Reimbursement policies

Supply reimbursements

UCSC’s CruzBuy system offers many lab equipment and supply vendors, therefore paying out-of-pocket for these types of purchases is discouraged. However, certain circumstances may arise that will require you to apply for reimbursement for your purchase.

In most cases, you will use a Direct Pay form for your reimbursement. Academic purchases are reimburseable and the department assistant (amylkorn@ucsc.edu) can help you with this process. It is reccommeded that you check with your research accountant BEFORE making any purchases as UCSC has very strict reimbursement guidelines.

For lab purchases, or any items associated with your research, please fill out a Direct Pay form, follow the instructions, and submit to your research accountant. Your accountant will be your best resource for this type of reimbursement.

Please visit the UCSC Financial Affairs page for the most current version of the Direct Pay form and for further details.

Meal reimbursements

Reimbursement for business related meals

The department office will process the paperwork to reimburse you for a business related meal if:

1. It was with an E&PS seminar speaker.
2. It was with a faculty recruitment candidate.

Please bring your original receipt to the department assistant for processing. Divisional policy mandates that ‘all expenses be supported by original itemized receipts’. A credit card receipt with the total is not sufficient. A list of participants will also be required, so let the department assistant know who you went with. The department will process your reimbursement, and you will receive a paper check or a direct deposit depending on your delivery method.

Processing your own reimbursement

An Entertainment Reporting Form is an online form used for meal reimbursement.

Steps:

• Visit the FAST homepage to get started. Click ‘Dashboard’ on the top banner.
• Use your CruzID and Gold Password to Login.
• Then select ‘Entertainment’, and ‘Create a New Entertainment Form’.
• The system will walk you through the next steps. One you have completed the form, you will hit ‘Submit’.
• Print this form, sign as the requester, and bring to your research accountant for processing. Remember to include your receipts, when you bring this form to your accountant.

Travel reimbursements

UCSC has very strict reimbursement policies and requires specific forms of receipt for different purchases.

The Financial Affairs Department mainatins a comprehensive Travel Guide to assist you with your UCSC business-related travel planning, allowable purchases for reimbursement, and proper documentation.

We highly suggest reviewing these pages.

Also, be sure to check out the Key Tips for UCSC Travelers for advice on the most common travel topics.

For questions:

• General questions or guidance — please see the department assistant. Also, refer to the Travel Forms Help page if you have specific questions while filling out the forms.
• Accounting questions — please see your research accountant
• For more advanced travel questions, please contact either travelhelp@ucsc.edu or the FAST/AP Help Line at (831) 459-4488.

Reimbursement guidelines/questions

UCSC has strict guidelines for reimbursing purchases. Please check with your research accountant prior to making purchases to ensure remibursement or if you are unsure how to get reimbursed for a particular purchase.

For department-related expenses, such as hosting a seminar speaker or faculty recruitment candidate, please contact the department assistant (amylkorn@ucsc.edu).

All reimbursement types require that you have submitted a Payee 204 form to UCSC’s Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) department. Many of you have probably submitted this form before, and it only needs to be done once*. If you are unsure if you have submitted this form, please contact finpolicy@ucsc.edu.

To have your reimbursement directly deposited into your bank account — fill out and submit page 2 along with a Voided Check to the FAR department. You can send this via campus mail, using the mailcode: FAR.

*If you change your name, address, or banking information, you will need to re-submit the form.