Exception Approvals

Certain events are required by policy to have exception approval, in addition to department approval.

This approval is provided by the Travel unit of Supply Chain Management, typically through automatic routing in AggieExpense. If approval is required in advance of the report submission, please email the Travel Help Desk at expensehelp@ucdavis.edu.

Examples of expenses that trigger automatic routing for exception approval

  • Entertainment of a spouse, domestic partner, other partner, or family member(s) of the official host or guest.
  • Tickets purchased for a guest or guests by a host to a sporting, theatrical, or musical event for the purpose of stewardship.
  • Employee morale building and employee recognition events.
  • Exceeding the per-person meal allowance.

Any expense that includes a cash contribution or donation to a third party should have pre-approval through expensehelp@ucdavis.edu.

All expenses that require Exception Approval must include a comment or business purpose that clearly explains the need for the expense and/or exception to policy. For example, if the per-person maximum allowance is exceeded, a justification is required that fully explains why the higher cost was unavoidable (e.g., Dietary requirement of the guest required a higher cost meal).

Ambiguous justifications will delay or prevent payment (e.g., "Meal costs exceeded maximum per-person dinner rate" is not an acceptable justification; the justification must indicate the reason why the cost exceeded the allowable amount).

Note: Although exception expenses may be approved, consider any funding restrictions. Entertainment expenses that require additional or exception approval are not allowed on state/general funds, which is the responsibility of the department to review.


How is the Exception Approved?

The expense type will determine how the report routes for approval. It is important to fully explain the reason for the purchase in the comments section of the expense type.  Below are a couple of examples of exception AggieExpense expense types.

Show Tickets

Using the AggieExpense expense type Show Tickets will ensure the proper workflow routing of the expense report. Include a comment in the expense line justifying the purchase. 

Entertainment—Morale

When the report type Entertainment—Morale is used, the report will automatically route for exception approval. Include a comment in the report header to explain the reason for the morale event.