Elements of a Receipt
When submitting expenses for reimbursement, policy requires receipts to contain the following information:
- Name of vendor or payee
- Total amount paid (and currency paid in)
- Date and time of purchase
- Location of purchase (when applicable)
- Itemized list of what was purchased
- Any tax and/or gratuity that was paid
- Method of payment (what form of payment was used)
Method of Payment
Only US Dollar Sources Are Allowed
UCOP purchasing and reimbursement policies only allow the reimbursement of expenses that derive from US Dollar (or an equivalent currency) sources; this could be payment via cash (hard currency), a personal or cashier's check, or a credit card payment.
Methods of Payment Not Allowed Per Policy
- PayPal or Venmo balance (PayPal and Venmo are payment aggregators, not a discrete source of funding; they mix cash sources and gift cards, etc)
- Apple/Google Pay when no credit card number is listed
- Gift cards
- Gift certificates
- Vendor credits from a previous purchase
- Reward points
- Frequent flier miles
- Any other non-cash source
Reimbursements That Involve a Credit From a Previous Purchase
For reimbursement requests that involve a credit from a previous purchase, you will need to provide proof of payment and documentation of the previous purchase that led to the credit being issued. If that cannot be provided, or if the method of payment is any of the non-cash sources listed above, the expense will be considered non-reimbursable.
If No Receipt is Available
Credit Card or Bank Statement
In the event that a receipt for a business purchase lacks the method of payment (i.e., it does not state what method was used to pay the charges), please attach a redacted copy of a credit card or bank statement showing the origination of funds.
Obscuring and Redacting a Document
To properly redact a document, please be sure to obscure or remove any sensitive or confidential information, including:
- Social Security Numbers
- Credit card numbers (except the last four digits)
- Debit card numbers (except the last four digits)
- Credit or debit card security codes
- Passwords, including access codes for financial institutions
- Bank account numbers, including numbers encoded on the bottom of checks
- Home addresses (UC Berkeley employees only)
- Passport numbers
- Driver's license numbers or other state identification card numbers
- Date of birth information
The Adobe Acrobat 'Redact' tool is the recommended tool for redacting documents.
Contact
Please email travel@berkeley.edu if you have questions about a receipt and/or proof of payment.