Submitting an expense

Social.coop is run through a system of open contributions. There are no employees, but the cooperative strives to recognize its contributors through stipends. Operating costs for the co-op also often occur through reimbursement of members. All expenses must be approved by:

• Members of the Finance Working Group, which oversees the co-op’s economic activities
• Platform 6, our fiscal sponsor, which carries out all payments

The annual budget approved by the membership is the guideline for expenses. The Finance Working Group will typically approve any expense submitted by a working group member that falls within the approved budget. Smaller, reasonable, and well-documented expenses outside the budget are also likely to be quickly approved. Significant or questionable expenses clearly outside the budget and that are not obviously necessary may be denied or presented to the membership for an approval vote.

If possible, any expense outside the approved budget should be presented in Loomio to the Finance Working Group or the broader membership ahead of time, before the relevant activity is done.

Procedure

The procedure for submitting expenses is as follows.

• A member or other approved recipient can [submit an expense using Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/socialcoop/expenses). Submission must include:
  • the expense amount in GBP (or the settled currency of the transaction)
  • a clear description of the nature of the expense and its relationship to the current annual budget
  • an expense tag with the relevant working group (if known)
  • a receipt of the payment made (for expense reimbursements), a detailed line-item (for stipends), or an invoice.

The Finance Working Group (FWG) will then review the expense, ensuring it fits within the approved budget. If there are any concerns, FWG will share them with the member. Budgeted expenses require the approval of one (1) member of FWG. Unbudgeted expenses require approval from the Organizing Circle. Approved expenses are automatically directed to our fiscal host [Platform 6](https://opencollective.com/platform6-coop) for final approval and payment (usually on a monthly basis).

While general budgeting decisions or annual budgets are approved by all members, individual members are invited to monitor [expenses on Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/socialcoop/expenses), monitor the Finance Working Group, or join to help maintain transparency and accountability.

Open Collective =

• [Submit Expense](https://opencollective.com/socialcoop/expenses)
• [All Expenses](https://opencollective.com/socialcoop/expenses)
• [Approved Expenses](https://opencollective.com/socialcoop/expenses?sort%5Bfield%5D=CREATED_AT&sort%5Bdirection%5D=DESC&status=APPROVED&status=PAID&direction=RECEIVED)