Please submit this Request for Reimbursement within 30 days of completion of an approved project.

The following documents must be submitted along with the Request for Reimbursement:

• A request for reimbursement on your company's formal letterhead, including your company name and address, date, a short description of scope of work, and an itemized list of expenses, in US dollars
• Form W-9 (Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification)
• Copies of all invoices for all eligible expenses
• Proof of payment in full, in US dollars, for all eligible expenses (a proof of payment can be a bank statement, credit card statement or wire transfer confirmation, with charges highlighted)
• Proof of project completion (e.g., a picture of your booth in the case of a trade show or copies of your marketing materials in the case of marketing media design).

Business owners/key decision makers must be willing to perform their own due diligence on vendors and seek competitive pricing before purchasing services for which they will request STEP reimbursement. STEP participants are encouraged to
shop and make informed decisions about how they will spend their STEP award.
All reimbursement requests are expected to show proof that the STEP allowable activity took place. Include proper documentation including detailed reimbursement request forms that clearly show the expenses and the context of activities,
invoices/receipts/proof of payments and correct sums and totals to be easily understood when reviewing by the STEP team.

Invoices must include:

• English translation if in a foreign language
• Date of invoice
• Vendor information: contact information, address, phone number, and website
• Approved participation company information: contact information, address, and phone number
• Date of allowable STEP activity
• Specific services rendered
• Itemized charges for services

Receipts:

• Must be marked “paid”, show a zero balance and match the invoice.
• Check: Front copy of check accompanied by bank statement showing check cleared the account. Checks alone do NOT provide enough information to determine whether the charge is necessary and reasonable.
• Credit card statement: Must see the credit card monthly statement (first page and transaction page) that shows: account owner’s name, last 4 digits of the account number, and the dates and charges to vendor(s). Credit card
  statements alone do NOT provide enough information to determine whether the charge is necessary and reasonable.

Note: 

After review of the expenses, reimbursement will typically take 2-4 weeks to process. A company may also receive a 1099 tax form in connection to this grant.

Also, as agreed upon in your original application, you will be expected to provide export sales and job data related to your STEP funding every six months for up to two years. This data will allow us to track the return on investment (ROI) for our office and for the Small Business Administration.

 

For more information or assistance, please contact:

Jeffret Overby, Director, Tennessee Export Initiative, TEl@belmont.edu