Rice University will pay for necessary and reasonable travel, business meeting and entertainment expenses associated with carrying out Rice business. The University has implemented the Concur Travel and Expense system to allocate expenses. Expenses should be submitted and approved no later than 30 calendar days after travel or the event end date. Undocumented or untimely submission of business expenses may require Rice to report expenses as taxable income.
Business Purpose and List of Attendees
A necessary expense has a clear business purpose and contains all information necessary to substantiate the expenditure including a list of attendees and their affiliation. Attendee names must be provided when the business meeting or event includes less than 10 individuals. For larger groups (10 persons or more), a description and count of the persons attending may be provided instead. Documentation must include a description of the business topics or agenda discussed and the relevance to the University. A specific business purpose for the expenditure should be noted on every expense transaction.
Required Receipts
Imaged or electronic itemized receipts must be attached to each of the following applicable expense transactions in Concur:
- hotel, airfare and rental car expenses regardless of dollar amount;
- conference registration fees;
- all PCard charges equal to or greater than $75 (the IRS de minimus level); and
- out-of-pocket (non-PCard) charges equal to or greater than $25.
Meal Limits
The costs of all meals should be reasonable for the circumstances. Normally, lunch costs should not exceed $30 per person and dinner costs should not exceed $75 per person. A per person dinner charge of up to $150 and per person lunch charge of up to $50 are allowed for BME involving donors, senior level recruitments or dignitaries. The amount should be appropriate for the business purpose and requires documentation to explain the reason for the higher cost. These suggested totals include food, beverages, taxes, gratuities and other related costs such as room setup and wait staff charges.
