Reimbursement Instructions

This page is meant for students who have been pre-approved by CFMS Board or Office Staff to send in (a) reimbursement request(s).

The CFMS operates on an expense reimbursement basis. This means that you first make the payment (i.e. from your own funds) then submit your expenses, with the reimbursement request form, and our accountant reimburses you via cheque.

Reimbursement requests must adhere to specific guidelines and will be filed for audit purposes. All personal information is strictly confidential.

Please use the latest version of the Reimbursement Request Form which can be found here. If you complete an older version of the form, you will be asked to re-do the form on the current version.

Explanation of the different fields on the form

Full Name: 

This is the name to whom the cheque will be made out to. It should match the name on your bank account.

In general the name on the reimbursement request form must match the name on the invoice(s)/receipt(s). If this is not the case please explain the situation in the email. (Does not apply to cash register receipts.)

CFMS Position/ Office Held:

What is your role or relationship with CFMS in which capacity you incurred these expenses. Example: National Officer/ (File) Lead/ (Vice-)Chair/ Delegate/ Team Member of … You can use your medical student society's title like VP External.

Full mailing address and phone number:

The address on the reimbursement request form is where the cheque will be sent to. Make sure to include your room/unit number if applicable and your postal code. Keep in mind whether you’re about to move in 2 or 3 weeks.

At this time CFMS is not set up for e-transfer payments of reimbursements. Payments occur via cheque only. 

Event Location:

This applies to meetings, gatherings, … and can be “Virtual”.  If not applicable, just leave this field empty or write N/A.

Meeting / Event / Item:

Which event does this reimbursement request relate to? Or which budget line (read which portfolio)? For SIFs and SIGs please write your project identification number.

Please send separate claims per meeting/event and only one reimbursement request per email to keep things organized.

Event Date:

The dates that the receipts pertain to. This can be a single date, span several days or a certain time period (e.g. for projects). Examples:  1 Jul 2023,  22-24 Nov 2023,  Jan-Mar 2023

Itemization of Expenses:

In general, use short notes to show which receipts go with which item line. Example: Air Canada $250 & Porter $375. The total amount per item goes in the “Amount (CAD $)” column. Example: $650

For receipt requirements, please see the “Invoice and receipt requirements” section further down on this webpage.

1. Air / Train / Bus Fare:

The CFMS only refunds basic ticket fees, separate fees for chair selection and/or luggage are not covered. For full details, please see the CFMS Travel Policy or check the Quick Guide. Please do not use points to pay for a ticket as CFMS will not be able to reimburse you for that.

2. Personal Automobile:

The CFMS does not refund gas receipts but instead works with a fee per km traveled by car. Please check the travel policy or the reimbursement form for the current mileage rate.  

If you travel to an event by car, please make sure this is the cheapest means of transportation. Please remember to factor in round trip and parking charges. The CFMS reserves the right to compare your mileage and parking to the corresponding airfare or train fare rate. If a cheaper/alternative and reasonable travel option was available, your reimbursement will be reduced to this amount.

Instead of sending in gas receipts, please include an image of Google Maps showing your start and destination point with the kilometers between the two given by Google. This also applies to travel between home and airport.

3. Taxis / Uber / Lyft:

Always choose the cheapest option. If a shuttle is provided by either CFMS or the hotel you're staying at (e.g. to and from the airport) CFMS will not reimburse taxi or rideshare receipts.

When using a rideshare service, you must select the most economical option (i.e. UberX or Standard Lyft). UberXL should only be hailed with prior approval from the CFMS VP Finance or CFMS Executive Director. We will only reimburse surged prices up to 1.5x. If you notice surge pricing above 1.5x,, we recommend calling a local taxi. Reimbursements submitted over 1.5x surge will be reduced to the 1.5x surge value. The full uber receipt must be submitted for reimbursement (not a screenshot of the email on your phone).

4. Parking:

Travel by car (including parking) will be compared to other means of transportation.

For details, please see the CFMS Travel Policy or check the Quick Guide

5. Lodging / Hotels:

For details, please see the CFMS Travel Policy or check the Quick Guide

6. Meals:

Meals are only reimbursed when itemized receipts are provided. Copies of bank or credit card statements will no longer be accepted as substitutes for meal receipts as per January 1st, 2023.The CFMS applies the following maxima: breakfast $15, lunch $25, dinner $35. This is based on the time stamp on the receipts. CFMS does not reimburse alcoholic beverages.

For more details, please see the CFMS Travel Policy or check the Quick Guide

If a receipt exceeds the maximum amount for that meal, please use the maximum amount on your reimbursement request form.

Tip: Hotel receipts for in-room/room service dining are often not itemized. You must obtain an itemized copy of the receipt that accompanies the delivered food.

Total amount on final line:

If a maximum reimbursement amount is applicable and your expenses exceed the maximum amount, please use the maximum amount as the “Total” on the form.

Reimbursements dependent on reports:

If you attended an external meeting or event on behalf of the CFMS, you are required to submit a post-event “Report to CFMS Board of Directors” together with your reimbursement request. Reimbursement will be pending this report.

For the Student Initiative Grant (SIG) and the Student Innovative Fund (SIF) the progress reports that were due need to have been received by CFMS before reimbursement requests can be processed.

Signature:

You can insert an image of your handwritten signature when filling out the form electronically. Typing your name in the signature field is not sufficient. Forms with a typed “signature” or no signature cannot be accepted. You will be asked to re-do the form. 

Please note that the signature should remain on the first page. By decreasing the text size of your writing and using other topic lines on the form if needed, this should be possible. You can always opt to include a separate page with more details.

Invoice and receipt requirements

A reimbursement request form needs to be sent with all the itemized receipts that support the request. In most cases, screen shots from a mobile phone do not meet this requirement.

Physical paper receipt like from a cash register should be scanned. If photographed, make sure the image is cropped to only show the receipt(s), no background.

Electronic invoices/receipts should show the following information: name of buyer, name of organization/store, products bought (itemized), and who it was sent to in case of gift(s)(cards). If there’s no buyer’s name on the invoice, it must be accompanied by a bank statement. A bank statement should show the buyer’s name and the transaction(s) involved, the rest can be redacted.

Invoices in other currencies must be accompanied by a bank statement that shows the amount paid in CAD.  A bank statement should show the buyer’s name and the transaction(s) involved, the rest can be redacted. If possible, please redact in white as everything will be printed off for our accountant. Sending a screenshot of the credit charge that does not show the buyer’s name does not suffice.

Tip: If you have emails that are invoices/receipts you can save those as PDFs by choosing the print option and choosing “Save as PDF” i/o your printer device.

Other Requirements and important information

Please send ONE reimbursement request per email to keep things organized. Do not stack reimbursements within the same email.

Mail the form, along with original physical paper receipts, to the CFMS head office at the following address:

Canadian Federation of Medical Students
Suite 149, 150 Isabella Street
Ottawa, ON, K1S 5H3

Please note that all original paper receipts must be mailed in, as well as scanned (or cropped photos) and emailed in. They are needed for the audit. Receipts you received electronically do not need to be printed and mailed in. Emailing electronically received receipts will suffice.

Always submit a scanned copy (or electronically filled out version) of the expense reimbursement form and the supporting receipts via email to the CFMS Administrative Assistant ([email protected]), and copy (i.e. cc) the CFMS Vice President Finance ([email protected]) on this email.

Failure to follow all of these instructions will result in delays completing the reimbursement process.

Please note that reissuing of a cheque due to a wrong address on the reimbursement request form or letting a cheque go stale will result in a $5.00 replacement fee.