Overview:

Please review the Handbook of Business Procedures entry on Entertainment 9.1.1. for complete details on entertainment expenditures and official occasions. Entertainment expenditures include food, beverages, facility rentals, flowers, invitations, and other expenses and must serve a clear business purpose. The university’s process for paying for entertainment costs changed on May 1, 2025. It is everyone’s responsibility to read, understand, and ensure compliance with HBP and COLA policies.

Official Occasion Expense Form

Procedure for non-CBS units:

• Did your chair/director host the event? Host can be any of the following:

• Is your chair/director being reimbursed?

• Is the total amount of the entertainment expenditures over $5,000?

• Is the account you are using a Dean’s office account (DLA/endowment)?

• Is alcohol the primary expense? (Review the policy carefully for the limited scenarios where this is applicable. HBP 9.1.1.4.2c)

If the answer is YES to any of the above, the coversheet needs to be signed by the Dean’s Office.

If the answer is NO to all of the above, the coversheet needs to be signed by your chair/director.

For coversheets to be signed by the Dean’s Office, submit your completed packet via SmartSheet. Once signed by a Dean’s Office delegate, submit the final approved packet to OA for payment.

For coversheets to be signed by your chair/director, you can FYA the document in Define, create a PDF of the coversheet to be signed digitally, or have them sign the paper coversheet with their name and title clearly printed under the signature. Once signed by your chair/director, submit the final approved packet to OA for payment.

Procedure for CBS Units:

1. Upload documentation (receipts, OOEF, contract/PO, etc) to your area’s CBS Submission Box folder.

2. CBS will create the appropriate voucher, send for required signature (either chair/director, or Dean’s Office), and submit the final approved packet to OA for payment.

Resources:

• HOP 2.1.2 Entertainment Expenses

• HBP 9.1.1. Entertainment and Official Occasion Expenses

• Appendix A (Tips on completing voucher paperwork)

• COLA Resource Guide for Entertainment Expenses

• OOEF Budgeting Spreadsheet - Tool to help you plan a budget for your event

• OOEF Tabulator - Tool to help you calculate cost per person

• List of Pre-Approved Venues On-Campus to Serve Alcohol

• Alcohol Exception Request Form

• Tax Exemption Certificate

Overview of procedure and policy changes from summer 2025:

• OOEFs are no longer required to be signed or approved on their own. They must now be submitted with the payment voucher paperwork/documentation.

• Cost per person limit is $100/person per meal or event, including food/beverage, alcohol, tax, gratuity, and required service fees (See HBP 9.1.1.4.2 and the OOE Policy Chart for more detail).

• Accounts Payable in the Office of Accounting reviews voucher coversheets with entertainment expenses for your chair or director’s approval signature or an approval signature from the Dean’s Office, in some cases.

  • If you are attaching an OOEF to the payment packet for VPE, VP2, VP7, etc. that you submit to OA, then you need to make sure the appropriate signature is on the coversheet.

• As of June 1, 2025, the COLA online OOEF system is retired. (Recommended to save PDFs of OOEFs from system in local files, as needed.) Yes, we are now using the PDF version of the OOEF.

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Questions? 

Please contact la-finance@austin.utexas.edu