Travel & Expense Management Reminder: Supporting Compliance with UC Travel Policy G-28
As part of our commitment to ensuring compliance with UC Travel Policy G-28, our Travel & Expense Management team would like to share a few important reminders regarding documentation requirements in Concur.
In early 2026, Internal Audit conducted a review of our Concur processes and identified several opportunities to improve consistency and clarity in our audit procedures. As a result, you may notice our audit team requesting additional documentation or clarification during the review process. These requests are intended to help ensure UC Merced remains compliant with University policy and is well-prepared for any future external audits.
We appreciate your partnership and attention to the following requirements:
Agendas and Itineraries
When requesting reimbursement for travel or entertainment expenses, please include documentation that supports the business purpose of the trip or event.
- Conferences, meetings, and events: Attach the event agenda, conference schedule, meeting agenda, or other supporting documentation.
- Research travel or multi-stop travel: We understand that research travel may not include a formal agenda. In these cases, please provide a simple itinerary outlining the activities planned for each day of travel. This documentation helps demonstrate the business purpose of the trip and provides valuable support during both internal and external audits.
Business Justifications
Every expense submitted for reimbursement requires a clear business justification, including Uber, Lyft, taxi, and other rideshare expenses.
Please include:
- The business purpose of the trip.
- The to/from locations.
- An explanation of how the transportation supported University business.
Without this information, it is difficult to distinguish business-related transportation from personal travel during an audit.
Foreign Travel Per Diem
UC Travel Policy G-28 allows reimbursement of actual meal and lodging expenses up to the applicable federal foreign per diem rates.
To ensure compliance:
- If requesting reimbursement based on the foreign per diem amount without submitting meal receipts, you may be asked to provide a statement confirming that your actual expenses met or exceeded the amount being claimed.
- This documentation may also be required if requested during an external audit.
- Meal per diem should only be used for meal expenses.
- Lodging per diem should only be used for lodging expenses.
- Meal and lodging per diem expenses should never be combined into a single expense.
Receipt Documentation for Grant-Funded Travel
Campus leadership and Post Award/PPM have requested that all receipts be retained and submitted for travel charged to GNT/CNT funding, regardless of the dollar amount.
Although UC Travel Policy G-28 does not require receipts for certain expenses under $75, many grant sponsors have stricter documentation requirements. If an external sponsor requests supporting documentation and receipts cannot be provided, the University may be required to repay the questioned costs.
Because our audit team is not able to determine the specific documentation requirements for every funding source during the audit process, we will continue requesting receipt documentation for travel charged to grant funding.
Questions?
Our goal is to make the reimbursement process as smooth as possible while ensuring compliance with University and sponsor requirements. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we continue to strengthen our audit practices.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to contact the Travel & Expense Management team.
