Conduct Your Research

Reporting and Claiming Expenses

All claims for reimbursement of expenses must comply with the Travel and Expense Policy and associated as well as the terms and conditions of your award. Any claims that do not adhere to Mount Royal policies and procedures will be returned by the Office of Research, Scholarship and Community Engagement (ORSCE).

The Principal Investigator (PI) is accountable if research funds are overspent. They may also be held responsible for covering deficits for unapproved or ineligible expenses or for not complying with the University and the funding agency's rule and regulations.

Research expense claims for research funds administered by the ORSCE can only be authorized through and by the ORSCE.

Reimbursement for MRU Employees

Reimbursement of expenses paid personally by a researcher can only be made through the Mount Royal Expense Report via Chrome River.

Chrome River is Mount Royal University's online and mobile platform for completing, reviewing and approving Pre-Travel Authorization, Expense Claims and Purchase-Card Reconciliations. Single Sign-on can be accessed through your MRU email account. If you have questions or need help, please contact Payables and Expense Management:

Name Phone Email
Wanda Quon 403.440.8935 wquon@mtroyal.ca
Debra Scott 403.440.5674 dscott@mtroyal.ca

When filling out an expense claim form, accounting codes for each item claimed must be provided. These are the most common codes:
  • 64501: Bachelor's (Canadian/Permanent Residence)
  • 64502: Bachelor's (Foreign)
  • 64503: Master's (Canadian/Permanent Residence)
  • 64504: Master's (Foreign)
  • 65505: Doctorate (Canadian/Permanent Residence)
  • 65506: Doctorate (Foreign)
  • 65507: Post Doc (Canadian/Permanent Residence)
  • 65508: Post Doc (Foreign)
  • 65509: Research Assistant (Other)
  • 69002: Labour cost recovery (Research)
  • 72000: Office supplies (E.g., pens, pencils, binders)
  • 72001: Electronic supplies (E.g., audio visual materials, slides, lab supplies, media production costs)
  • 72002: Materials
  • 72003: Publications
  • 72004: Subscriptions
  • 72005: Memberships
  • 72006: Textbooks
  • 72007: Printing
  • 72008: Photocopying
  • 72050: Other supplies (Miscellaneous that do not fit a previously mentioned category)
  • *78110: Conference attended
  • *78111: Conference hosted
  • *78112: Department meeting/activity
  • *78113: External meeting (Business)
  • *78114: Eternal meeting (Government)
  • 79020: Cost recovery
  • *79001: Field trips

*Codes marked with an asterisk (*) require an activity code to further describe the expenditure.

If you need the full list of accounting codes, it is available through your MyMRU.


For Hospitality and Incentives
A detailed receipt is required to support all requests for reimbursement.
Specific situations require additional documentation:
  1. If the receipt is for food for conference/meeting, you need the following information:
    • Purpose and date(s) of the event(s)
    • List of the participants or attendees
  2. If name(s) of the research participants can't be disclosed due to the confidential nature of the nature of the research, the Principal Investigator (PI) must mention in the expense report why the research participant's name(s) are not available. To provide incentives through the Tri-agency grants, this needs to be disclosed in your Ethics clearance.
  3. Incentives paid for research recruitment and participation:
    • Supplier invoices for examination of details
    • Proof of payment of incentives (E.g., signed receipts, coded list of recipients, attestation of researcher and/or others involved in the payment incentive)
  4. Adequate justification is required for research expenses but are not normally provided by the institution. Some examples include supplies, computers, tablets, modems, emerging technology, hardware and other specialized software needed.

Note: Please consult the accounting codes as a guide. The coded list should contain the participants' initials or signatures, and dates and amounts of incentive distribution.

Reimbursement for Non Employees

Reimbursement for non employees are processed through ORSCE upon the Project Investigator's submission of request for reimbursement with original receipt(s). To request a form, send an email to orscefinance@mtroyal.ca. 

If you have any questions or require more information, please contact orscefinance@mtroyal.ca.