Reimbursements and Payments

Reimbursements and Payments:

The UC Berkeley Reimbursement System should be used for costs associated with travel, entertainment, supplies, conference registration, computers, memberships, and more. 

  • Please select Katie Robertson as your preferred approver when submitting your reimbursement request.
  • You can find your chartstrings and fund balances on PI Portfolio. Please email Katie with any questions. Please make sure your VPN is connected to access this website.
  • If you have any general questions about reimbursements, please email Katie.
  • Please keep in mind that all service related expenses (services include paid labor, such as laptop repairs, film processing, translation, editorial work, etc.) will need to go through BearBuy and the vendoring process tends to take at least a few weeks. A Purchase Order in BearBuy must be created prior to ANY work being completed.

Additional Resources:

Entertainment Reimbursements

  • Employees seeking reimbursement of meal and entertainment expenses must submit their report(s) within 45 days of the end date of the meeting or event.
    • Expense reports submitted late may still be paid with appropriate approvals; the amount of the payment may be reported as taxable income.
  • You must provide a PDF of your original, itemized receipt.
  • Entertainment expenses that are lavish or extravagant are not reimbursable.
  • Reimbursements will only be paid up to the allowable campus per person meal expense limit: 
    • Breakfast $31
    • Lunch $54
    • Dinner $94
    • Light Refreshments $22

Note: These amounts include cost of food and beverages, labor, sales tax, delivery charges, gratuity and other service fees. The costs of room rental, room set-up fees, media rental, and decorations, etc., are not included in the per-person costs unless these costs cannot be separated by the vendor.

For additional information, please see UCB’s Entertainment Policy and the Controller’s Office list of allowable expenses. Please view this PDF for step by step instructions on how to submit an entertainment reimbursement request or view this video for additional information.

Travel Reimbursements

  • Within 45 days after returning home, you must file an expense report to document the business purpose of the trip and the full amount of the cost.
    • If you failed to submit your reimbursement within 45 days, any exceptions will be treated as taxable income, which would result in the employee’s being subject to withholding on those reimbursements. 
  • Employees and students may book flights for business travel through the UC travel system ConnexUC to avoid having to pay out of pocket for business trips(otherwise flights and other travel expenses are able to be submitted for reimbursed at the end of the trip).
  • This means employee and student travelers will also need to use the Direct Bill system to generate the identification number that will be used to pay for flights within ConnexUC. Please contact Katie if you need help creating a Direct Bill ID.
  • For additional details on travel reimbursements, please see Key Points of the Travel Policy
  • Please view the Reimbursement for Travel page on the Travel website for instructions on how to submit a travel reimbursement request or view these videos for additional information.

Other Reimbursements

  • The Reimbursement System has an option to submit a request for all expenses, not just travel and entertainment expenses.
  • The new types of expenses you can submit are those covered in UCOP Policy BUS-43and include lab supplies, conference registration, office supplies, computers, memberships, office relocation, and more. 
  • There is a list of the most common expense types in this category on the Controller’s Office website. 
  • Please view this PDF for step by step instructions on how to submit an other reimbursement request or view this video for additional information.

Honorarium Requests

  • An honorarium is a one-time payment granted in recognition of a special service or distinguished achievement for which propriety forbids any fixed business price to be set and is manifested by an activity such as a special lecture, participation in a workshop or panel discussion, or similar activities.
  • Please submit your honorarium payment request for a guest speaker here. Please note your visitor may need to be first set up as a vendor in order to be paid. You can find additional information here.
  • For more information on honoraria guidelines see the Controller’s Office, including information about honoraria paid to foreign individuals.

Links to UCB’s Websites & Resources

UCB Travel Website

Currency Converter

Foreign Per Diem Rates (US Department of State) 

Free Travel Insurance for UC Business Travelers

The Benefits of Connexxus for UC faculty and staff

UC Berkeley Travel – Creating a Direct Bill ID

Reimbursement Website