Business Office Services Overview

The Orange Cluster's Business Office team, led by the Business Office Manager, is responsible for all research and academic enrichment funding matters, including account management, purchasing, travel, and entertainment for faculty and graduate students affiliated with our academic departments. For any questions related to policies or best practices, please contact Heather at hmparish@ucdavis.edu. 

• Add Aggie Expense Delegate
• Before traveling, Faculty and Graduate Students should add Bekah Wilson as a delegate using the Aggie Expense website, https://us2.concursolutions.com/home. Instructions on adding a delegate are available on the document below.
  Delegate Setup (1).pdf
• Domestic and International Travel

• Lodging Limit policy: 
  University travel policy limits lodging nightly rates to a maximum of $333/night when traveling in the lower 48 states for less than 30 days. If requesting reimbursement for more than this limit, please complete the Lodging Limit Justification form (Lodging Limit Justification.pdf), obtain appropriate approvals, and attach it to your Aggie Expense report.

  Travel Reservations/Bookings: Aggie Expense offers an online travel booking and reservation feature for faculty, students, and staff to reserve and purchase air, hotel, and car accommodations. Faculty can book travel arrangements directly through Aggie Expense, reducing the use of personal funds.

  UC Away: Before the travel date, all university-related out-of-state and international airline reservations not purchased using Aggie Expense MUST be registered through UC Away, https://globalaffairs.ucdavis.edu/travel/register. 
  - Once a trip is registered, the University provides insurance coverage protection at no cost. 
  - Per University policy, international trips purchased outside of Aggie Expense and not registered through UC Away before the trip's start will not be reimbursed.

• Entertainment/Travel Reimbursements
• - Faculty and Graduate Students must submit documentation associated with a travel and entertainment-related expense to Bekah, rkwilson@ucdavis.edu, within 30 days of the trip-end date. 
  Documentation Includes:
  - All itemized receipts (Lodging, Airfare, Meals, Ground Transportation, ETC)
  - Conference Agenda/Invitation letter/Flyer
  - Travel Reimbursement Form: 
  Effective January 1, 2019, entertainment and travel expenses submitted after 60 days may be subjected to federal income tax.
  *** Please note that we can not reimburse any purchases made with reward points and/or gift cards.
• Group Travel Policy
• - Per university policy, employees cannot be reimbursed for purchases made by a third party on their behalf. If travel-related expenses are split, each traveler must present a separate itemized receipt showing the amount paid. 
  - Internet travel bundles, such as air/hotel/rental deals through Expedia, will not be reimbursed if an itemized receipt for each service purchased is not included. 
• Goods and Supplies Reimbursements

• The Business Office is the preferred purchaser of goods and supplies concerning instructional and research related purposes for Faculty and Graduate Students. Before making any out-of-pocket unauthorized purchases, please contact Heather, hmparish@ucdavis.edu, for the best purchasing practices.

  - Note that University policy highly discourages reimbursements for all unauthorized purchases. 
  - Reimbursement requests of $500 or greater using personal funds require the Dean's approval as the purchase violates UC Purchasing policy. If such a purchase occurs, all itemized receipts and a business justification on why personal funds were used must be submitted to Eduardo's office within 30 days of the date of purchase. 
  - Graduate Students must submit proof of funding support, such as a fellowship or grant letter. 
  Note that contracted services are not reimbursable expenses.

• Unauthorized Purchases
• Campus policy requires that products or services purchased on behalf of the University must be reviewed appropriately and approved BEFORE acquiring the item(s). The University requires an Unauthorized Purchase Statement document when an employee makes an unauthorized purchase of goods or services with the intent of using university funds. Unauthorized purchase statements are an exception and do not guarantee reimbursement of funds. 
  
  Examples of unauthorized purchases are:
            1) When an employee negotiates a contracted service (such as hiring a non-UCD service to create a website or conduct survey samplings) directly without utilizing the campus purchase order agreement.
            2) When an employee purchases supplies (iPad or a multi-year scholastic membership) for over $499.99.
  
  Once it is determined that a purchase order is required, the employee must submit an Unauthorized Purchase Statement. There is no guarantee that a confirming order will be approved, and if rejected, University funds will not be issued to reimburse for the expense; the employee will be financially responsible for purchasing the supply or contracted service. If the purchase is greater than $10,000 the Unauthorized Purchase Statement will need a signature from the Assistant Dean/Associate Vice Chancellor.
  
  To avoid the need for an Unauthorized Purchase Statement or out-of-pocket penalty, consult with the Business Office for instructions on university-approved purchasing and contracting procedures.
• Reimbursement Payments
• - Direct Deposit for all faculty, Graduate Students, and staff reimbursements are managed in UCPath, https://ucpath.ucdavis.edu/. 
  - For those who opt out of receiving direct deposit payments, reimbursement payments will be in the form of a paper check and mailed to the home address listed in the UCPath system.
• IT-Related Purchases

• The College's IT unit oversees all IT purchasing for equipment, software, IT services, data sets, and IT peripherals. The College's IT unit also initiates and reviews all Assessment (VRA) requests for any of the above purchases. 

  To request an IT-related purchase, submit a ticket to lshelp@ucdavis.edu. For more information on IT purchases, please visit https://lsit.ucdavis.edu/purchasing. Please feel free to CC Eduardo, enavarromata@ucdavis.edu, on the email request, and he can provide any account information.

  The Business Office is responsible for purchasing the following IT supplies: printer paper, toner/ink, and blank media. The IT staff must purchase all other IT items; reimbursements will not be allowed without pre-approval.

• Undergraduate Student Employment
• Faculty who plan to recruit an Undergraduate Research Assistant (RA) should contact the Cluster's Business Office; our Financial Service Assistant will initiate the hire, assist in posting the position on Handshake, provide account and budget figures, and process all HR-related paperwork.
  
  Student Assistants can be hired at one of three classification levels with an hourly wage between $16.50-$23.25. 
  Student Assistant 2: $16.50
  Student Assistant 2: $16.75
  Student Assistant 2: $17-23.25
  More information on the duties appropriate to each classification can be found on the PDF below.
  assistant-series-classification-plan (1).pdf