Business Meals Guidelines

Background

As outlined in the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s Allowable and Unallowable Grant Expenses Policy, meals and meeting refreshments are allowable if specifically related to the project and included in the approved project budget. Gratuity is allowable up to 20 percent of the pre-tax total, sales tax is not allowable. Although allowable, WPP discourages using grant funds for meals and meeting refreshments.

The purpose of these guidelines is to establish parameters for the payment or reimbursement of costs associated with WPP business meals and events.

NOTE: Internal grant recipients, those within the University of Wisconsin Madison, must also adhere to UW Policy – UW-3039.

Definitions

Business Meal: providing food or refreshments for an activity specifically related to advancing the goals and objectives of a WPP funded project.

Business Purpose: The reason for an appropriate, reasonable, and necessary expense that benefits, supports or advances the objectives of the WPP award.

Requirements

Business meals must be thoroughly documented to qualify for reimbursement. The following items are required:

• A completed WPP meal reimbursement form that documents the event details, including the gathering name, date, organizational affiliations of participants, and the business purpose, while limiting personally identifiable information to what is necessary for compliance.
• Itemized receipt or paid invoice showing the claimed total for the related expense.
• An agenda of the meeting, training, or event.

Failure to include this documentation in the financial reimbursement report (FRR) submission will result in delayed processing time, or removal of the claimed expense.