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As noted in the policy linked above, field staff are expected to employ sound judgment and prudent financial management in their stewardship of Reliant resources. As such, field staff share the responsibility of ensuring that Reliant resources are used appropriately; support the ministry; comply with Reliant policies, applicable laws and , regulations, and donor restrictions; and consider the reputation of the ministry. Excessive and unnecessary expenditures must be avoided, and Reliant may, in its sole discretion, decline to reimburse excessive expenses.  Field  Our stewardship responsibility also means that field staff may not use, or attempt to use, Reliant's non-profit status for personal benefit (e.g. avoiding state sales tax on personal or ministry items). 

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As noted in the policy linked above, the general criteria for determining a permissible expense is that it whether an expense qualifies for reimbursement are that the expense must be

• Reasonable in that the expense is not extreme or excessive, and it reflects a fair prudent decision and the value amount that would normally be spent in that specific situation;
• Ordinary in that one would normally expect this kind of expense to occur when performing ministry work;
• Necessary to achieve a valid ministry objective fulfilling the mission of Reliant;
• Directly related to the job/ministry of the field staff; and
• Sufficiently documented and timely submitted

 *Reliant reserves the right to determine whether or not an expense fulfills the above criteria. 

Submission Request Types

Submission for payment of a ministry expense may be done through the following four types:

• Submission of expenses Expenses that qualify under IRS guidance for as non-taxable reimbursed business expenses are is referred to as a “Reimbursement.” Please note that, although Reliant will normally pay certain expense reimbursements Reimbursements are processed in such a way that they are not included in the employee's federal taxable income, the employee bears ultimate responsibility for her/his income tax return(s), including the proper tax treatment of all payments received from Reliant and should consult with her/his or her tax adviser as needed to determine the appropriate reporting and treatment of such payments.
• Requests for Submissions requesting recovery of expenses that do not qualify for non-taxable reimbursement under the IRS guidance are referred to as “Expense Recovery Bonus” or ERB. These expenses will be recuperated through a ”or ERB. ERB payments take the form of a bonus which will be treated as additional taxable wages (compensation) for the field staff. Due to the fact that only paid employees can receive a taxable bonus, associatesare not eligible to submit a request for an ERB.        and project funds?
• Field staff may request advance payment for anticipated reimbursable expenses through an "Expense Advance." Advances are not guaranteed but will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• For expenses related to a ministry project fund, field staff also have the option of requesting payment through a "Grant" rather than a Reimbursement. Grants are also used for the expense of an item that the ministry project will retain ownership of beyond its initial use. (See Reimbursements vs. Grants for more details)

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