Resource Management & Development

Employees can verify their pay in GEMS Self Service (Employee Self Service>Payroll>Paychecks) and should always check there first.

Hourly or Staff employee; did you submit the timesheet to RMD for processing when it was due? Not submitting timesheets according to the schedule provided to Student Success supervisors can create a delay in it getting processed for payment. Even if the timesheet is late, send it to RMD-HR-payroll@usf.edu and we will process it during the next available payroll (if it is too late to include with the current pay period).

Is this the first paycheck of your employment? Did you set up direct deposit in GEMS Self Service (Employee Self Service>Payroll>Direct Deposit)? Is the direct deposit information correct? Even if you signed up for direct deposit the first check issued may be paper. To verify a paper check was sent, email RMD-HR-payroll@usf.edu.  

Direct Deposit
Section 110.113 of the Florida Statutes requires all employees, except undergraduate work study students, to enroll in direct deposit as a condition of employment. USF encourages the use of Direct Deposit by all employees. Employees enrolled in Direct Deposit, will not receive a printed pay stub, this information can be accessed through GEMS Self Service. Employees without access to a computer can use a computer in the library or there is a kiosk in the UCO Payroll Office – ALN208. Learn more in the step-by-step Direct Deposit Training.

Paper Checks
If you receive a paper check, the check is mailed to the address on the face of the check on the pay day (pay date printed on the check), in-person pick up is not permitted, and the check will not be re-directed. If your address has changed, please visit GEMS Self Service to update the address for future mailings. If you are a student and have changed your address in Student Self-Service (formerly OASIS), you also need to change it in GEMS as these two systems do not have an interface.

W-4 information is available in GEMS Self Service (Employee Self Service>Payroll>W-4 Tax Information). For questions regarding your selections contact the University Controller’s Office at UCO_Payroll_Processing@usf.edu. 

For questions about benefit’s deductions email benefits@usf.edu. 

If you have additional questions that have not been addressed, please email RMD-HR-payroll@usf.edu and we will provide assistance.

The Attendance and Leave Policies and Procedures for Employees  provides a breakdown of all different leave types and rules which govern their use. If you have additional questions that have not been addressed, please email RMD-HR-payroll@usf.edu and we will provide assistance.

Method of Payment

Leave Payouts are distributed with the regular payroll unless special handling is required due to elected retirement deferrals. Leave cannot be processed with the employee’s last regular hours. Payroll will make the leave payout approximately 30 days after the employee's separation date. Employees are paid for their eligible unused leave subject to its limits. Payment will be made based on the employee’s regular rate of pay.

Payment for Unused Annual Leave

Annual leave payments are issued to employees at the time of termination and the employee has completed at least 6 months of continuous and creditable employment. Annual leave may also be paid out at the time the appointment of a faculty employee is changed from a twelve-month appointment to a nine-month appointment.

Upon separation, eligible Staff, 12-month Faculty, Administration, and Executive Service employees are eligible to receive a lump-sum payment of unused annual leave not to exceed these amounts:

• Staff Employees: 240 hours (all hours in excess of 240 are forfeited); or

• Administration and 12 month Faculty: 352 hours (all hours in excess of 352 are forfeited)

• Executive Service: 480 hours (all hours in excess of 480 are forfeited)

When an active employee enrolls in the Deferred Retirement Optional Program (DROP), the employee may elect to be paid for up to the year-end maximum of their unused annual leave at the time he/she enters the program or he/she may defer payout until termination. When the employee elects to receive payment for unused annual leave hours and the total number of hours does not equal the year-end maximum for the employee's pay plan, any unused hours remaining are available for his/her use. The employee is eligible for additional cash out of unused annual leave upon separation from employment provided the two cash outs do not exceed the total hours authorized for the employee's pay plan.

Payment for Unused Sick Leave

An employee with ten (10) or more years of continuous service in an established position who has not participated in the University’s Early Sick Leave Payout Program and who was employed prior to January 1, 2014, shall be paid for one-fourth of all unused accrued sick leave, up to a total of 480 hours. An employee who was hired on or after January 1, 2014 or who has less than ten (10) years of continuous service in an established position at the time of separation will not be paid for any unused sick leave and such leave shall be forfeited. Payment will be made based on the employee’s final hourly rate of pay.

Payment for Unused Compensatory Leave

If, at the time of termination, an employee has a balance of unused Special Compensatory Leave, the employee is entitled to receive payment at the current rate of pay.

Non-exempt Staff and non-exempt Administration employees are eligible to receive payment for unused overtime compensatory leave upon separation or at any time during the employee’s active employment. Departments should take steps to ensure these balances do not exceed 120 hours.

Email RMD-Inquiry@usf.edu – you will be put in contact with the RMD fiscal reps for your department.

Purchases can generally be made by PCard, purchase order + invoice, Foundation payment, and some other limited-use methods. Each purchase and payment type has certain requirements and restrictions associated with it. Please review the Expenditure Guide on USF Purchasing's website, and also contact your RMD fiscal rep to discuss. Please remember: do NOT make any purchases before you have confirmed either (a) you have a valid purchase order in place or (b) the payment is allowable on PCard and the vendor can accept payment by PCard.

Please contact your RMD fiscal rep so that the appropriate form can be initiated by our office and routed for the necessary approvals and signatures, and then submitted to PCard Admin.

YES! PCard has very specific restrictions. Please review the Expenditure Guide on USF Purchasing's website – the far right columns will show you what is allowed, preferred, and prohibited on PCard. Also contact your RMD fiscal rep for more information, as not all scenarios are addressed by the Expenditure Guide.

Immediately contact the vendor, provide a copy of USF's certificate of sales tax exemption, and request a refund. The refund should be credited back to the PCard, NOT refunded in cash or check. If you have problems obtaining the refund, please contact your RMD fiscal rep for support.

Please submit all receipts to RMD-pcard@usf.edu and email all invoices to RMD-APInvoices@usf.edu. Please ensure that all PCard receipts clearly show the vendor name, the dollar amount paid, and itemized detail of the purchase. Please also clearly indicate the business purpose of the purchase, and the chartfield information to which this charge should be reconciled – a great way to ensure you don't miss this step is to use the Purchase Cover Page. All PO invoices should include departmental approval to pay, and the associated PO number.

Reach out to your RMD fiscal rep with the name of the vendor and the invoice number(s) for which the vendor is seeking payment. Our office will research the payment status and report back as quickly as possible.

Yes, BUT, there are restrictions as to what funds can pay for such meals. Most departmental funds cannot pay for such meals, so the expense must be covered by Concession, Foundation, or Gift-In-Kind. Please submit the GIK/Concessions Request Form to RMD-Concessions-GIK@usf.edu and reach out to your RMD fiscal rep to explore which option may be best for your department, as well as other rules and requirements associated with such expenses.

There are VERY LIMITED scenarios in which a department might purchase food, so please talk to your RMD fiscal rep for guidance specific to your department's funds and activity PRIOR to committing to any food purchases.

A chartfield is a combination of characters representing a department's financial account information. Think of it like a bank account and routing number – each unique combination represents one specific department, cost center, or program within a department.

Foundation funds are funds managed by the University's advancement partner, USF Foundation. The USF Foundation is designated to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, which are then used to support specific USF departments and programs, as dictated by each fund's purpose. If your department has a Foundation fund, the department director will receive monthly updates detailing the fund's purpose and current balance. For more information, please send your inquiries to RMD-Foundation@usf.edu.

The expenses paid through a Foundation fund must support the fund's purpose – please see the specific fund's data form, the monthly Foundation fund update showing the fund purpose, or talk to your RMD fiscal rep for verification. You will also need to obtain an invoice from the vendor for submission to Foundation. Please speak to your RMD fiscal rep prior to making purchases if you will be seeking a Foundation reimbursement.

Please reach out to your RMD fiscal rep ASAP – the University has strict guidelines for the handling of checks and other deposits, and your rep will ensure that the appropriate guidelines are followed and that the funds are posted to the appropriate chartfield in the time required by the UCO.

Generally speaking, fundraising events should be coordinated and processed through USF Foundation. Please send your inquiries to RMD-Foundation@usf.edu so that your proposal and situation can be presented to the appropriate Foundation personnel for further guidance.

The University uses TouchNet, an ecommerce portal, for collecting both information and payments for sales and registrations. Please reach out to RMD-Inquiry@usf.edu or your RMD fiscal rep with a description of what you would like to do, and we will work with you to establish the necessary payment or registration page and provide timely reporting.

Yes, for any prizes worth more than $75 you will need to collect information from the prize recipient. The recipient's relationship to USF and citizenship status will determine what type of information you need to collect. Please reach out to your RMD fiscal rep to obtain the appropriate form(s) to be completed by recipients and then return the completed forms to your RMD fiscal rep so that they can be routed to the appropriate central office along with a description of the event.

YES – the awarding department owns the responsibility for reporting.

Generally NO. Gift cards are considered "cash equivalents" and have extremely strict limitations for purchase, specifically limited to payments for research participants of qualified research projects vetted by USF Research & Innovation.

Sponsorships can be acknowledged with name, logo, and business information, but NO qualifying language ("they're the best!") or calls to action ("check out their venue" or "10% off if you mention this event"). You MAY choose to receive advertising revenue, which includes such qualifying language or calls to action, but please be forewarned that you will likely also have to PAY TAX on the value you receive – even if what you receive is a non-cash benefit (i.e. pricey items to hand out at your department's event). Please work with your RMD fiscal rep to determine if what a potential sponsor is proposing is truly a sponsorship.