Entertainment Resources and Guidelines

Before you purchase business-related refreshments, familiarize yourself with UC and campus policies, procedures, and tools. Information is available on Blink and key resources and tools are highlighted below.

• Meetings and Entertainment Overview, Event Examples & UC Policy BUS-79
• Review considerations for University-Hosted Events, Major Events (PDF), and Off-Campus Events
• Follow established guidelines for use of alcoholic beverages for events
  • Review UC policy regarding consumption of alcoholic beverages on university property
  • At least 4 weeks prior to the event date for on-campus events, complete the Alcoholic Beverages Form (DocuSign) through the online process to secure approvals and submit to the UC San Diego Police Department
• Maximum meal expenses applicable to all meetings, programmatic activities, and entertainment:
  • Breakfast: $31/person
  • Lunch: $54/person
  • Dinner: $94/person
  • Light Refreshments: $22/person
• Original, itemized receipts are required for special entertainment and for events of $75 or more

Meeting/Entertainment Event Planning

Business Purpose

• A key component of a successful T&E report is a strong, detailed and valid business purpose
• The business purpose should explain the reason for the meeting/event – "why" (not "what")
• The general discussion topic(s) or specific purpose for a meeting must be documented
• When possible, attach meeting agendas or event invitations to support the business purpose

Meetings

• A meeting held off campus is considered entertainment (hosted event)
• A meeting must have an agenda as the business purpose
• To be eligible for reimbursement, any food/beverage must be a necessary and integral part of the meeting and serve one of the following purposes:
  • Administrative, planning, workgroups
  • Planning, mentoring, workgroups (faculty, staff, and students)
  • Formal training sessions, conferences (not on travel status)
  • Professional association, scholarly society, external organization
  • UC-wide meetings, Academic Senate, Regents
• Frequency is limited to one meal or two light refreshments per month, per group

Programmatic Activities

• Examples of programmatic activities include:
  • A class, study hall, or other academic-based activity
  • An opening reception for an exhibition
  • A department open house
  • A social gathering for graduate students
  • A student government, student association, or other student meeting

Standard Entertainment

Standard entertainment events are directly related to university business with no personal benefit

• The designated event host must be in attendance at the event
• Examples of standard entertainment include:
  • Hosting official guests, including:
    • Visitors from other universities
    • Members of the community
    • Employees visiting from another work location
  • Recruitment, where expenses are either:
    • Funded from a source designated for graduate students or professional recruitment
    • Related to recruitment for positions requiring specialized training or specialized professional, technical, or administrative experience
  • Hosting prospective donors to generate goodwill
• Events where expenses exceed the per-person maximum are considered special entertainment

Special Entertainment

The following circumstances are considered special entertainment:

• Cost exceeds the pre-person maximum (written justification required; this should be rare)
• Participants include a spouse, partner, or family member (only allowable with a bona fide business purpose for attending the event)
• Employee morale or holiday gatherings
  • Appreciation, recognition, length of service, retirement, and farewell events must serve a bona fide business purpose
  • Retirement/farewell events require that the employee have at least 5 years of service
• Tickets to community events and fundraisers
  • A statement/invoice showing the fair market value (FMV) of the meal is required
  • For payment to a non-UCSD entity a transmittal letter is required
  • Payment should be made by UC San Diego – not by the individual employee (do not use Travel Card)

Travel Card

• Complete all fields and sign a completed cardholder agreement (PDF), then submit to the AA Business Office to secure the Financial Unit Authority signature; signed forms will be returned to the applicant for final submission via Concur

Meeting/Entertainment Expense Processing

• Meeting/Entertainment expenses should be processed within 21 days of the event date 
• Concur is UC San Diego's application for processing event reimbursements
• Review the Event Expense Report Checklist
• How to Submit an Event Expense Report in Concur
• How to Add Attendees to an Event Expense Report (when attaching a list, please number attendees)
• How to Create an Event (Catering) Request in Concur
• Determine which expenses are included/excluded in per-person calculations:
  • Included: meal, labor, sales tax, delivery charges, and other service fees such as gratuity
  • Excluded: room rental and setup fees, media rental fees, china and linen rental, decorations, and other non-meal expenses
  • Excluded items should be separated from meal expenses using the appropriate expenditure type to ensure they are not calculated as part of the per person cost
• See Event Trip Types & Account Codes for the correct expenditure type to use for Concur travel expenses
• Expense reports must include justification for exceeding any policy maximums in the Business Purpose/Comments in order to request an exception to policy
• Recharging meal expenses from HDH, UCSD Catering, Faculty Club or other campus entities requires that receipts and supporting documentation (meeting date, meal type, meeting purpose, attendee names/titles), be submitted to the EVC Business Office; failure to do so can result in the loss of recharge privileges
  • Programmatic activities do not require an attendee list; if included, the count must match attendance claimed; per-person maximums apply