Written by Megan Catt.
What is an honorarium?
An honorarium is a monetary token of appreciation given in lieu of payment for services. If you want to give an honorarium but the recipient is not set up as a supplier with NC State or their information has changed, you will need to send them an invitation to register with PaymentWorks.
- Honorariums below $5,000 are paid with a voucher payment using special category ID code 99920 and account code 51950.
- The Honorariums help document provides information on honorarium processing.
- Remember: Any payment of $5,000 or above must be submitted on a requisition for Procurement & Business Services approval. For more information on this process, please visit the Purchasing Manual: Introduction to Procurement.
An honorarium cannot be paid via the one-time supplier payment process because it is considered as income to the recipients. Therefore, all recipients of honorariums must register with NC State in PaymentWorks to comply with tax reporting requirements.
Also, an honorarium cannot be paid to an entity. Please ensure a recipient knows to register themselves as an individual in PaymentWorks as opposed to a company. To request an honorarium payment, a Payment Request Memo must be completed and submitted along with the voucher (under $5,000) or requisition (over $5,000).
Keep in mind
As non-NC State employees, independent contractors and consultants who are individuals, not companies, can receive honorariums through the voucher process described above.
What is a one-time supplier payment?
One-time supplier payments have strict guidelines for what is or is not acceptable. This process can be used to pay interview reimbursements, middle/high school students, refunds and scholarship donor payments. Additionally, it can be used to pay award, incentive and participation stipend payments below $600.
Suppliers who are set up using this process are only allowed to be paid once. If they are going to receive more than one payment, they have to register in PaymentWorks. You cannot use this process to pay for goods, services or honorariums.
Please email supplier_onboarding@ncsu.edu before submitting a request for a one-time supplier that is not listed under the acceptable reasons. Instructions for submitting a one-time supplier request can be found in the Supplier Information Manual for Campus.
More questions about honorariums?
Visit the Finance Division Knowledge Base: Honorariums.