How-To Guide for Making Honoraria Payments to Community Members

Fair and equitable compensation is an important part of reciprocal community-university engagement. It strengthens community-university relationships and reflects a deep appreciation for community contributions to UBC research, education, and innovation.

However, we often think about compensation very late in a relationship or partnership. To make matters worse, payment processes can be time-consuming and challenging to follow, leading to further delays. As a result we risk losing the sentiment of deep appreciation and gratitude that compensation is meant to communicate.

This resource encourages early and open communication about compensation with community members and aims to simplify the payment processes and practices used by UBC faculty and staff.

Before offering an honorarium, the following questions can help you decide if it is an appropriate option in your scenario. As you make this decision, also consider if any non-financial forms of recognition may be appropriate either in addition or instead of a financial payment.

  1. Do the contribution of the community member to your activity or event warrant an honorarium and have you considered any non-financial forms of recognition?

  2. Is the payment to say thank you, show gratitude and appreciation, or acknowledge a community member’s contribution, for instance as a speaker, participant, artist, collaborator, or other volunteer? 

  3. Will the payment be for a nominal amount of less than $500?​

  4. Do you expect to offer one payment to the recipient this calendar year? ​

  5. Does the role or activity of the community member in this work either result from or relate directly to UBC’s involvement? ​

If you have decided that an honorarium is the right option or you just want to learn more about the process, consider the following 5 things to prepare for what’s to come!

  1. Know if the community member is located in Canada or elsewhere and if they have any current or previous affiliations with UBC.

  2. Ask those in the community, field, sector, etc. if there are professional or community standards you should be following or considering.

  3. Learn when each method of payment is appropriate, as well as what information is needed and the timeline for processing.

  4. Take some time to explore Workday so you feel fully prepared to navigate the system when the time comes.

  5. Talk early with the community member, your partners, and colleagues to gather and share information, set expectations, and agree on a plan.

The step-by-step instructions below will help guide you through the process to pay an honorarium. Please also review the downloadable resources available on this page as they provide more detailed information and tips.

For a quick review of each payment process, click the links below:


For general information about making honoraria payments, see the Honoraria Payments for Community Members Fact Sheet.

For detailed instructions on completing forms and Workday processes, see the Instructional Guide for Honoraria Payment Processes and Forms.

  • Engage community member at least 1 month before activity/event (or ASAP).

  • Determine if community member is:
    • a current UBC employee;
    • an individual affiliated with UBC within the last 24 months; or,
    • an individual with no affiliations with UBC in the last 24 months.

  • Confirm their role, level of involvement, and amount and preferred method of payment.

  • Share potential tax implications, timeline for processing payment, and potential for delays.


Whenever possible, share and collect information in writing, so you can attach these to payment requests in Workday.

For verbal agreements, record who was in discussions and when, the means of communication and what was discussed. These can be added to Workday requests as supporting documents.

  • Indicate in the HR Fast Track Assessment form if the individual is an ‘active or past employee within the past 24 months.’

  • If they are a current UBC employee or were affiliated with UBC in the last 24 months, submit completed assessment to your HR representative and await approval.
    • Proceed to “Honoraria Payments for Current UBC Employees” or “Honoraria Payments for Individuals Affiliated with UBC in the Last 24 Months.”

  • If the individual is not affiliated with UBC, proceed to “Honoraria Payments for Individuals not Affiliated with UBC.”

Honoraria Payments for Current UBC Employees

Methods of Payment Available: One-Time Payments; Near-Cash Equivalents

  • Work with payment recipient to complete UBC EDS form.

  • Indicate in form how work or activity differs from regular duties as a UBC employee.
  • Share completed EDS form with recipient’s HR representative, discuss steps for processing OTP.
  • Continue to monitor the payment and be in contact with the HR representative until payment is received by the recipient.

Honoraria Payments for Individuals Affiliated with UBC in the Last 24 Months

Methods of Payment Available: EFT; Cheque; Near-Cash Equivalents

  • Documentation can include email and notes from verbal communication. If you use a departmental honoraria form, you can record all information in the form and use as supporting documentation.
  • Confirm in Workday that the individual is set up as a supplier and the preferred method of payment is enabled.
    • As needed, set up individual as supplier and/or enable preferred method of payment.
    • If enabling EFT payment, inform recipient of process requirements and timeline.
  • If necessary, send forms to community member and request confirmation by specific date in advance of event/activity.
  • In Workday, create a supplier invoice request and process payment.
    • Use My Supplier Invoice Requests to track the status of outstanding invoices.

  • Without delays, payment is received in up to 30 days.


Honoraria Payments for Individuals not Affiliated with UBC

Methods of Payment Available: EFT; Cheque; Single Use Payment; Cash and Near-Cash Equivalents, including Interac E-Transfer

  • Documentation can include email, notes from verbal communication, receipts, screenshots of payment confirmation (if using e-transfer), etc.
    • If you use a departmental honoraria form, you can record most information in the form and use as supporting documentation.
    • If necessary, send forms to community member and request confirmation by specific date in advance of event/activity.
  • For cheque or EFT payment, confirm in Workday that the individual is a supplier and the preferred method of payment is enabled.
    • As needed, set up individual as supplier and/or enable preferred method of payment.
    • If enabling EFT payment, inform recipient of process requirements and timeline.
  • For Single Use Payment, ensure payment does not exceed $250 and recipient:
    • has not received SUP previously;
    • will not receive multiple payments;
    • is a resident of Canada;
    • is not an active or former employee of UBC;
    • is not a Supplier in Workday
  • For EFT/cheque
    • In Workday, create a supplier invoice request and process payment.
      • Use My Supplier Invoice Requests to track the status of outstanding invoices.
    • Without delays, payment should be received by honoraria recipient in up to 30 days.

  • For Single Use Payment (SUP)
    • In Workday, create a Single Use Supplier request and process payment

  • For Cash
    • In advance of event/activity, request spend authorization in Workday.
      • Once approved, funds are transferred to your account.
    • On day of event/activity, bring cash payment and offer to recipient; complete honoraria form with recipient and witness signatures to acknowledge transfer of funds.

  • For near-cash equivalent, purchase and offer near-cash equivalents during event or activity.
    • For gift cards, record names, gift card amounts and, if a UBC employee, employee IDs of recipients to report to ISC at year-end.

  • For cash payments
    • Submit a manual T4A to create tax documents; complete all fields as accurately as possible and, in the event of a missing SIN, enter 000-000-000.
    • Reconcile spend authorization in Workday within 10 days of expense.

  • For near-cash equivalents, file expense claim in Workday within 30 days of expense.


Honoraria Payments for Community Members Fact Sheet
This fact sheet helps build your knowledge about UBC payment systems and the options for making honoraria payments.


Instructional Guide for Honoraria Payment Processes and Forms
If you need help working through the technical details of payment processes, this guide provides step-by-step instructions for completing each process and form.


Honoraria Form Template
Honoraria forms are not required, but can be a helpful tool for getting all the information you need in one place. This template is ready-to-use or can be adapted for your department. 


Checklist for Processing Honoraria Payments
This checklist is designed to help you stay on track and feel confident you are processing payments properly. Before using this resource, please ensure you have determined an honorarium is warranted and you have considered a wide range of forms of recognition.

This guide contains information and tools to help UBC faculty and staff properly pay honoraria to individuals. All information shared in this toolkit is based on existing UBC policies, practices, and tools.

This resource DOES NOT: 

  • Establish new institutional policies, standards, practices, or processes for paying an honorarium.  ​
  • Direct or regulate institutional processes or practices across UBC departments and units—departmental leadership is responsible for all budget-related decision-making. ​
  • Indicate the availability of financial resources for making honoraria payments; or, ​
  • Indicate any change in relation to federal or provincial policies and regulations. ​