Submitting Reimbursements
How to get paid back after buying stuff for the team.
What is a reimbursement?
STAR is a Registered Student Organization under the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC). As such, our funds are stored in their accounts and must be paid out according to their policies. Probably for better documentation and to ensure all money is spent properly, they only disburse funds after we purchase the items. This disbursement is your reimbursement.
Note: This process has changed to be entirely online since March 2020
How do I submit a reimbursement?
Step 0 - Become a member on our CalLink page
Only members can submit a purchase request. In the eyes of the ASUC, our official membership list is on our CalLink page. The following steps will show you how to get on our CalLink roster.
First, go to our CalLink page here: https://callink.berkeley.edu/organization/star/. Sign into your Berkeley account and click Join to request membership. This is a one-time thing, and will allow you to submit a Stage 1 Purchase Request.
You will need to wait for a lead to approve your request to Join. The finance tab will not be available until you are approved. Leads, you must manually mark approved members as "Financial Requestor - 1st Stage" in CalLink for the Finance tab to appear.
We have noticed that the "Join" button is missing sometimes. If that happens to you, just send a message in the #business channel or dm the business lead for a "financial requestor--stage 1" status, along with your Berkeley email and name.
Step 1 - Submitting a Stage 1 Purchase Request
Open the Purchase Request page
Once you have been approved as a member, again, navigate to our CalLink page: https://callink.berkeley.edu/organization/star/. You should see the following page:
Then, click the STAR icon on the left banner. The icon will turn into a gear when the mouse hovers over it. This will open a sidebar. Click the Finance option.
The screenshot here shows what an admin (usually a lead) can see. If you are a 1st-stage financial requestor, you will only see Documents and Finance on the popped-up menu.
If you do not see the banner, you may be using the old Callink web page layout. Refer to Navigating the old Callink web page layout if this is the case.
Start a new purchase request
Click the Create New Request button and then Create New Purchase Request from the drop-down options.
Fill out this form as accurately as possible.
The PR form asks for your UID. It is NOT your student ID on your Cal One Card. Be sure to follow the instruction on the PR form to look up your UID. We recommend right-clicking the UID link, and opening it in a new tab so that you won't lose progress (if you click on the UID link directly, it may just reload the current page into the new page)
For Subject, use the format [full name] - [subteam] - [item description]. For example, this might look like:
Rajiv Govindjee - Propulsion - Test Stand Hardware
The description of items in the Subject should be brief but descriptive; try to use between 2-5 words. You can elaborate below in the Description field as well.
Enter the Requested Amount; this should be the total for the purchase request. Purchase requests (PRs) are usually one item, but you can theoretically put up to six items on a single CalLink PR.
For Categories, chose Reimbursement - Any amount. If you feel like you must use one of the other categories, please reach out to the Business lead.
Refer to the table below for Account:
| If you are buying... | Use this Account |
|---|---|
Any hardware for vehicles, engines, or related projects |
|
Social supplies, outreach, etc.; non-hardware purchases |
|
As of now (May 24, 2022), all expenditure, regardless of categories, should use our misc account: 3-70-203828-00000-MISC-STAR.
Fill out the Payee Information completely. If you are getting a check mailed to you, this address is where it will go.
Expenditure Actions
Select an expenditure action
Check out the following chart for more information about three common actions:
| Expenditure action | What does it mean |
|---|---|
Mail to Payee-same address | No additional set up or office visit needed. However, it takes several days for checks to be mailed to the address indicated in your PR form. |
Direct deposit | Electronic deposit, the fastest way to receive reimbursement, but requires additional setup. For more info please check out Section 6A in the PR form |
Pick up | No additional set up required; however, you would need to visit 432A Eshleman Hall with a valid photo ID |
We recommend Mail to Payee-same address or Direct deposit
Fill out itemized sections
For most cases, you can leave Special Instructions and Event Details blank.
Fill out the required fields for Item #1 (Date, Type, Vendor, Location, Total)
The form asks you to attach receipts: failure to do this will mean the request is rejected. Below is a sample procedure to reliably get your PR approved:
Only complete Step 3-7 if your receipts do not have billing contact (name, address, etc.).
Download or scan and upload an invoice or receipt from the vendor. For Amazon, invoices must show the word "Shipped". For McMaster, it's best to concatenate the Receipt and Packing List (shipping confirmation), but you might be able to get away with just the Receipt (as long as it shows shipping cost).
Redact the invoice/shipping notification as appropriate.
Download a PDF of your credit card / bank statement (and make sure it's not password-protected to edit; you can use "Print to PDF" from your browser if this is an issue).
Use a tool like Adobe Acrobat DC (free for students at https://software.berkeley.edu/adobe-creative-cloud) to redact sensitive information like routing numbers, other purchases, balance, etc. (optional, but recommended).
You will need to leave your name, dates, amount of relevant purchases, and the last 4 digits of your card number _unredacted._ The ASUC can and will reject PRs without this information on your statements.
Verify the invoice total matches the credit card statement total. If it does not, the ASUC will likely reject your request.
Verify the Payee name matches the bank/credit card statement. The ASUC will likely reject your PR if this is not the case. It may be acceptable to have no name on the reciept, but not one that does not match.
Use a tool like Adobe Acrobat DC to concatenate the invoice and statement into one file, omitting any irrelevant pages.
Upload the file.
Repeat the process for Item #2, ... , 6 if applicable. Most PRs contain only one item.
Verify and submit
Once complete, check over all your entered data. Upon PR submission, you cannot edit the PR anymore.
Submit the Purchase Request.
Step 2 - Prepare for Stage 2 and beyond
Once you have submitted the PR, your job is complete! STAR's stage-2 financial agents, who are usually in the business subteam, will approve your PR or contact you for further questions! If you realize that you have made a mistake, please inform the agents. You can do that either by direct messaging or sending the message to the Business channel in STAR's Discord Server.
If no stage-2 agents approve your PR or contact you after 3 business days, please send a message in the Business channel.
If some of your receipts do not have billing contact (name, address, etc.), which can clear show that they were your purchases, you should prepare a digital copy of your credit/debit card statement proving you paid for these items. (you can redact all irrelevant information, but make sure to leave your name on the statement)
Step 2.5 - Submit proof of payment and wait for confirmation from a STAR representative (Only occasionally applicable when your PR is listed in Stage 3)
Only follow the steps below if for some reason you were not able to upload the necessary documents to the purchase request, and they have not been added even after the purchase request is Stage 2. We recommend you to complete this step with a Business member
Please e-mail proof of payment (credit card statement or bank statement) to asucfinance@berkeley.edu. The email must include:
The purchase request number in the subject line
The name of the payee
A finance representative from the team will review your request and elevate it to a Stage 2 request. We will check that the amount requested matches the amount on the proof of purchase, and we will check that you have all required proof of purchases.
Once approved, you will be notified through email or Discord. You can also check status from the Finances page.
If your request does not meet our requirements, it will be rejected. Please check this page to make sure you met all the requirements.
Step 3 - Wait to hear back from the LEAD Center
Wait for approval from the LEAD Center. They may reach out to you for more details. If your PR(s) are listed in Stage 5, that means your reimbursement(s) have been approved.
Index
Navigating the old Callink web page layout
Once you have been approved as a member, again, navigate to our CalLink page: https://callink.berkeley.edu/organization/star/. Click Manage Organization in the upper right corner.
Then, click the expand menu button (three horizontal bars) on the upper left corner . This will open a sidebar.
Click the Finance option.
Click the Create New Request button and then Create New Purchase Request from the drop-down options.
Now you are ready to resume the tutorial above. Click here to return.
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