Travel and Expense Policy

Overview

This policy covers all work related expenses incurred by staff members (as well as vendors & interns) including payments made by staff that will be reimbursed by Knowledge Futures Group or payments made using KFG credit cards.

KFG utilizes Ramp to issue cards to staff members and reimburse out-of-pocket expenses. See the Ramp tool guide for steps on how to request a card for business related expenses or submit a reimbursement.

Roles & Responsibilities

Cardholders — Cardholders are responsible for reading, understanding and complying with KFG’s T&E policies.

Card Managers — Card managers approve and issue cards, are responsible for enforcing KFG’s T&E policies, approving expenses and reviewing transactions incurred by their team at least bi-weekly.

Operations — The operations team is responsible for overseeing all organization spending, creating and updating T&E policies, and enforcing these policies across the organization. Physical cards and bulk virtual cards will be issued by the operations team.

Credit Cards

Virtual cards may be requested by staff and issued by card managers. The card type, frequency and amount will depend on the use case.

Physical cards will be issued to all managers for approved general business related expenses. Lost or stolen cards should be reported to the operations team right away.

Expenses incurred on KFG cards that do not comply with this policy may be subject to repayment by the cardholder.

Process

Card requests must go through Ramp. Your manager (also the card manager) will receive and review your request. Managers may edit the details of the card request, such as the amount, or may reject the request if it does not comply with KFG policies or if more information is needed. In that scenario, the manager should send back an explanation with the rejection, or ask the staff member to make edits to the request. Once approved, all transactions charged to the card must include a memo describing the business purpose and a receipt for transactions over $50. Card managers must review each transaction and remind staff to include necessary documentation to avoid transactions being flagged as out-of-policy.

General Business Expenses

Travel

Work related travel should be approved by managers prior to confirming any travel arrangements. All staff outings or off-sites (retreats, camp) do not require additional approval.

• Airfare — Airfare should generally not exceed $500 for domestic flights, though a limit increase may be requested in some cases when flights exceed this threshold. See instructions here to request a limit increase. Economy plus may be selected for flights with travel times of 5 hours or longer and premium economy may be selected for flights with travel times of 6 hours.

  • Checked bag(s)

• Ground transportation to and from the airport, train station, bus station, or ferry terminal, and to and from work locations, during approved work travel. Where possible and cost-effective, walking, using public transit, or bike-sharing is preferred during work trips over ride-shares, taxis, using your own car and parking at the airport, or renting a car.

• Train, Bus, or Ferry tickets for approved work travel outside your home city.

• Car rental — economy class; car rental is acceptable when public transportation, ride-share, or taxi is not possible or more expensive.

• If using your own car or a rental car (see above — we prefer self-locomotion, transit, or ride-sharing over using or renting a car when feasible and cost-effective):

  • Tolls

  • Gas

  • Parking

• Lodging — USA staff, see GSA’s per diem tool for rate guidance (available by city, state, or zip code)1. If you stay at a friend or family’s home during work travel in lieu of staying in a hotel, you may be reimbursed for one gift or meal of no more than $75 in value during your trip, with the appreciation of the KFG.

• Meals & incidentals — the per diem rate should generally not exceed $75. When traveling with colleagues, per diem expenses may be split to accurately record trip spending.

Other Expenses

• Events — approved event expenses such as catering, rentals, decor should not be paid directly by staff; whenever possible these expenses should be charged to a KFG card or go through the regular invoice payment process.

• Meetings & conferences — expenses incurred while planning work related meetings or purchasing conference entry should be pre-approved by your manager.

• Computers — if a staff member is in need of a computer, the operations team should be made aware of the request and will handle the purchasing and shipping of the computer.

Home Office Working Condition Benefit

As a general rule of thumb, if you need home office equipment or software under $50 to do your work, feel free to purchase and expense it. For anything over $50, run it by your manager for approval before purchasing.

All employees receive a one-time $750 home office working condition benefit for buying equipment to make their home office more comfortable. Employees should use this stipend as they see fit and may use it over the course of their employment. The stipend does not have to be spent all at once. Equipment purchased via this benefit must be used exclusively for work performed at the KFG. You can use this on anything related to your home office – but in particular, we recommend buying a high-quality monitor, keyboard, mouse, and headset with microphone if you don’t already have one, all of which are proven to dramatically increase productivity. A home office stipend card is available to request through Ramp.

Educational Assistance Benefit

Knowledge Futures will reimburse 50% of tuition, class fees, or textbooks, up to $5,000 per year, for credential-granting programs that help you develop skills related to your work. If you completed a skill-development program related to your work within the last year, and KF is your first job after that program, this reimbursement can be applied retroactively. To apply for tuition reimbursement, make the case to your manager by sending them an email that includes the tuition fee and any other applicable fees. Once they approve, they will send your request to the Leadership team for final approval.

Non-Allowable Expenses

This list is non-exhaustive, and serves as an example of expenses you may incur in the course of work travel that are not reimbursable and may not be charged on your KFG card.

• Airline club memberships.

• Airline upgrades.

• Business class for domestic flights or first class for all flights.

• Child care, babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting/kennel charges.

• Commuting between home and the primary work location.

• Costs incurred by traveler's failure to cancel travel or hotel reservations in a timely fashion.

• Evening or formal wear expenses.

• Haircuts and personal grooming.

• Laundry and dry cleaning.

• Passports, vaccinations and visas when not required as a specific and necessary condition of the travel assignment.

• Personal entertainment expenses, including in-flight movies, headsets, health club facilities, hotel pay-per-view movies, in-theater movies, social activities and related incidental costs.

• Travel accident insurance premiums or purchase of additional travel insurance.

• Other expenses not directly related to the business travel

Expense Reimbursement Policy

KFG will reimburse expenses that are unavoidable and necessary for employees to fulfill their job responsibilities. KFG staff must submit business-related expenses for management review, with proof of payment in the form of itemized receipts for all expenses over $50 and a memo, no later than 60 days of the expense date. Attendees should be included in the memo for meetings and meals. Approved expenses will be reimbursed via electronic payment (using the bank account on file) within 30 days of the approval date. Any excess reimbursements or allowances must be returned within 120 days.

Process

KFG utilizes Ramp, a cloud based expense management system for business expense submission, review, and approvals. Each expense is first approved by your manager, and then confirmed by a member of the operations team prior to reimbursement. To submit an expense for reimbursement, follow the instructions on the Ramp tool guide. If you need help, ask your manager or operations.

VENDORS

Individuals or groups that are contracted to perform services for KFG should request a card to purchase airfare or make other approved travel arrangements. Vendors must submit requests to the operations team for approval. Flight itineraries and receipts must be submitted following the instructions here.

Reimbursements — During the term of a fully signed contract, vendors can invoice KFG for allowable and approved expenses covered in this policy. Receipts are required for all expenses, as well as the date and a memo stating the business purpose. Expenses must not include anything outside of the scope of the contractual agreement and the agreed upon services unless written approval has been granted.

Contracting vendors are responsible for complying with this policy and understanding this policy before incurring expenses.