Entertainment Policy-OOEF

Introduction  |  Guidelines   |  Guidelines  Meal Limits |  OOEF Process Overview

An Official Occasion is any reception, dinner, luncheon, or similar event funded by a University account, in any location or city. An approved Official Occasion Expense Form (OOEF) must be on file prior to the event date. OOEF's must be submitted via the college's DocuSign PowerForm by a department or program administrators. There are 5 separate PowerForms based on the total Official Occasion's budget and the account being used. Each of the 5 OOEF PowerForms has its own unique approval routing. Please be sure you are using the correct PowerForm based on the total Official Occasion's budget. All Official Occasion budgets totaling $3,000.00 or more require an itemized budget be attached to OOEF PowerForm in order to be reviewed and approved. If there is not an approved OOEF on file we cannot proceed with a reimbursement or vendor payment. Reimbursements to individuals for entertainment expense cannot be processed if the receipts are more than 60 days old.

• OOEF for Events Under $3,000

• OOEF for Events Between $3,000 and $4,999 (Note: Attachment of itemized budget is required)

• OOEF for Events $5K and greater (Note: Attachment of itemized budget is required)

OOEFs for Dean's sub-units, Undergraduate Education, or anyone using the Dean’s accounts

• OOEF for Event Under $5,000
• OOEF for Event $5,000 and over

If you experience any issues with the OOEF powerforms, please e-mail Financials@cns.utexas.edu. 

When completing an OOEF PowerForm, please be sure to only use an EID email addresses, the person's EID@eid.utexas.edu, in order for the OOEF to be associated with your UT EID account and to have access the OOEF and its history. All OOEFs must route through the school's Business Services Team. Below are the OOEF PowerForm Contacts you MUST use:

• CNS Contact: department or program administrator's name (YOUR EID@eid.utexas.edu)

• Optional Reviewer: Maria Acosta (acostame@eid.utexas.edu)

Please note, the Authorized Signer will changed based on the Final Signer(s) table. Unless you've received specific instruction, refrain from assigning OOEFs to the Delegate 1 contacts. The Delegate 2 contact, Arturo Flores (arf56@eid.utexas.edu) is the default authorized signer for the highlighted SoHE unit codes.

We ask that OOEFs are submitted to the Business Services Team two weeks before the event date, and one month prior for events where the estimated total cost exceeds $3,000.00. There should be one OOEF per Official Occasion where the participant information and purpose of the event are identical. When the event is occurring at multiple locations, please enter various on your OOEF.

If the cost of your event changes by more than 10% you will need to submit a new OOEF PowerForm to supplement your first approved request. You must use object code "1309 – Official Student Occasions" for events charged to student fee or flat rate tuition accounts. You cannot use core CNS funded 19 accounts including start-up, retention, AUF, and ICR accounts. State funded 14 and 20 accounts also cannot be used for entertainment expenses. Some grant accounts do not allow entertainment expenses, please check with the PI regarding their grant account.

After-the-fact Official Occasion Expense Form (OOEF):

After-the-fact OOEFs should be rare. On those rare occasions, where having a prior approved OOEF was unavoidable, all the OOEF data fields should be completed with correct data that aligns with the corresponding receipts or invoices. There should be no need for edits to an approved after-the-fact OOEF. When you submit an after-the-fact OOEFs, you must attach the corresponding receipts and/or invoices to the OOEF. If you have the available space in the "Purpose of Event" field in Section 2, please include a brief explanation for after-the-fact request.

Blanket Official Occasion Expense Form (OOEF):

Blanket OOEF are only acceptable when all three of the below conditions are met:

• an event is part of a recurring series over a period of time such as a semester or fiscal year

• the title and purpose of each event is identical for each occurrence

• the “host” and core audience/group of the events are the same for each occurrence

Please see "When to Use a Blanket OOEF" document for assistance completing the OOEF.

Declined Official Occasion Expense Form (OOEF):

If your OOEF is declined for any reason by the business services team they will enter notes explaining their declination. You can view these notes in docusign by following the instructions outlined in the "Find Out Why Your DocuSign Document Was Declined" guidance. When completing an OOEF PowerForm, please be sure to only use an EID email addresses, the person's EID@eid.utexas.edu, in order for the OOEF to be associated with your UT EID account and to have access the OOEF and its history.

Initiating an OOEF as a Student or Faculty Member:

Only department or program administrators should initiate an OOEF PowerForm. When you are planning to have an Official Occasion please send your department or program administrator the below details in advance so that the may initiate the college's OOEF PowerForm on your behalf. Please remember, an approved Official Occasion Expense Form (OOEF) must be on file prior to the event date. Also, we ask that department or program administrators submit OOEFs under $3,000.00 to the Business Services Team two weeks before the event date, and one month prior for events where the estimated total cost exceeds $3,000.00. If there is not an approved OOEF on file we cannot proceed with a reimbursement or vendor payment.

OOEF Details to Share with your department or program administrator:

• Account Number for the expense

• Event Name

• Event Date and Time

• Event Location

• Purpose of the Event

• Total Expense Estimate (Event Itemized Budget for Total Expenses $3K or more)

• Participant Information (For groups 10 and under include all participants Name, Title, and affiliation. For groups of 11 or more provide the name of each group, example 50 department faculty, staff, and undergraduates.)

Back to Top

Entertainment Guidelines:

Some guidelines are listed below, but you are encouraged to read the entire CNS Official Occasions and Entertainment Policy.

• Tips can only be reimbursed up to 20% of the subtotal of the bill

• An itemized receipt must always be included. Proof of payment is required if no credit card receipt is available (Proof of payment can be credit card statement, cancelled check, receipts showing paid if cash)

• Alcohol may not be the primary expenditure (less than 50%)

• Meals/entertainment for prospective faculty candidates is not to exceed $750 per day

• Alcohol is not allowed at any undergraduate student event or other events opened to undergraduate students

• The per person limits include tax and tip

• Prior approval is required when alcohol is being served on campus

SoHE Meal Limits:

All faculty, staff, and students will only be reimbursed up to the set limits.

Back to Top

OOEF Process Overview

1. Work with your department or program administrators to have an OOEF PowerForm submitted prior to your Official Occasion.
2. When the OOEF has been approved the department administrator will receive an email notifying them that their OOEF has been completed and the Business Services Team will upload a copy to the shared UT Box.
3. After you have received notice that the OOEF has been approved you have authorization to start placing orders and purchasing for your event.
4. After your Official Occasion all original receipts or invoices should be submitted to via the Invoice and Receipt submission instruction to initiate the payment process. 
5. The Business Service Team will review the submitted Entertainment Payment Request Form and process the payment or reimbursement.

If you have any questions about payments related to an event, please send an email to he-business_services@utlists.utexas.edu.

Back to Top