CalLink Purchase Request Required Documentation

Every purchase request requires supporting documentation in order to be approved. The documentation that is required varies depending on the purchase request category you select; some categories require more documentation than others. For example, certain request categories like contracted services and stipends require that the requestor upload certain forms into the purchase request and require that the payee has submitted tax documentation to the ASUC. This page will explain in detail the documentation required for each PR category.

It is important to note that this page outlines required documentation. This means that any purchase requests that fail to include the relevant documentation listed below will be flagged for additional review and will take extra time to be approved. Though folks submitting purchase requests do not necessarily need to have completed this entire ASUC/GA Agent user training, these requirements are incredibly important to know and understand and you are encouraged to share this information with members of your organization.

Please note that some of the example documentation provided on this page may look slightly different than what you or other requestors will ultimately attach to a purchase request. Pay close attention to the descriptions of what is necessary in addition to the illustrative examples.

If you are ever unsure about what documentation you ought to include in a purchase request, feel free to email asucfinance@berkeley.edu and a staff member can assist you with verifying what documents are needed to process your purchase request.

Reimbursement

Reimbursement purchase requests have different document requirements depending on the amount of the expense in question and depending on how the expense was paid. Please click through the options below to see the minimum requirements for cash, check, and credit/debit expenses.

All reimbursement requests require, at a minimum, a receipt from the vendor and some proof of payment.

Cash
Check
Credit/Debit ≤ $500.00
Credit/Debit ≥ $500.01

Required Documentation for Cash Purchases

An original, legible receipt from the vendor that includes:
- Name of the vendor
- Date of purchase
- Total amount due
- Total amount of cash tendered to the vendor
- Proof of zero remaining balance

Alternative Documentation for Cash Purchases

If you have a receipt that is missing any of the required fields listed above or if you are entirely missing your receipt for a cash purchase, you must submit a CalLink Finance Lost/Missing Cash Receipts Form as part of the documentation for that expense in your purchase request.

Required Documentation for Check Purchases

An original, legible receipt from the vendor that includes:
- Name of the vendor
- Date of purchase
- Total amount due
- Indication that receipt was paid by check (with a check number)
- Proof of zero remaining balance

Alternative Documentation for Check Purchases

If the receipt does not have sufficient proof of payment (showing that a check was tendered, the amount tendered by the check, and the check number), additional proof of payment must be provided.

Valid additional proof of payment for check purchases is a bank statement provided by the payee that includes:

The payee's full name.
The last 4 digits of the bank account number.
The transaction being reimbursed, which must include the check number and both the transaction amount and date (and, if possible, an image of the check that shows to whom the check was paid).

Required Documentation for Credit/Debit Card Purchases ≤ $500.00

An original, legible receipt from the vendor that includes:

Name of the vendor
Date of purchase
Total amount charged/paid
Indicates a credit/debit card was used
Shows the last 4 digits of the card number
Shows a fully paid/zero-remaining balance (and does not show any amount due)

Alternative Documentation for Credit/Debit Card Purchases ≤ $500.00

If the receipt does not have sufficient proof of payment (showing the last 4 digits of the card number and a zero remaining balance), additional proof of payment must be provided.

Valid additional proof of payment for a credit card purchase ≤ $500.00 is a bank statement provided by the payee that includes:

The last 4 digits of the card/account number
The transaction in question, including the date, the amount paid, and identification of the vendor

⚠️ NOTE: A standard bank/credit card statement is not necessary to fulfill this documentation requirement; we will accept screenshots/PDFs of a payee's online bank account as long as it appears to be genuine and shows all of the information required to satisfy proof of payment.

Required Documentation for Credit/Debit Card Purchases ≥ $500.01

An original, legible receipt from the vendor that includes:

Name of the vendor
Date of purchase
Total amount charged/paid
Name of the payee (this is not required for purchases < $500)
Indicates a credit/debit card was used
Shows the last 4 digits of the card number
Shows a fully paid/zero-remaining balance (and does not show any amount due)

Alternative Documentation for Credit/Debit Card Purchases ≥ $500.01

If the receipt does not have sufficient proof of payment (showing the last 4 digits of the card number and a zero remaining balance), additional proof of payment must be provided.

Valid additional proof of payment for a credit card purchase ≥ $500.01 is a bank statement provided by the payee that includes:

The payee's full name
The last 4 digits of the card/account number
The transaction in question, including the date, the amount paid, and identification of the vendor

⚠️ NOTE: A standard bank/credit card statement is not necessary to fulfill this documentation requirement; we will accept screenshots/PDFs of a payee's online bank account as long as it appears to be genuine and shows all of the information required to satisfy proof of payment.

There are some additional requirements beyond the minimums listed above for certain types of reimbursement requests.

Online Purchases

Online purchases for goods require two additional forms of documentation:

An itemized receipt that includes all of the items in the order
Proof that all of the items in the order have either shipped or been delivered

This documentation can be contained within the receipt for the purchase or it can be separate and attached with the rest of the documentation.

Food/Grocery Purchases

Any purchase of food items (e.g., from a restaurant, supermarket, etc.) or grocery items (and generally, purchases made at establishments that sell these items, such as restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores, corner stores, gas stations) require one additional piece of documentation:

An itemized receipt that includes all of the items in the order (the receipt must be from the vendor and must be associated with the purchase

This documentation can be contained within the receipt for the purchase or it can be separate and attached with the rest of the documentation. This documentation must be from the vendor and must have been generated in association with your purchase. That is, you cannot substitute an itemized receipt from a restaurant purchase with a takeout app's shopping cart with all of the same items you ordered.

Hotel/Lodging

Any payment for lodging or hotel charges require one additional piece of documentation:

A hotel folio that shows all of the charges paid for and shows a zero remaining balance for the reservation. The folio must also include the dates of occupancy.

This documentation can be contained within the receipt for the purchase or it can be separate and attached with the rest of the documentation.

Airplane Travel

Any payment for travel by airplane requires one additional piece of documentation:

An itinerary that has the dates of travel for all flights being booked and that also has the name of all travelers on the itinerary.

This documentation can be contained within the receipt for the purchase or it can be separate and attached with the rest of the documentation.

Purchases made in a foreign currency

Any payment that is made in a currency other than USD ($) requires one additional piece of documentation:

A document that shows the official exchange rate between the currency in which the purchase was made and USD from the date of the purchase that also includes the calculated conversion between the amount paid in the foreign currency and USD. For example, a purchase made in Euros for £50 on January 1, 2024 would require a screenshot of the official USD to Euro exchange rate on January 1, 2024 and then a calculation of £50 to dollars at that exchange rate.

ASUC Finance is only able to reimburse payments in USD, so this documentation must be provided. It is not sufficient to simply list the exchange rate from the date of purchase; you must provide the documentation.

Reimbursement documentation examples (click to view)

Examples coming soon

ASUC Credit Card Request

Because ASUC Credit Card Requests are submitted in advance of any purchases being made, the documentation requirements are different than those for the Reimbursement category. There are two types of documentation required for credit card PRs: documentation of intended purchases that is submitted when the PR is created and receipts that are submitted to ASUC Finance via an online form once the credit card has been used.

Documentation for intended purchases

When you submit a credit card PR, no purchases have been made yet, and it is understood that sometimes prices or other fees will change between the time when you submit the PR and when you make your purchases with an ASUC credit card. In order for ASUC Finance to verify that ASUC credit cards are going to be used in a manner compliant with the ASUC Credit Card Program Usage Agreement and to verify that a student organization has enough funds on hand to cover their intended purchases, you are required to upload itemized documentation (with prices for each item) of what your student organization intends to purchase with the credit card. Examples of what this documentation might look like includes:

A PDF of a hotel or Airbnb reservation agreement
A screenshot of an Amazon.com shopping cart with shipping costs and taxes included
An itemized grocery list for a trip to Safeway that includes estimated prices for each item typed up in Microsoft Word/Excel
In invoice from a vendor

Documentation for actual purchases

As you are using the ASUC credit card, you are required to ask for and keep original, itemized, and legible receipts from any vendor you pay with the credit card that also lists the name of the vendor and the date of purchase. If a purchase was made online, the receipt must also include the last 4 digits of the ASUC credit card number.

Unlike the documentation for intended purchases that you can upload and attach to your purchase request, you are required to upload scans/photos of your ASUC credit card receipts to ASUC Finance via an online form. Once you have returned the ASUC credit card to the AP/AR office, you submit all of your receipts to via the online reconciliation form at asuc.org/reconcile within five (5) business days of returning the card. If any of your receipts are missing or unavailable, you must inform Kai Wu at kailun.wu@berkeley.edu within five (5) business days of returning the card.

⚠️ NOTE: Credit card usage is a privilege and ASUC Finance reserves the right to revoke, suspend, or temporarily amend the terms for the ASUC Credit Card Program for any RSO at any time. Failure to comply with the proper documentation and check-in requirements will result in suspension of program privileges. Specifically, failure to return a checked-out credit card or to upload receipts within ten (10) business days will result in the entire RSO being suspended from participation in the ASUC Credit Card Program for two full academic semesters. There are no exceptions whatsoever.

Payments to Business Entities

Payment to Vendor

All Payment to Vendor PRs have the same documentation requirements.

Payment to Vendor PRs require a final itemized invoice (not a quote/estimate) from the vendor that includes:

An invoice number
The name and address of the vendor
The date of purchase or the date services were provided
A description and cost of the item(s) included on the invoice

The invoice must clearly reflect that the vendor is a business entity and not an individual. Furthermore, invoices that instruct payment to be made out to an individual instead of the entity listed on the invoice are not valid and cannot be processed under this category. You must ensure that the invoice you submit directs payment to a business entity.

Purchase Order-Campus Services (Event Services, Facilities, etc.)

PO-Campus Services requests for services provided by campus partners have similar, but not identical, documentation requirements.

Student organization requestors must submit some sort of formal quote or estimate from the campus partner that includes:

The name of the campus department and a point of contact (e.g., email, phone number, etc.) for the department
The future date on which the services are to be provided by the campus partner
A description and cost of the services that are going to be provided by the campus partner
A booking/reference/event number or some other unique identifier for the specific event

⚠️ NOTE: ASUC Finance cannot accept "event confirmations" or other documents that do not have any pricing information on them. Pricing information must be included so that ASUC Finance staff can verify that the RSO has enough funds in its accounts to cover the full projected cost of the event or services. ASUC Finance will NEVER approve a PO-Campus Services PR for $0 or for some trivial and negligible amount of funds.

Purchase Order (One-Time Purchase)

All one-time purchase orders have the same documentation requirements.

Student organization requestors must submit a formal quote or estimate from the vendor that includes:

The name and address of the vendor
The future date on which goods/services are to be provided
A description and cost of the goods/services that are going to be provided

Once the PO is approved by ASUC Finance, it will remain open until the vendor sends a final itemized invoice that includes:

An invoice number
The PO number generated by ASUC Finance after the purchase order PR was approved
The name and address of the vendor
The actual date of purchase or the actual date services were provided
A description and cost of the item(s) on the invoice

⚠️ NOTE: While ASUC/GA Agent users and members of a student organization have no further responsibilities for a PO once the Purchase Order PR is approved, the approval and issue of a purchase order by ASUC Finance DOES NOT mean that the vendor will be paid. As indicated on any purchase order issued to a vendor, vendors are required to submit a final invoice (that includes the ASUC PO number) for the goods/services provided to ASUC Finance in order for payment to be made.

Compensation to Individuals

Contracted Service

Contracted Service PRs have three documentation requirements: a signed and completed CalLink Finance Payment Voucher, completion of a substitute W-9 or of a W-8BEN form by the payee, and proof of qualification to render a service.

CalLink Finance Payment Voucher

The CalLink Finance Payment Voucher must be completely filled in, signed and dated by the payee, and uploaded to the purchase request. The payee's signature must be written (it can be a wet signature or a facsimile) — it cannot be typed. Be sure to complete the payment voucher as follows:

Check the "Contracted Service" box
Write the name of whomever is submitting the Contracted Service PR for "Requestor Name"
Write the full name of your student organization for "Organization Name"
Write the payee's full legal name for "Payee Name"
Write a brief description of the personal services provided to your organization by the payee for "Describe services rendered…"
Write the actual place where the services were rendered for "Location of services provided"
Write the date the services were rendered in both the "(start)" and "(end)" fields for "Date(s) services provided"
Write the full amount your student organization is paying to the payee in $USD for "total amount owed to payee"

You should then send the payment voucher to the payee to sign and date. Once you have the signed and completed payment voucher, it is ready to upload into a purchase request. Use the dropdown below to view an example of a correctly completed CS payment voucher.

Substitute W-9 or W-8BEN via DocuSign

For tax reporting reasons, all individuals receiving compensation for work/services rendered by the ASUC must complete tax documentation for the ASUC once per calendar year via a secure DocuSign link. Once a payee completes this tax documentation in a calendar year, they will not have to complete it again for the rest of the year.

U.S. residents are required to complete a substitute W-9 form via DocuSign using this link. Completion of this document is required for U.S. residents and payees will not receive payment from ASUC Finance until this form is completed and processed.

Foreigners/non-residents/undocumented payees should complete a W-8BEN form via DocuSign using this link. Individuals who choose not to complete a W-8BEN form for ASUC Finance are subject to a mandatory 30% tax withholding that ASUC Finance must enforce per IRS regulations.

Payees should NEVER email W-9 or W-8BEN forms to ASUC Finance and requestors should NEVER complete tax documents on behalf of a payee. Furthermore, substitute W-9 forms and W-8BEN forms should NEVER be submitted with a purchase request.

Proof of Qualifications

To ensure proper use of compensation funds, all purchase requests for a contracted service must include documentation that proves the individual rendering the service is qualified to provide the service. Examples of proof include a resume, a CV, a link to a portfolio or website showcasing the payee's work, etc.

Stipend

Stipend PRs have two documentation requirements: a signed and completed CalLink Finance Payment Voucher and completion of a substitute W-9 or of a W-8BEN form by the payee.

CalLink Finance Payment Voucher

The CalLink Finance Payment Voucher must be completely filled in, signed and dated by the payee, and uploaded to the purchase request. The payee's signature must be written (it can be a wet signature or a facsimile) — it cannot be typed. Be sure to complete the payment voucher as follows:

Check the "Stipend" box
Write the name of whomever is submitting the Stipend PR for "Requestor Name"
Write the full name of your student organization for "Organization Name"
Write the payee's full legal name for "Payee Name"
Write a brief description of the services provided/duties performed to your organization by the payee for "Describe services rendered…"
Write the actual place where the work was performed for "Location of services provided"
Write the start and end dates of the stipended services/duties in the "(start)" and "(end)" fields for "Date(s) services provided"
Write the number of hours worked by the payee over the stipend period for "total number of hours worked"
Write the full amount your student organization is paying to the payee in $USD for "total amount owed to payee"

You should then send the payment voucher to the payee to sign and date. Once you have the signed and completed payment voucher, it is ready to upload into a purchase request. Use the dropdown below to view an example of a correctly completed stipend payment voucher.

Substitute W-9 or W-8BEN via DocuSign

For tax reporting reasons, all individuals receiving compensation for work/services rendered by the ASUC must complete tax documentation for the ASUC once per calendar year via a secure DocuSign link. Once a payee completes this tax documentation in a calendar year, they will not have to complete it again for the rest of the year.

U.S. residents are required to complete a substitute W-9 form via DocuSign using this link. Completion of this document is required for U.S. residents and payees will not receive payment from ASUC Finance until this form is completed and processed.

Foreigners/non-residents/undocumented payees should complete a W-8BEN form via DocuSign using this link. Individuals who choose not to complete a W-8BEN form for ASUC Finance are subject to a mandatory 30% tax withholding that ASUC Finance must enforce per IRS regulations.

Payees should NEVER email W-9 or W-8BEN forms to ASUC Finance and requestors should NEVER complete tax documents on behalf of a payee. Furthermore, substitute W-9 forms and W-8BEN forms should NEVER be submitted with a purchase request.

Award

Award PRs generally have the same documentation requirements as Stipend PRs: a completed payment voucher uploaded to the purchase request and a W-9 or W-8BEN completed by the payee through DocuSign.

The main difference for an Award PR is that the payment voucher does not need to be signed and dated by the payee. The date the Award is given should be indicated in the respective field, but there is no requirement to have the payee sign or date the voucher. Once the requestor fully completes the voucher, it is ready to be uploaded to a purchase request.

Grant

Grant PRs generally have the same documentation requirements as Stipend PRs: a completed payment voucher uploaded to the purchase request and a W-9 or W-8BEN completed by the payee through DocuSign.

The main difference for an Grant PR is that the payment voucher does not need to be signed and dated by the payee. The date the Grant is given should be indicated in the respective field, but there is no requirement to have the payee sign or date the voucher. Once the requestor fully completes the voucher, it is ready to be uploaded to a purchase request.

Donations

Donation PRs have two documentation requirements: a completed CalLink Finance Payment Voucher and proof of 501(c)(3) nonprofit status for the payee.

The payment voucher does not need to be signed and dated, so once it is completely filled out it is ready to be uploaded to a purchase request.

ASUC Finance will only process donations to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Student organizations are required to provide proof of the charity's 501(c)(3) nonprofit status to ASUC Finance in order to have the donation processed. Proof should be uploaded with the payment voucher to the purchase request. Proof must include: a) a dated IRS determination letter addressed to the charity affirming its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status; and b) a signed and dated IRS Form W-9 issued by the charity from the current calendar year.

Transfer Between Accounts

Transfer between Accounts PRs have looser documentation requirements. ASUC Finance advises that documentation for these purchase requests includes some written/email agreement between two student organizations about funds being transferred and the reason for which the funds are being transferred.

Otherwise any type of short written statement about why the funds are being transferred from one account to another will suffice. If there appears to be missing information or if more information is required, ASUC Finance may reach out to the requestor to obtain that information.