Business Office

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.

  • Add Aggie Expense Delegate
  • Before traveling, Faculty and Graduate Students should add Bekah Wilson as a delegate using the Aggie Travel website, www.aggietravel.ucdavis.edu. Instructions on adding a delegate are available on the Aggie Travel website: https://supplychain.ucdavis.edu/travel-entertainment/aggietravel/delegates.
  • Domestic and International Travel

  • Lodging Limit policy: University travel policy limits lodging nightly rates to a maximum of $275/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 (https://supplychain.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk2181/files/inline-files/llj.pdf), obtain appropriate approvals, and attach it to your Aggie Travel Expense report.

    Travel Reservations/Bookings: Aggie Travel offers an online travel booking and reservation feature for faculty, students, and staff to reserve and purchase air, hotel, and car accommodations. Faculty can update their Aggie Travel profile to include their research account's billing ID to set up direct billing for airline purchases, reducing personal funds' usage. Faculty can request their billing ID information from Bekah Wilson Smith.

    UC Away: Before the travel date, all university-related out-of-state and international airline reservations not purchased using Aggie Travel MUST be registered through UC Away, http://ehs.ucop.edu/away/#/. Once a trip is registered, the University provides insurance coverage protection at no cost while traveling for university business-related purposes. Per University policy, international trips purchased outside of Aggie Travel 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 within 30 days of the trip-end date. Documents include all itemized receipts, conference agenda/invitation letter/flyer, and a business justification statement. Graduate Students must also submit proof of obtaining a travel grant/fellowship. All documentation should be submitted to the Cluster's Business Office. Effective January 1, 2019, entertainment and travel expenses submitted after 60 days may be subjected to federal income tax.
  • Miscellaneous 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. In addition, 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 Cluster's Business Office is the preferred purchaser of goods and supplies items concerning instructional and research-related purposes for Faculty and Graduate Students. Before making any unauthorized purchases using personal payments, please get in touch with the Cluster's Business Office for further assistance with obtaining items.

    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.

  • Confirming Orders
  • Campus policy requires that products or services purchased on behalf of the University must be reviewed appropriately and approved BEFORE acquiescing the item(s). The University requires a confirming order when an employee makes an unauthorized purchase of goods or services with the intent of using university funds. A confirming order is a one-time exception. 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 a confirming order justification form to the CAO, Department Chair, and College Dean for review and approval. 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.

    To avoid the need for a confirming order or out-of-pocket penalty, consult with the Cluster's Business Office for instructions on university-approved purchasing and contracting procedures.
  • Direct Deposit for Reimbursements
  • 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 software-related 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. The IT unit will work with the Cluster's Business Office staff on account verification.

    The Cluster's 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-$22.25. More information on the duties appropriate to each classification and the hourly wage can be found on the Internship and Career Center webpage. 

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Orange Cluster Business Office