Welcome to Solomon!

Enter the Access Code below

Access code is invalid

Solomon Logo

Versions Compared

Old Version 136

changes.mady.by.user Jenna Clemens

Saved on

compared with

New Version 137

changes.mady.by.user Sarah Swann

Saved on

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.

...

UI Expand
titleRelevant Forms


Note

Key Change to the Standard: The term Expense Submission is now used rather than simply Reimbursement when describing a submitted expense since an expense could be either a be a Reimbursement or an ERB or a related Advance.

Links for Applicable Expense Submission Forms

  • Current approved Expense Submission Request Forms are required for expense submission.
    • U.S.  Expense Submission Form
    • International Expense Submission Form
    • Project Fund Expense Submission Form
    • Continuing Education Form (all costs associated with continuing education must be submitted using only this form and pre-approval is required)
    • Spiritual and Ministry Planning Retreat Form (all costs associated with Spiritual and Ministry Planning Retreats must be submitted using only this form and pre-approval is required)
  • Expense Advances , primarily relating to large, expected travel expenditures, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • Exception Requests are available for submission in the event of a denied Reimbursement or a late submission. 
  • Grants are available for expenses related directly to a project fund. The full grant process involves submitting a grant request and following the Board's policy on grant reporting.
  • Per Diem - U.S. / Per Diem - International is available to use for travel expenses incurred during longer periods of travel (5 days or more)
  • Support Goal- support goal submission is specific to program teams. Please reach out to the appropriate program liaison for assistance.

With each expense submitted on the relevant form there should be:

UI Expand
titleKey Components of Any Expense Submission

An explanation for each expense submitted, including:

  • Description of the expense
  • Whom the item is for:
    • First and last names of the people involved
    • The ministry relationship of the person(s) to the field staff. If the expense relates to five or more people, list them as a group with a specific number in the group (e.g., 12 ministry partners). Actual names are not necessary for groups of five or more people. Otherwise, the use of actual Actual first and last names is are required , if the relationship is not uniform with all members of the group.
  • Specific ministry purpose of the expense (be as detailed as possible). For more secure locations, please see Secure Lexicon for more details. 
  • Cost of the item (the portion of the cost that is ministry-related, if not 100%)
  • Date of the expense (a new Reimbursement form is needed for each month in which an expense is incurred) 

Itemized original receipts and other appropriate substantiating documents (if applicable) must be submitted with the form.

*Please refer Please refer to all Reimbursement Standards below, which detail receipt information and other specific criteria.


...

For all Reimbursements and ERBs,  requests must be received within 60 days after the end of the month in which the expense is incurred. An expense is incurred when an item is purchased or, in the case of pre-payment for travel, when the travel has actually taken placeoccurs, as long as both the payment date and travel date are listed on the receipt for documentation. 

Late submissions exceeding beyond this timeframe require an exception request. Late submissions are not guaranteed reimbursement and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The exception request must include a valid reason for the late submission and include supervisor approval.

...

If the criteria for determining a permissible expense are not met on the original submission, the expense may be resubmitted on a new submission form with the corrected information (in the event it was due to insufficient documentation) or an appeal may be submitted through an exception request in the event that the reason for denial was related to other criteria that require a director require director review for approval.

Non-Employee Expenses

There are These are expenses that are submitted that are but are not connected to full-time/part-time Reliant employees. Read the below options for more details on the different types of expenses submitted. 

...

UI Expand
titleFamily Expenses

Family Expenses

Expenses incurred related to a Reliant employee's family members (spouses that are not also a Reliant employee/associate and/or children) that coincide with a field staff's job or ministry may potentially be eligible for recovery, but typically only as a taxable expense.

As a reminder, Reliant does currently offer Child-Care Reimbursement through our Cafeteria Plan (tax-saving benefit). 

UI Expand
titleSpouse attendanceAttendance

Expenses incurred by a Reliant associate spouse when they fully participate in an activity related to the Reliant employee's ministry role are reimbursable under most circumstances.  If the spouse divides time between ministry participation and personal time, the spouse’s event expenses may be eligible as a taxable ERB.

If a spouse is not employed or an associate with Reliant, their conference fee will always be taxable and recovered through an ERB when the presence and participation of the spouse are requested by your local church or ministry.


UI Expand
titleFamily attendanceAttendance

Family can be an instrumental part of daily ministry activities and are encouraged to participate in specific family-friendly events. For children's expenses to be eligible for recovery through an ERB, a child must have resided in the home for at least half the year and is either:

  • Under the age of 19 at the end of the year in which the event occurs;
  • Under the age of 24 at the end of the year in which the event occurs, and is a full-time student
  • A child with permanent disabilities who relies on you on a daily basis. 



UI Expand
titleProject Fund Expenses

Project Fund Expenses

In addition to individual MTD accounts, Reliant also manages funds for ministries, non-profits, and churches. When an expense is not directly related directly to a field staff's specific job role, but is more closely aligned to a project or ministry, a project fund Reimbursement can be submitted. Reimbursements from a project require all the same documentation as those from an MTD account and are processed according to the same submission deadlines. Project fund reimbursements also require approval by a designated signer for the fund. 

These types of Reimbursements are paid directly from the project fund, based on available funds as well as based on the order in which they were received. The MTD account balance the field staff is responsible for does not incur the expense for these reimbursed costs (therefore the order of pay from the MTD account does not apply), so it is possible for an employee who has back pay and back Reimbursements to receive payment for a Reimbursement that was submitted to be paid from a project fund. Reliant pays project fund Reimbursements if there are available funds in the project fund. It is possible for a project fund to accumulate back Reimbursements. (See Project Fund Reimbursements for more details.) 

If an expense being submitted through a project fund will be owned, stored, and considered solely the property of the church/ministry (with no personal usage by the individual submitting the request), then the expenses are attributable to the church/ministry, which is not taxed for expenses that are normally fully or partially taxed to the field staff MTD fund. 

If an expense is not for an item that will be considered the sole property of the church/ministry, then a field staff can still specify that the project fund (rather than an MTD account) should be the source of funds for a Reimbursement or ERB. In the case of an ERB, the taxable expenditure (including expenses with a partial taxable component) is processed in a manner similar to ERBs funded through MTD accounts. The ERB for project funds can only be routed through a paid employee's payroll; therefore, Reliant associates may not request an expense recovery using a project fund for payment for any taxable expenditures. 

...