When it comes to expense reports, the Business Resource Center Travel and Entertainment Team (BRC T&E) has seen it all — and they’re here to help you!

Follow these helpful travel tips to avoid common mistakes and help the BRC process your expense report quickly.

1. Provide a detailed business purpose

Both your Pre-Travel Request and Expense Report must include a detailed explanation justifying the purpose of the business travel:

• Insufficient: “Staff Meeting” or “Site Visit”
• Sufficient: “Staff meeting to discuss upcoming financial budget and relocation expenses”
• If the purpose of your meeting is confidential, provide as much information as possible to justify the business purpose.

If you use acronyms, be sure to define them.

2. Ensure you’ve followed lodging parameters

Your lodging should fall within the allowed room rate of $275/night. If your lodging is over the allowed rate, provide the following justification:

• Documentation showing your lodging was at the conference hotel
• A quote (created when you booked the hotel) demonstrating that all other hotels were sold out and the selected hotel was the only one available, or the least expensive choice closest to the meeting location.

3. Deduct commuting costs from your mileage

Remember to deduct your commute cost from your mileage reimbursement request.

• If your commute cost does not need to be deducted, explain why in the comment box.
• If your assigned campus location is UCOP Oakland, you can claim up to 17.8 miles for round-trip personal car mileage when seeking personal car mileage from your remote work location to the airport.

4. Include all required details for entertainment expense reimbursement requests

Requests for entertainment expense reimbursements must include the following:

• Itemized receipts for all expenses of $75 or more
• A complete attendee list, including each person’s name, title and affiliation
• Meeting agenda
• Comment detailing per-person meal costs
• Attached additional approval for morale-building events

5. Include all required proofs of payment

You must provide receipts for:

• Airfare, hotel and rental car reservations
• Conference registration
• Expenses totaling $75 or more
• Host/hostess gifts of more than $25

6. Double-check your documentation

The T&E team cannot process your expense report until they receive all the required documentation:

• Make sure to include all required paperwork, including cashier deposit slips, approved exceptions, additional approvals, etc.
• Provide justification or explanations for entries that exceed cap limits or are outside of the policy allowance.

7. Submit your expense report within 45 days

If your submission is late, be sure to provide a justification.

8. Reach out with questions — and don’t resubmit

If a T&E reviewer has requested corrections to your report, and you have questions about those edits, correspond with the reviewer via email. Do not resubmit your report in Concur.

For general questions, contact brctravelandent@ucop.edu.

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