Business Services Clarifying Reimbursement Policies

UC Merced is guided by systemwide policy requiring that reimbursements for travel and entertainment expenses comply with receipt and documentation rules specified in the UC Business and Finance Bulletin G-28: Policy and Regulations Governing Travel or UC Business and Finance Bulletin BUS-79, Expenditures for Entertainment, Business Meetings and Other Occasions.

That policy is available online.

Under the policy, original receipts reflecting the form of payment are always required for:

• Airfare
• Registration/conference fees
• Lodging — domestic and foreign actual
• Rental cars
• Expenses exceeding $75
• Entertainment (receipts must be itemized regardless of amount)

Electronic receipts are acceptable as long as the detail contained in the electronic receipt is equivalent to the level of detail contained in an acceptable paper record.

For example, an electronic receipt must show the name of the payee, the amount of the charge, the transaction date and the form of payment.

When required to ensure adequate documentation of the costs incurred, the traveler is responsible for providing additional detail, e.g., a receipt with itemized hotel charges. Emailed or faxed documentation provided by an airline or travel agency for electronic ticketing expenses for airfare is acceptable for substantiating such expenses. A copy of the faxed itinerary and receipt or a copy of the email itinerary and receipt printed locally should be attached to the travel expense claim.

There has been an increase across campus in the submission of expenses for which the receipts are not available or lost.

When original receipts are required but cannot be obtained or have been lost and all measures to obtain a duplicate receipt have been exhausted, a Missing Original Receipts Reimbursement Form must be provided explaining why such receipts are not being submitted with the travel or entertainment expense claim.

If you cannot find the receipts for any of the above bulleted items, you will have to fill out and submit the form.

The Missing Original Receipts Reimbursement Form is located on the Travel Services website under Travel Forms.

Some granting agencies require receipts for all travel and entertainment expenditures be retained and/or available for audit by the sponsor. Retention requirements are therefore the responsibility of the PI or administrative staff for monitoring and retention of receipts as required by a sponsor.

Please contact Travel Services at travel@ucmerced.edu or 209-228-8747 if you have any questions.