would be most appropriate. NOTE: We do not advise purchasing gift cards using personal funds. If you choose to pay out of pocket with a personal card, you may not be reimbursed for the expense until all of the required reconciliation documentation is complete.

For ProCard reconciliation, make sure

1. Request a Participant Study Cash Advance by completing the attached form, and I will review and route accordingly. Once approved, you may purchase gift cards. 

2. As you distribute the gift cards, you must have one of the following forms completed: Multiple Participant Receipt Form (all cards can be included) or Individual Receipt Form (1 form per distribution) Note: if a student has received more than $600 for the year, they must provide their SSN and mailing address.

3. Maintain all of the supporting documentation collected for records retention:

   1. Approved Cash Advance Form

   2. Receipt or invoice of the gift card purchase

   3. Summary Reconciliation Sheet (An additional document used whether or not you have a cash advance; I will route for signatures)

   4. Individual or Multiple Receipt form(s)

4. If you use a Cash Advance, then you can submit a General Accounting Request ticket so that we can manage routing the documents for signature and submitting to Cash Advances for finalization. If you purchase the gift cards with your departmental ProCard, you may include the documentation in your UT Box folder. If you pay out of pocket, you will need to submit a reimbursement request.

Tango Card is an online gift card service that enables departments to allocate gift cards remotely. The university allows for the use of Tango Cards to compensate research participants, including participants who are UT Austin employees. Tango can also be used for non‐research disbursement. A few quick facts about Tango Card:

• There is no charge for using Tango Card.
• Tango Card operates through a portal called RewardsGenius.com.
• Each department establishes their own account on Rewards Genius using their UT Austin email as their login. Subaccounts can be created for departments that require different buckets of money.
• Emails notifying participants that they have received compensation via Rewards Genius can be customized.
• Participants can select gift cards from numerous available vendors. Gift card redemption is done via online shopping.
• Rewards Genius can be integrated with Qualtrics to automatically distribute the gift card email upon survey completion.

Here are the instructions:

Steps for Setting Up Tango Card / Rewards Genius

1. Go to Rewards Genius and click on Sign Up to setup a new account
   • Company Name: University of Texas at Austin
   • Work email address: use your UT assigned email address
   • Indicate if you are interested in integration with Qualtrics

2. A UT Austin Tango Card representative will send you an email containing the User Guide and an offer of assistance with setup and how to use the system
   • You can also get answers to your user questions in the Rewards Genius Help Center

3. Email Tango Card’s funding team (funding@tangocard.com) to request an invoice for the amount needed and provide them with your account information.
   • Tip – You may not want to order the anticipated maximum number of cards immediately in the event your study does not enroll as many participants as expected. You can always order additional gift cards at a later date, if needed.

4. Provide the invoice to UC Business Office using the Purchase Order (PO) Request Form in JIRA. Add the following note to your request: “This Purchase Order is governed by the Master Agreement signed by both parties on October 29, 2019, UTAUS CN 2020_0835.”

5. Once you receive the completed Purchase Order from the Purchasing Team, submit the invoice and reference the PO# via Invoice Payment Submission Form via JIRA.

Paying Participants with Tango Card Electronic Gift Cards

1. You can either use the standard Tango Card email template, or you can customize emails that are sent to participants notifying them to claim their electronic gift card.

2. To pay participants with a Tango Card electronic gift card, you must collect each participant’s email address.

3. If you have setup an integration with Qualtrics, gift card emails can be automatically sent to participants upon completion of the survey.

4. Tango Card will issue an email to each participant with a link to claim their gift card.
   • Note – You may want to make sure your participants know to expect an email from Tango Card/Rewards Genius so they do not miss the email.
   • If a participant does not receive the email or loses the email, those with appropriate permissions on the account can re-issue the email.

Account Reconciliation and Imaging Requirements for Research

1. You have 6 months to distribute the gift cards. The reconciliation must be completed by providing the following to the Business Office:

   a. Summary Reconciliation Sheet (unsigned);
   b. Individual Receipt Form(s) or Multiple Participant Receipt Form(s); and Tango Report from “Order History” showing the individual research participants that received a Tango Card from the research study.

2. The “Order History” page within a Reward Genius account allows a researcher to view all sent rewards, search for rewards to a specific individual, or search for rewards sent within a date range.
   • “Order History” appears in the navigation bar on the left side of the screen.
   • Reports can be generated from the “Order History” page to submit with a reconciliation

3. A researcher must have each research participant complete either a Multiple Participant Receipt Form or an Individual Receipt Form.
   • Participants must be asked if they anticipate earning $600 or more from UT Austin during the current calendar year. If yes, participants should complete the Individual Receipt Form for tax reporting purposes.
   • Participant signature on each form is not required for individual payments of $25 or less.

Account Reconciliation and Imaging Requirements for Non-Research

1. For awards <$50*, fill out the UC Gift Card Log Form or for awards >$50*, fill out the UC Gift Card Reporting Form
2. Distribute gift card(s) to awardee(s)
3. Email UC Business Office once all the supporting documentation is collected for records retention:
   1. Approved UC Gift Card Approval Form
   2. UC Gift Card Log Form or UC Gift Card Reporting Form(s)
4. The UC Office will image the backup documentation with the appropriate documents as needed.

Gifts and awards should follow the Gift and Awards Policy outlined in HBP 9.1.8. OOEFs are not required for these types of expenses.

GIFTS FOR EMPLOYEES

Cash Awards:

-must be processed as a One Time Payment through Payroll. 

-state accounts are prohibited from paying awards.

-requires an award letter that includes the award name, selection criteria, frequency, amount of award, and account number that is approved by the Dean.

Merchandise (non-cash):

-exceeding $50 will be considered taxable income.

-inscriptions reduce the value of an item to $0.

-tax exemption certificate must be provided to vendor.

Gift Certificates and Gift Cards:

-PROHIBITED

GIFTS FOR STUDENTS

A gift card can only be awarded to a student who is also an employee if the gift card is awarded based on their role as a student, and it must be awarded in accordance with the non-employee award policy. Gift cards are disallowed for student employees if the award is based on their role as an employee.

Cash Awards:

-state accounts are prohibited from paying awards.

-awards for public competition require contest flyer and/or website printout, list of winners, and award amounts.

Merchandise (non-cash):

-exceeding $50 will be considered taxable income and require documentation of recipient's permanent mailing address and Social Security number for issuance of 1099-MISC form.

-inscriptions reduce the value of an item to $0.

-tax exemption certificate must be provided to vendor.

Gift Certificates and Gift Cards:

-may not be awarded for job performance.

-exceeding $50 will be considered taxable income and require documentation of recipient's permanent mailing address and Social Security number for issuance of 1099-MISC form.

The following documentation is required: 

1. FA Gift Card Approval Form
   1. Gift Card Approval Form guidance
2. FA Gift Card Log Form for awards <$50* or FA Gift Card Reporting Form for awards >$50*

Steps

1. Fill out FA Gift Card Approval Form
2. Once approved, purchase gift card(s). See options below.
3. For awards <$50*, fill out the FA Gift Card Log Form or for awards >$50*, fill out the FA Gift Card Reporting Form
4. Distribute gift card(s) to awardee(s)
5. Send Finance and Administration all the supporting documentation collected for records retention:
   1. Approved FA Gift Card Approval Form
   2. Receipt or invoice of the gift card purchase
   3. FA Gift Card Log Form or FA Gift Card Reporting Form(s)

GIFTS FOR NON-EMPLOYEES

Awards are given to recognize a person or group, including companies, student groups, universities and other organizations, for their merits or contributions to The University of Texas at Austin. 

Cash Awards:

-state accounts are prohibited from paying awards.

-awards for public competition require contest flyer and/or website printout, list of winners, and award amounts.

Merchandise (non-cash):

-exceeding $50 will be considered taxable income and require documentation of recipient's permanent mailing address and Social Security number for issuance of 1099-MISC form.

-inscriptions reduce the value of an item to $0.

-tax exemption certificate must be provided to vendor.

Gift Certificates and Gift Cards:

-may not be awarded for job performance.

-exceeding $50 will be considered taxable income and require documentation of recipient's permanent mailing address and Social Security number for issuance of 1099-MISC form.

The following documentation is required:

1. FA Gift Card Approval Form
   1. Gift Card Approval Form guidance
2. FA Gift Card Log Form for awards <$50* or FA Gift Card Reporting Form for awards >$50*

Steps

1. Fill out FA Gift Card Approval Form
2. Once approved, purchase gift card(s).
3. For awards <$50*, fill out the FA Gift Card Log Form or for awards >$50*, fill out the FA Gift Card Reporting Form
4. Distribute gift card(s) to awardee(s)
5. Send Finance and Administration all the supporting documentation collected for records retention:
   1. Approved FA Gift Card Approval Form
   2. Receipt or invoice of the gift card purchase
   3. FA Gift Card Log Form or FA Gift Card Reporting Form(s)

If the gift card process is insufficient for your needs, consider the following alternatives:

• Licensed Items at UT Co-op that could be purchased with ProCard
• UT items from Document Solutions payable via IDT account
• Extra promo items (if available) from Admissions recruitment staff
• Work with Communications team to produce customized items
• With required OOEF: Direct billing with Cornucopia Popcorn or Freytag's Florist