I am not in our finance office, but our institutional policy, which is
in compliance, does not require receipts for travel items < $25.  In
my Center, I strongly encourage investigators to provide receipts for
everything (I'm naturally suspicious when there can be $200-$300 of
undocumented expense!).  We do not reimburse meals on a per diem
basis, that is, a flat amount no matter what.  Meals must be itemized
and are limited to $50/day reimbursement.  They can be unreceipted (if
< $25, as stated), but they are itemized on our Travel Expense Report.
 We no longer accept the torn off tabs from restaurant checks as
receipts -- they must be charge slips or cash register receipts.  I
prefer the latter, because no alcohol expense can slip through.  We
would appear to be in compliance on the no-alcohol rule as long as
none of the receipts show any alcohol expense.  However, I always
worry about an auditor interviewing an investigator, who then states,
"Oh, yeah, I charged my wine on my travel reports."
--------------------------------------------------------
Evelyn J. Ford, Research Administrator
Center for Neurosciences Research
Allegheny University of the Health Sciences
Allegheny Campus, Pittsburgh PA 15212-4772
voice 412.359.4475
fax 412.359.4499
xxxxxx@pgh.auhs.edu

>>> <xxxxxx@unhn.unh.edu> - 11/18/97 11:09 AM >>>
My University is revising its travel policy and the question has been
raised regarding receipts for costs less than $25.00 on travel
pertaining to sponsored projects. Proposed policy is: no receipts are
required for items that cost less than $25.00 while a person is
traveling. This excludes meals which will be reimbursed on a per diem
basis. A question has been raised as to whether or not the lack of
receipts for other costs would be in compliance with the
documentation
requirements of A-21 and A-110.

I would appreciate responses from other institutions with experience
with this topic to help us determine if the proposed policy of not
requiring receipts for expenses under $25 would be in compliance with
the federal rules.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Andy