Employee Reimbursements FAQ
My Expense Approver is unavailable. Who else can approve my ER or Advance?
I've lost a receipt. What should I do?
Why must I provide recipient information for gift cards?
How often should I submit mileage reimbursement requests?
Must I list all my trips separately for mileage reimbursements?
May I use PayPal to conduct University business?
May I be reimbursed for Lime, Bird, Spin, or similar services?
How do I request access to be someone else’s proxy for expense reports?
What if an expense is over 120 days?
Do I need to submit maps for mileage reimbursement when traveling from campus to campus?
How can I find out why my Expense Report is denied?
Do I need to answer the questions' who', 'what', 'where', 'when', and 'why' for every expense?
Can I submit multiple attachments for backup documentation?
My Expense Approver is unavailable. Who else can approve my ER or Advance?
Any approver with Level 1 approval access to your department ID. To find this list of approvers, on the Finance Self Service page, click the “My Expense Reports” tile to view your expense report queue. Once you find the expense report in question, click it to view the details. Under the “Expense Summary” page of the expense report there is an Approval Status timeline. If the report is waiting in the “Pooled” approval category, click the blue “Pooled” text and you will see a list of the approvers with access.
I've lost a receipt. What should I do?
If the receipt total is less than $35, you need to substantiate the expense and note that the receipt is missing. In order to substantiate a missing receipt, include a placeholder document in the receipts (in PDF format) that specifies all the details the receipt would have included: who, what, where, when, why. Make sure to specify the itemization of what was purchased.
If the receipt totals $35 or more, the expense must be substantiated and attach approval from either the CFO, COO, or President. You can fill out the CFO Approval Request form here.
Why must I provide recipient information for gift cards?
The IRS considers gift cards to be income and as such, the employee seeking reimbursement must document recipients' names, campus-wide IDs, and the amounts of the gift cards. Gifts other than gift cards are non-taxable until the value exceeds $35 per calendar year.
Gift cards are reported to the IRS and included as taxable income. If the recipient is a University employee, the gift card is included as taxable income on the employee's paycheck. If the recipient is a non-employee, the recipient is issued an IRS Form 1099 MISC at the end of the calendar year.
How often should I submit mileage reimbursement requests?
Mileage should be submitted at least monthly. Miles must be entered in half-mile (0.5) increments; round up or down as necessary. Google Maps is the preferred tool for calculating mileage. If mileage expense is over 120 days, reimbursement must be submitted to Payroll with an Additional Payment Request Form
Must I list all my trips separately for mileage reimbursements?
Each trip or leg of a trip must have its own entry on the Mileage Log; a round trip, denoted by 'RT', stating the total miles calculated (including daily commute deduction), is acceptable. For mileage reimbursement, please include your mileage log with maps in a single PDF attachment. On the expense report, you may have a single line stating the total miles and reimbursement amount calculated from the mileage log.
May I use PayPal to conduct University business?
Employees may use their personal PayPal accounts to purchase items on the University's behalf. Substantiation for PayPal transactions requires a receipt bearing the supplier's name and an itemized list of items purchased. If the last four digits of the bank or credit card number are not on the receipt, a bank or credit card statement showing the expense is also required, with personal information redacted.
May I be reimbursed for Lime, Bird, Spin, or similar services?
The University will not reimburse for the use of these shared services due to insurance, risk, and safety concerns.
How do I request access to be someone else’s proxy for expense reports?
The individual that you want access to submit expense reports for can add you to their proxy list within PeopleSoft. Here is a walkthrough of the process to Request Access.
What if an expense is over 120 days?
Per IRS regulations, expenses that were incurred over 120 days ago must be processed by the Payroll department using an Additional Payments Form.
Do I need to submit maps for mileage reimbursement when traveling from campus to campus?
No. If the trip starts from a Pepperdine Campus and ends at a Pepperdine campus, you may use the Pepperdine Campuses Mileage Chart found here. You must still submit a mileage log with miles stated on the chart, but no maps will be required.
How can I find out why my Expense Report is denied?
Go to Wavenet/Finance Self Service/Expenses/My Expense Reports to view the reason for the denial.
Do I need to answer the questions' who', 'what', 'where', 'when', and 'why' for every expense?
Yes, the Internal Revenue Service imposes specific requirements for travel and entertainment reimbursements and advances to be considered as non-taxable to the employee. A detailed explanation is required for each expense, regardless of the dollar amount.
Can I submit multiple attachments for backup documentation?
All backup documentation must be submitted as a single PDF file. To combine multiple files into one PDF attachment, using Adobe Acrobat in the All Tools Menu, you can drag and drop multiple files and use the ‘Combine Files’ feature to combine them into one file in PDF format.
Last Updated: 08/18/2025