TDF/Policies/Refunding

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Travel refunding

There are currently two options to get approved travel refunded by TDF:

• via TDF
• via SPI

Please get in contact with treasurer@documentfoundation.org to learn which one to use.

Check before you file your request

1. Please do not send your requests to SPI on your own. Only send them to TDF's treasurer, who then will ask SPI if they can refund from the LibreOffice budget.
2. If you drive by car, please keep invoices from the gas stations. While we do have a per-km-rule, at least when we ask SPI for refunds, invoices are needed.
3. Please do not send in receipts for events you attend when nobody approved it so far. As per the board's decision, all expenses must be approved by one of the budget holders.
4. As a general rule, TDF can only refund the cheapest fare possible, i.e. only regular hotels, usually between 3 and 4 stars, and only 2nd class fares. Notable exception to the latter one is if a trip by 1st class is cheaper. In those cases, however, refunds are only possible if you send in proof that at the time of booking (!) the higher class trip indeed was the cheapest one.
5. Please have your PDF receipts in a sane file size. Nobody needs 6 MB per page.
6. Please file your requests in time, i.e. shortly after the event. Do not combine travel refund requests of the previous months, but rather send them per event.
7. Be advised that TDF usually cannot cover any expenses for food or drinks. There is, however, a per diem rate that is mentioned in the detailed refund policy.

Enter your request in Travel Support Program

From FOSDEM 2020 event, we will use the Travel Support Program (TSP) developed by OpenSUSE that you can find at [1].

The process consist of:

• the applicant submit a refund request for an event he/she will attend or for shipping stuff
• the administrator set an amount based on the request and approve the request
• the applicant has to accept the amount allocated.
• Once the event is passed, the applicant has to enter the payment request based on his documents, fill the refund form and submit all the documents
• The TSP administrator will then enter the payment process
• When the payment has been received, the applicant closes his request.

What you have to do as a applicant:

• the first time, you need to create an account and fill your personal information

Before the event:

• go to the Events by clicking on the Events link in the Option area
• click on the Travel support button
• Fill the description of the reasons you are attending the event or need shipment or shipping stuff in General Information area
• In the expense area, select the mean you'll use to reach the event, add a travel description and the estimated cost
• add as many expense lines as needed. Even if you are not yet aware of the total amount, add a high estimate of the expense. Try to be as complete as possible.
• when finished, click the button Create a travel request
• check that each information is correct and then click on the Action button and select Submit

Your request will be evaluated and should be approved by the TSP administrator. You can check about the request state at any time and roll back your information. Once the administrator has defined the amounts allocated, you have to click the Action button and select Accept.

Note: If you'll travel by car, add the amount of km traveled (full trip including return rout) and the sum (0,30 € per driven kilometer) both to the approval request and to the refund request.

After the event:

• go to your request and click on the button Ask for reimbursement on the top right
• update and upload the reimbursement request in the Signed acceptance area
• fill your bank details and phone number and add any comments you may have to help the refund process
• upload all the receipts under the Attachments area
• once done, submit your payment request by clicking on the Action button and chose Submit

The TSP administrator will process the payment. You will be informed when it's done through the platform. You can now close the request.

If you travel by car, please fill this File:Tdf-travel refundform 2012-07-20.ots and return it to refunds@documentfoundation.org, accompanied with travel receipts. For ease of reference, please state clearly the purpose of the trip in the Subject header of your email.

For refunds from TDF Berlin, you need to send in the original receipts via regular mail (NOT registered mail to pick up to Berlin) to our office after you have mailed them digitally.

If possible, we ask you to print your receipts single sided, as it helps us to lower our administrative overhead.

Refunding via SPI

SPI in certain cases kindly sponsors approved travel for TDF. Here's how to request reimbursal from them:

1. First, collect and scan your travel receipts.
2. Then please exactly follow the process explained and electronically fill the SPI reimbursal form.
   1. For transfer to Brazil, please additionally provide a phone number where you can be reached and your CPF (Tax ID).
3. Send everything to refunds@documentfoundation.org. Do NOT send the refund request to SPI directly.

We now also have an editable version of the form available. With most PDF readers, you can only print, but not save the file. Recent versions of LibreOffice (4+) have very good PDF-editing support and are a good way to open the PDF and fill-in the form.

Please note that if you have a bank account outside of the US, you need to provide additional information. Do NOT just add something to the form, but please DO ask your bank, otherwise payments can be massively delayed! Usually, if you tell your bank that you receive money from the US, they know what data to provide.

Example wording of what your bank will tell you:

 For payments in EUR, please use:

 SWIFT to <Intermediary Bank>, SWIFT: <Intermediate Swift>
 beneficiary: .....
 beneficiary account no.: .....
 with <Your Bank Name>

 important: Please complete SWIFT-MT with Bank to Bank info: "in
 favor of <Your Bank Name>"

 For payments in USD please use:

 SWIFT to: <Intermediary Bank>, SWIFT <Intermediate Swift>
 via Wells Fargo Bank N.A, N.Y. 10 038 
  SWIFT: PNBPUS3NNYC account no. <account number>

 beneficiary: .....
 beneficiary account no.: .....
 with <Your Bank Name>

 important: Please complete SWIFT-MT with Bank to Bank info: "in
 favor of <Your Bank Name>