Expense Policy

Gitlab Foundation will pay and reimburse employees  for necessary and reasonable business expenses incurred on behalf of or in connection with carrying out the organization's activities. Items not listed on the approved expenses.

Reason for Policy

To ensure sound business practices and proper reporting of all business expenses in compliance with applicable regulations, including tax regulations under the Internal Revenue Code.

Responsibility of Team Members

Team members, their manager and the Director of Operations are responsible for ensuring that all reimbursements for travel and non-travel business expenses are necessary and reasonable and are made in accordance with this policy and external regulations. When submitting expense reimbursement, supporting documentation should be provided. In certain instances, GitLab Foundation may require additional information supporting an expense. Each team member is expected to exercise sound and prudent judgment while traveling on business or incurring business expenses on behalf of GitLab Foundation. It is each team member's responsibility to correctly complete their request for expense reimbursement and obtain their manager’s approval.

Accountable Plan

GitLab Foundation maintains an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) "accountable plan," under which reimbursements for travel, entertainment and non-travel business expenses are not required to be reported as income to the employee. Under the IRS accountable plan rules, the following three requirements must be met:

1. Expenses reimbursed are towards nonprofit business purposes
2. Excess reimbursements are returned within a reasonable period of time (no more than 60 days after receipt)
3. Expenses are recorded and accounted for within a reasonable period of time (within 30 days of incurring the expense)

Any expenses that fail to meet all three rules for the accountable plan must be treated as taxable income to the employee and reported to the IRS on Form W-2 (subject to withholding of employment taxes). In order to meet and maintain the qualifications for an accountable plan, GitLab Foundation will audit Travel Reimbursement Requests for compliance.

Guidelines

1. Each GitLab Foundation team member will receive a company-issued credit card through Divvy. This card should be used for all business-related expenses and use of personal credit cards and submission of reimbursements should be limited.
   1. Itemized receipts are required for all business related expenses that are greater than $50 USD or equivalent to local currency when you use your company issued-credit card.
2. Business-related expenses paid for team members “out of pocket” that need to be reimbursed must be submitted through Divvy (i.e., any expense by team members where the company card is not used).
   1. Itemized ****receipts are required for all out-of-pocket expenses, regardless of the amount.
   2. Cash: some trips, especially internationally, may require the use of cash and may not provide receipts. In these circumstances, team members should submit one reimbursement in Divvy with a missing receipt affidavit and a list of all cash payments made for GitLab Foundation related expenses (date, merchant, purpose, $ of each transaction with the total listed at the bottom of the page). Click here for a template to attach to the affidavit. (See an example here).
3. Receipt requirements. When an itemized receipt is required, the following information must be included
   • Name of business
   • Address/phone number
   • Receipt number
   • Date of service
   • Price of individual items purchased
   • Taxes, fees, discounts
   • Method of payment
   • If the tip is not included in the total it should be written on the receipt and match to the final amount actually paid.
4. Business-related expenses and receipts are to be submitted at least once a month and must be submitted within 30 days of the invoice date, service date or purchase date or upon completion of a trip. This helps GitLab Foundation manage our budget and ensure accurate month-end reporting.
5. Expenses, reimbursement, and all necessary receipts must be submitted through Divvy and assigned a category and class in line with our chart of accounts.
6. Coding:
   1. Category: the type of expense or reimbursement. This will most often fall into one of the following:
      1. Meetings (meetings or meals with others)
      2. Staff Travel (team member individual travel and meals)
      3. Supplies
   2. Class: management and general or program
      1. Program: this is the default class you should select and applies to almost all of your expenses that further our mission, work, and strategy (this includes travel and meeting expenses)
      2. Management and general is only for items such as supplies, internet, phone, co-working space, etc.
   3. Funding Source: Generally, travel should be billed to GTLF
   4. Reason: please explain the purpose (i.e. “breakfast at Horizons” or “transport to ABC Foundation Dinner”)
      1. Team members, our audit firm, or other consultants should be able to look at your expenses and determine what they were for.
      2. If you paid for others, please list their names and organization
7. Missing a Receipt? If a team member is missing a receipt, a Missing Receipt Affidavit will need to be completed and attached to the expense as a receipt when submitted through Divvy. Please ensure to make a copy of the affidavit before completing).
   1. Itemized receipts are required for all out-of-pocket expenses, regardless of the amount. This is required for proof of purchase purposes.
   2. Itemized receipts are required for all business related expenses that are greater than $50 USD or equivalent to local currency when you use your company issued-credit card
   3. Expenses paid via Cash
8. Accidentally use your GitLab Foundation credit card for a personal expense or need to refund the Foundation for a personal charge?
   1. Email the Director of Operations the following information provided in Divvy: Vendor name, amount and date charged (or send a screenshot).
   2. Director of Operations will email you an invoice for the accidental expense to be paid online via QuickBooks (you can use a credit card or a bank account to pay online in seconds)!
9. Divvy Training Guide: Team members should click here to learn more about using Divvy.

Approved Expenses

**Click here to view the organization’s travel policy for more detailed information.**

Part time team members may (if needed) receive a laptop and a $250 stipend to purchase supplies and materials needed for work. Travel expenses and incidentals for travel related to GTLF work will be reimbursed and must adhere to the policies below and above.

Non-Employee Reimbursement Policy

The GitLab Foundation will reimburse non-employees for pre-approved travel and business expenses incurred, subject to the same accountable plan rules and requirements as for employees*. You must have itemized receipts for any and all charges made. The Foundation is unable to reimburse charges without an itemized receipt.* Your expenses must have a business connection — that is, you must have paid or incurred deductible expenses while performing activities for the GitLab Foundation. Travel time is typically not compensated, unless special circumstances outlined in a written contract stipulate otherwise.

The GitLab Foundation reserves the right to refuse reimbursement requests submitted more than thirty (30) days after completion of a trip or date on which the non-travel business expense was incurred.

Non-employees should submit an invoice with receipts directly to their GitLab Foundation contact for approval and processing. For travel-related expenses:

1. Complete a travel worksheet
2. Combine all receipts into one PDF document
3. Complete a W-9 for the person or organization being reimbursed (if not already on file)
   1. All grantees and consultants have a W-9 on file. If a team member for a grantee is being reimbursed directly, please include a W-9 for that individual.
4. Send the worksheet, receipts and W9 to your GTLF team member contact

Please contact [email protected] with additional questions or concerns.