ACA reimbursement rules for travel grants and other refund requests
Invoices or receipts are to be provided for all ACA approved expenditures before the ACA will issue cheques. The reimbursement claim must be made no later than six months after the completion of the event that the grant was used for. It must be stressed that the claim will not be processed ahead of time, i.e. prior to the event.
The documents may be passed to the ACA in a few ways.
1. Originals or their photocopies may be handed over to the Treasurer in person.
2. Originals or their photocopies may be mailed to the following address:
Alberta Chess Association
PO Box 11839 Main, Edmonton, AB T5J 3K9
3. Electronic receipts as well as scanned originals (preferably in PDF format) may be emailed to the ACA Treasurer.
The information on the receipts must be legible and complete. The date(s) of purchase as well as all the amounts paid must be clearly seen. Wherever applicable, the name(s) of the traveller(s) must be explicitly shown. Please note that neither credit card statements nor payment slips will be accepted.
Below is a list of eligible expenses along with the guidelines on how to collect the pertinent documents.
1. Tournament Entry Fee. For online registration and payment, save an electronic receipt. If payment is made on site, ask the organizer or the Tournament Director to issue a paper receipt.
2. Airfare. Provide a complete travel itinerary with the name(s) of the passenger(s) and the overall fare. If possible, retain boarding passes as well.
3. Hotel. Pick up the bill at the front desk of the hotel at the time of checkout. Please note that if a hotel room is booked online, an electronic confirmation of the booking alone will not be sufficient.
4. Meals. During the trip retain food receipts from restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores etc. All purchased items must be clearly seen on the receipt. Please note that the ACA’s current reimbursement limit for the meals is $50/day (subject to change). Expenses on alcohol and tobacco will not be reimbursed.
5. Gasoline. Receipts must be provided for in-province or out-of-province travel by car. Please note that only direct-route transportation to the tournament venue is eligible for reimbursement.
Other expenses such as public transportation, car rental and parking may also be reimbursed once the receipts are provided. Please note that the expenses that are social or recreational in nature are not eligible.
Appendix
The following simple examples demonstrate two typical scenarios.
Example 1. Player A from Edmonton has won a travel grant of $1000 and wants to go to Toronto to participate in the Canadian Open. The list of expenses may look as follows.
1. Entry fee – $100.
2. Airfare – $500
3. Accommodation – $100/night x 7 nights = $700.
Since the total already exceeds the maximum amount of the travel grant, player A does not have to provide any other receipts to be reimbursed $1000.
Example 2. Player B from Calgary has won a travel grant of $1000 and wants to go to Montreal to participate in the Canadian Youth Chess Championship, a four-day national event. Since they have relatives there, player B has decided to stay with their uncle during the tournament. The list of expenses may then look as follows.
1. Entry fee – $200
2. Airfare – $500
If player B does not provide anything else, they will be reimbursed $700. However, if player B does collect their food receipts, they may get an additional $50/day x 4 days = $200.