Entertainment

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How Do I?

Overview

Summary: At UC Berkeley, "entertainment" is the provision of meals or light refreshments for a bona fide UC Berkeley business purpose, with no personal benefit to the host or other University employees.

Entertainment usually has a guest-host relationship, in which an official guest or guests attend an event, at the invitation of a UC Berkeley host, for a business purpose. Although administrative meetings might not typically include a guest-host relationship, they too may incur allowable entertainment expenses.

Please note: In general, entertainment expenses must be cost effective and make the best use of public funds.

Read entertainment guidelines for specific policy on:

Approval authority: A limited number of individuals can approve entertainment expenses. These individuals must complete the Signature Authorization Form and submit it to the Disbursements Office.

To request reimbursement for entertainment expenses, submit an Entertainment Reimbursement Request on-line or an Entertainment Purchase Order, attach the receipts and submit it to the Travel Office via your department's business office.

The business purpose of the entertainment event must be clearly and explicity indicated (e.g., "Lunch for volunteers assisting with the University-hosted Deviant Bilateral Symmetry conference). Reimbursements will be delayed for clarification purposes if the business purpose of the trip is described in vague or non-descriptive terms (e.g., "To discuss University business" or “Dinner at Chez Trépas”).

Written justification is required for exceptional entertainment expenses. For example, if the per-person maximum allowance is exceeded, a justification is required that fully explains why the higher cost was unavoidable (e.g., Dietary requirement of the guest required a higher cost meal). Ambiguous or self-descriptive justifications will delay or prevent payment (e.g., “Meal costs exceeded maximum per-person dinner rate”).