1. General information
All income from events (meetings, workshops, conferences) that you organise using the University of Konstanz’s resources is fed into the university budget. Your advantage: you have the university’s resources at your disposal, including rooms, storage, administration etc. (some of these services are subject to a fee). However, please note that you must observe the university's budgetary regulations.
Research Support can help with funding sources and Project Administration will support you with the financial aspects of the event.
If you have questions about the organisational side of things, please contact Event and Conference Management by calling +49 7531 88 5254 or 5276 or by sending an email.
2. Planning phase
Please include Project Administration into your plans as early as possible by sending us
a) the proposed event programme and
b) a financial plan.
The financial plan should include all income and expenses and must be balanced. You can find a template here. To check whether your event is subject to taxation and to find out about the financial impact on the project, please contact Ms Sabina Josic (Division of Finance and Controlling) by calling +49 7531 88 5394 .
We will open a project account for you once we have reviewed your documents.
3. Payment transaction
3.1 Income
Income is paid to the university either by bank transfer or in cash to the Universitätskasse (university cashier's office). Please include the project ID/FP no. (research project no.) and a reference.
University of Konstanz account details:
BW-Bank Konstanz: Account number: 7486501274 Bank code: 60050101
IBAN: DE92 6005 0101 7486 5012 74
BIC/SWIFT: SOLADEST
Please contact Ms Njezna Pivac phone extension 2230, for information about paying by credit card (mail order).
The most common sources of income are:
- Attendance fees from external participants
There is nothing unusual about charging attendance fees. They serve to cover expenses that would otherwise exceed the budget (e.g. supporting programme, refreshments). - Grants provided by public funding bodies
Please send your letter of approval including all attachments and your original application to Project Administration, so that the funds can be managed in accordance with the funding body’s stipulations. If you require assistance when applying for public funds, please contact Research Support. - Donations
Donations are payments made to the university that the donor does not require a return service for. Please check with your donor to find out if a charitable donations certificate is required and send us a list of your donors including addresses and contact persons, if applicable. The charitable donations certificate will be issued after the funds have been received. - Sponsorship
The sponsor and the university should draw up a sponsorship contract that settles mutual rights and obligations. Sponsorship is subject to taxation (see value added tax/input tax). Research Support can help with drawing up the sponsorship contract (Ms Jana Teeuwen, phone extension 3428). The university’s Kanzler (chancellor) is authorised to sign on behalf of the university (submission via the Division of Finance and Controlling).
3.2 Expenses
Besides the funding body’s stipulations you will also have to comply with the budgetary regulations (e.g. the principle of economy and thrift laid down in the Landeshaushaltsordnung LHO (state budget regulations)).
All invoices must be signed “sachlich richtig” (factually correct) by the person responsible and submitted in time. Please make sure to include the correct account information and intended purpose.
The most common types of expenses are:
- Travel expenses (travel and accommodation expenses, including, perhaps, a daily allowance) and, potentially, fees for guest speakers, see guests.
- Refreshments: Expenses for refreshments served during breaks can only be covered by private external funds and within reason (water, juice, coffee, tee, biscuits, sandwiches, pretzels). For more information, please see representation expenses.
- Provision of meals: Rather than paying a daily allowance (see travel expenses), you can have shared meals of equal value (e.g. a shared dinner) instead. Higher rates may be paid out if these have been approved in advance by the funding body or by Project Administration. We cannot reimburse gratuities! For more information, please see representation expenses.
- Supporting programmes and decorations cannot be funded unless the funding body has made appropriate provisions or the attendance fees or other available external funds can be used to cover the costs.
- Assistants/staff: Request for hiring new staff members must be submitted to Human Resources in time.
- Cash reimbursements for advance payments: Please apply to Project Administration well ahead of time. Collection from the Universitätskasse (university cashier’s office) between 9:00 and 11:30. You can settle your expenses later. Please bring a list of your expenses and the original receipts.
To guarantee the fuss-free processing of payments during the conference you should name a contact person that we can reach if there are any questions.
4. Settling your bills after the event has ended
Please inform Project Administration once all payments have been made so that the project account can be settled.
If there are any remaining funds in the account after the event is over, you should talk to the Division of Finance and Controlling to find out what to do with the money. If the account is in deficit, the project leader is responsible for balancing it.