All reimbursements should have a clear and obvious business purpose. The business purpose should state how the expense benefits the University and its mission.
Students are responsible for their own expenses. The payee is always the person who incurred the expense.
When in doubt, prior to spending your money, check with Business Services (lawstudentreimb@law.berkeley.edu) and the Student Handbook first to ensure reimbursement requirements. Questions regarding your group’s SABL budget or fund should be directed to SABL Treasurer, Ben Pearce. Alumni fund questions can be directed to Business Services. If your group is a student journal, contact journals@law.berkeley.edu. If your group is one of the Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects (SLPS), please contact probono@law.berkeley.edu.
For prompt payment, please submit your reimbursement 10 days following the date of the receipt.
These purchases and forms of payment are absolutely not reimbursable:
- Gift cards for “Thank you” gifts
- Payments using gift cards
- Payments using reward points
- Third-party payments — we reimburse only the person who incurred the expense
- Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments such as Venmo, Square Cash, or Zelle
- Software/cloud storage
- Events such as kayaking, horseback riding, wine tours, etc.
- Meal purchases for Zoom meetings
- Late fees on credit card accounts
Categories of Expense Reports
Choose one of the categories below for your type of expense report. Listed are some typical examples.
- Meetup with Mentor-Mentee
- General Body Meeting
- Snacks for Student Group offices
- Lunch events
- Swag (t-shirts, hats, etc.)
- Office supplies for your Student Group offices
- Graduation stoles
- Uber/Lyft rides for your student organization event
Important Note Regarding Student Direct Deposit:
PLEASE HELP US TO ENCOURAGE STUDENT TO ENROLL IN DIRECT DEPOSIT THROUGH CALCENTRAL TO AVOID DELAYS IN PAYMENT: https://eftstudent.berkeley.edu/
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS TRANSFERRING FUNDS OUTSIDE THE U.S: University of California OFAC Compliance Form for Students (Word)
Additional student information can be found at: https://studentbilling.berkeley.edu/
At any point in time, a team member from the Business Services department may reach out for additional information to add to the report or clarification on the reimbursement request to determine if the purchase aligns with UC policy. We thank you for your patience and if you have any questions along the way, please contact us at lawstudentreimb@law.berkeley.edu, we are here to help!
Event Planning and Payment to a Vendor
If your student group would like to plan an event such as a gala, speaker talk, seminar or conference, please use the Student Event Planning Certification Form (link) . Be sure to complete the Student Group Information section and provide a business purpose for your event. In the Description section, include vendor information such as the name of vendor and a brief description of what is to be rented or purchase i.e. facility/event space, goods or services along with the estimate of the expense. .
We received an invoice from the vendor for a service, can a member of the student group pay with their card and seek reimbursement at a later date?
- Do not pay for a third party vendor or service with your personal credit card.
- Reach out to Student Services regarding any service contracts you would like to enter on behalf of your student group. They can arrange payment through the University’s procurement system, BearBuy.
- It is against University policy to enter service contracts or bring vendors and services on to campus without approval from the University’s Purchasing Authority, Building Management, and without a Certificate of Liability Insurance or waiver from Risk Services. If a service invoice is generated, immediately contact Student Services, please do not attempt to pay the expense out of pocket and seek reimbursement.