Business Meals

A Business Meal is defined as a meal at which faculty, staff, students and/or sponsored guests are present for the purpose of conducting University business. Where possible, meetings should be conducted during non-meal hours of the day. A business meal that occurs while traveling will result in a prorated travel meal reimbursement.

Business meals require:

A business purpose describing connection to the university
An itemized receipt and a copy of the credit card authorization slip
A list of all attendees and their business affiliations
The specific topics discussed
The outcome (purpose) of the meeting
A statement outlining why the meeting was conducted during the meal (and why other times wouldn’t work)

Actual business meal expenses are expected to continue to fall below the maximum amounts permitted. The maximum is inclusive of the actual cost of food, tax, tip and alcohol (excludes room rental and non-food costs):

Breakfast: Up to $40 per person
Lunch: Up to $70 per person
Dinner: Up to $130 per person

Department-Sponsored Meals

A Department-Sponsored Meal is defined as a meal at which faculty, staff, students and/or sponsored guests are present for the purpose of conducting University business following a presentation or lecture.
May be charged to a Purchasing Card or charged to a personal credit card and submitted for reimbursement.
An itemized receipt and a copy of the credit card authorization slip is required.
The maximum is inclusive of the actual cost of food, tax, tip and alcohol (excludes room rental and non-food costs). Actual expenses are expected to continue to fall below the maximum amounts permitted.
Requires business purpose describing connection to the university, a list of all attendees and their business affiliations, the specific topics discussed, and the outcome (purpose) of the meeting.
Department-Sponsored Meals are intended to provide students and faculty with an opportunity to intimately interact with a guest following their lecture, and will usually not exceed 6 total attendees.
Only the Sponsored Guest and Stanford-affiliates(including Department faculty, students, and co-sponsoring faculty or students) may attend a Department-sponsored meal. External guests are prohibited from attending.
Total inclusive per-person meal costs cannot exceed:
- Breakfast: $25 per person
- Lunch: $40 per person
- Dinner: $80 per person