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UseCases/ReimbursementRequest.mdwn
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# Handling Requests for Reimbursements
 

	
 
Most non-profit organizations have to reimburse employees, contractors and
 
volunteers for expenses, such as travel expenses.  There are two sides to the
 
reimbursement process that must be adequately handled by a non-profit
 
accounting system.
 

	
 
## Reimbursement: The Organization's View
 

	
 
The organization has to be able to easily:
 

	
 
    * Receive and store receipts.
 
      [[Track those receipts|UseCases/TrackingDocumentation]] in the context
 
      of the
 
      [[double entry accounting entries|UseCases/DoubleEntryAccounting]] that
 
      relate to those receipts.
 
    * Track the reimbursement request as an invoice.
 
    * Handle any [[currency conversion|UseCases/MultiCurrency]] related to
 
      the receipts, both from the point of view of international travel, and
 
      also considering the fact that the person reimbursed may seek
 
      reimbursement in a different currency than the native currency of the
 
      organization's.
 
    * Track approvals of the expenses by multiple parties.  (For example,
 
      perhaps a volunteer project leader must approve, and then later by with
 
      fiduciary duty to the organization itself).
 
    * Ideally, the system would auto-detect any places where a travel and/or
 
      reimbursement policy for the organization is violated (or mandates
 
      additional approvals).
 
    * Ideally, the system could "set up" accounting entries for "merger" into
 
      the accounts, based on an expense report submitted.
 
   
 
## Reimbursement: The Traveler's View
 

	
 
From traveler's/reimbursement-requester's view, they'll need:
 

	
 
    * An easy, outward-facing web interface for submitting receipts.
 
    * Ideally, flagging them when additional approval is needed before
 
      submitting their expense report, so that they can seek additional
 
      approval before submitting.
 
    * Updates on the external web interface system about status when the
 
      expense is moving through the internal system at the organization. 
 
    * Automatic calculation of any per-diem allowances.