Macalester Standard Engagement Contract (SEC) and Payment Authorization

How to securely submit the Macalester Standard Engagement Contract (SEC) and Payment Authorization for Non-Employee Services

Please consider the lead times to process the SEC and payment to a vendor.   Ideally, SECs should be initiated as early as possible. Once the completed form AND the Vendor’s tax documents (W-9 or W-8BEN) have been received by Accounts Payable, the payment will be processed per Accounts Payable’s payment schedule.

Macalester requires a Standard Engagement Contract (SEC) and Payment Authorization to be completed for Non-Employee Services with the College.   Please review the steps below:

Step 1:  Gather to complete the Standard Engagement Contract

  • Name, email, address, and phone number of the Contractor / Non-Employee.
  • FOAPAL(s) to pay for the service.  Approval for use of ALL FOAPALs must be obtained.  See What is a FOAPAL?   for more information.
  • Amount to be paid to the Contractor / Non-Employee including the Service Fee and the Reimbursable Expenses.
  • You will be asked to identify the Budget Approver.
    • Budget Approval levels and approvers can be found by looking up the Fund or Org in Finance Approval Look up Tool. 
    • If the total payment is within your AP Approval Limit, list yourself as the Budget Approver.
      • For example, a Department Coordinator with $500 Approval rights, can be the Initiator and Approver on a SEC that is $500 or less.
    • If the total payment is greater than your AP Approval Limit, choose the Budget Approver who has approval rights for the FOAPAL.
  • Description of the Services to be provided.
  • Date and time of the Engagement.
  • If the Contractor is International, check to see if their bank will accept a check from a bank in the United States.   If a check from a United States bank will not be accepted, please complete and include the Wire Transfer Request with the completed SEC.

Step 2:  Tax Considerations

Contractors / Non-Employees that are classified as Entertainers or Public Speakers, may be subject to taxes if:

  • The Entertainer is paid $600 or more and resides outside of MN, MI and ND.
  • The Public Speaker is paid $2,000 or more and resides outside of MN, MI and ND.

Macalester Initiators will select if the taxes will be paid by the same FOAPAL, or if the Contractor / Non-Employee will pay the tax.

Step 3:  Complete the Standard Engagement Contract (SEC)

Step 4:  Route the Standard Engagement Contract (SEC) to the Vendor

  • Once the SEC is completed, the Initiator should:
    • Send the SEC to the Vendor for review and signature
    • The Vendor will need to submit W-9 (domestic) or W8-BEN-E or W8-BEN (international) securely and then will be electronically submitted to Accounts Payable at Macalester.   Attaching the Vendor’s  tax documents via email will not be accepted.

Step 5:  Route the Standard Engagement Contract to Approver & Accounts Payable

  • Once the Vendor has signed the SEC, the Initiator should:
    • Send the completed SEC to the Budget Approver for approval (if the Initiator does not have high enough AP Approval Limit)
    • Email the signed and completed PDF to

Step 6:  When to expect payment

Once the completed form AND the Vendor’s W-9, W8-BEN or W-8BEN-E has been received by Accounts Payable, the payment will be processed per Accounts Payable’s payment schedule.

Step 7:  Post Service / Event follow up

Within 20 days of service, the Macalester Initiator of the SEC, should follow up with the Contractor to collect all Reimbursable Expense Receipts.   Next, the Macalester Initiator should submit a Check Request to reimburse the Contractor for their expenses.

Questions?

About contract language, please contact Purchasing and Accounts Payable Manager

About payments or other questions, please contact Macalester Accounts Payable at