Quick Reference Guide

This page provides a concise overview of WashU’s Internal Service Provider Policy. It does not replace the full policy. To review all requirements, definitions, and procedures, please access the official policy here.

Compliance Requirement	Recharge Center/SSF	Program Income	Passthrough	Auxiliary	Other
Purpose/Role	Internal goods/services supporting research and operations; SSF = highly complex or specialized	Income generated as a direct result of a sponsored award	Passthrough of external goods/services (or clinical CPT/Medicare billing); no overhead charged	Self-supporting units providing goods/services for personal use	Internal goods/services
Examples	High-end instrumentation, complex computing, sequencing centers; equipment use; sample & data collection	Fees from a conference funded by a grant; sale of materials fabricated under an award	Clinical CPT billing centers, external lab tests billed internally, supplier costs purchased centrally in bulk and billed out	Housing, parking, bookstores, dining	Central IT, facilities management units
Primary Customer Base	Internal WashU; may include sponsored projects and external customers	Internal WashU; may include sponsored projects and external customers	Internal WashU; may include sponsored projects	Students, faculty, staff, public (personal use). May serve sponsored awards if allowed	Internal WashU
Allowed to Charge Sponsored Projects?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Annual Revenue Threshold	Recharge Center < $2M; SSF > $2M	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rate Schedule Required?	Yes	No	No – must maintain documentation of passthrough cost	No	No
Internal Rate Rules	Must not exceed Fully-Costed Rate; must be uniform across internal customers	Per Sponsor Rules	Charges = Cost; no markup	May use market pricing	N/A
External Rate Rules	May include markup or market-based rates	Per Sponsor Rules	N/A	May include markup or market-based rates	N/A
Can generate profit/surplus?	No – must breakeven over time	Per Sponsor Rules	No	Yes	N/A