Travel & Entertainment FAQ

Topics

Travel card do's and don'ts
Meal delivery services, P2P and booking apps
Expense report requirements
How to write an effective business purpose

Travel Card

Please follow the policies from your Travel Card training. They're listed below:

Do's and Don'ts Heading - Graphic image with Do written in green and Don't written in red

Travel: lodging, airfare, car rentals, etc. Entertainment: Food/catering related to allowable entertainment events Meals and incidentals Conference registration when travel is involved, (i.e. not a virtual conference)	Expenses not related to travel and entertainment Personal travel and entertainment

T-Card Info - Sleeve Back - image for website.png

Travel Card Sleeves: The Business Operations Center (BOC) provides Travel Card and Pcard RFID credit card sleeves with these policies listed on them. Please reach out to bocsupport@ucanr.edu if you would like card sleeves mailed to your office (or dropped off to your desk if you work out of the 2nd Street building). There is no charge for the sleeves or mailing them.

Can I use meal delivery services for my business meeting or event?

Using Instacart, Grubhub, Doordash, etc. is acceptable, it is best practice to always have an itemized receipt. However, you cannot use meal delivery services to send meals/refreshments to Zoom meeting attendees.

Can I use Expedia.com, Hotel.com, or a similar service to book travel and accommodations?

Yes, you can use third party sites. However, you must have itemized receipts. You can request a travel folio from your hotel's front desk at the time of check out.

What are the policies for using software/applications to pay for travel and entertainment expenses?

If using Venmo, Zelle, Cash App or another peer-to-peer (P2P) vendor, you need to include in your AggieExpense report a copy of the contract or business agreement from the vendor matching the bank statement from the payment service.

What do I need to include in my AggieExpense report?

Itemized receipts: (subtotal, taxes, and fees)
Meeting or conference agenda
Names and roles for all attendees
If driving: Google Maps screenshots showing the number of miles traveled (see Mileage Calculation section of BOC’s Travel, Entertainment, and Relocation webpage)
Business purpose (specific and descriptive)

If you need help with your expense report please reach out to your business partner team.

Can I combine all meals for a day of business travel on one line in the expense report?

Yes. If you combine all your meals on one line for the day, you must break down each meal in the comments with the location and the dollar amount. You must attach receipts to the AggieExpense report.

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What are some examples of effective business purposes?

Insufficient business purpose All of the following are too vague	Sufficient business purpose The following are specific and descriptive enough for the expense report to be approved.
Attended Statewide conference	To attend the 2018 UC ANR Statewide Conference to connect with colleagues from across the state about shared challenges, concerns, opportunities and solutions. Why is this a good business purpose? Specifies when the conference happened and what topics were covered. Expense report approvers want to see that the purpose of the conference relates to the University’s mission of research, public service, and/or education.
Conference Registration	Advance registration for John A. Seed to attend the “District VII” conference hosted by CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) in San Francisco, CA. Employee is attending to present his lecture on “Donor Pipeline Strategies.” Why is this a good business purpose? Specifies which conference, what the conference is for, where it is, and why the employee is attending.
Meeting with SunGard	Jeff Dines to attend the multi-day “Higher Education Summit” hosted by SunGard in Boston, MA for the staff-development purpose of workshop training and networking with industry peers in the Donor Communications field. Why is this a good business purpose? Specifies who, what, where, and why.
Donor meeting	Lunch meeting hosted by Martha Bows with donors [redacted] to discuss future 4-H Foundation events at Seasons Restaurant. Why is this a good business purpose? Specifies who, what, where, and why. The meeting agenda is required, but the business purpose still needs to include a relevant business reason for the meeting.
Annual site visit meeting	Entertainment expenses incurred during the site visit by ANR Senior Leadership to the Westside Research & Extension Center. Expenses include catered breakfast, lunch, light refreshments, and dinner. Detailed agenda is attached. Why is this a good business purpose? Specifies what the meeting was for and where it was. The agenda and attendee list are required on the expense report in addition to the business purpose.