NumFOCUS Travel Policy

 

In the course of your association with NumFOCUS or its sponsored or affiliated projects, you may be required to pay for travel expenses and be reimbursed. The following is a list of approved expenses and requirements that must be met in order for your expense to be considered eligible and for you to be reimbursed for expenses incurred.

 

 

What We Cover:

 

• Transportation costs including airfare, train fare, rental cars, taxis, rideshares, tolls, parking, baggage fees, and travel insurance. 
• Transportation costs can include reserved seat fees and baggage fees.
• Mileage will be reimbursed at the current published IRS mileage rate.
• Auto rentals if extensive local travel is required and daily use is necessary.
• Lodging including hotel accommodations and other short-term rentals.
• Meals during the course of your travel.
• Wifi during your flight if usage is for NumFOCUS/project work only.
• VISA fees required for travel to NumFOCUS/project purposes.
• Change fees for unforeseen travel delays from weather, employment disruptions or other acts out of the control of the traveler.

 

Expense Limitations:

 

• Airfare should be the lowest price for a non stop coach flight to meet your needs within 2 days of the business purpose. 
• Travel far in advance of or after the business purpose to accommodate personal or non NumFOCUS purposes is prohibited and must be paid for personally.
• Please book your flights at least 14 days in advance. 
• Upgrade fees such as first-class seats and other boarding upgrades are not permissible.
• For airport parking, please choose the most economical.
• Lodging should be secured in a reasonably priced room or similar lodging in reasonable proximity to the business or project need. 
• We do not pay per diem fees. We will reimburse actual documented meal costs up to $90.00 per day and tip costs up to 20%.
• NumFOCUS does not reimburse for non-employee/non-project representative (such as family) travel costs if that person is accompanying an employee/representative.
• We do not pay bar tabs (e.g. alcohol when no meal is being purchased).
• Activities that are not business-related, such as movies and shows.
• Personal expenses, such as laundry, movies, mini-bar charges, car repairs, satellite radio, fines or tickets for traffic violations, insurance add-ons, pet sitting, or childcare.
• Connecting transportation for non-business-related activities.
• We do not cover any costs related to VISA fees including courier fees, legal/of counsel fees, travel to get the VISA or travel to apply for the VISA, or any other costs associated with obtaining the VISA. We only cover VISA fees up to $150.

 

Documentation:

 

• All expenses related to travel must be documented (an invoice, receipt or similar).
• Documentation must include:
  • Vendor or country name for VISAs
  • Full cost, including tip
  • Itemized list of expenditures
• Credit card and bank statements are not acceptable documentation per the IRS.
• We do not pay per diem fees, all expenditures must be accompanied by a receipt.
• We will not reimburse any costs that do not have documentation.

 

Questions:

 

If a travel expense was not mentioned in the above details and you have a question about it, please contact [email protected]. 

 

Method of purchase:

 

Some travel expenses will be paid directly through a NumFOCUS credit card, and some will be reimbursed. Any eligible expenses that are incurred on behalf of NumFOCUS or its projects will be reimbursed in full. 

 

How to Get Reimbursed:

 

• All reimbursements must be TIMELY or may not be approved. Please submit all requests within 60 days of your travel dates.
• Employee reimbursements and documentation should be submitted through the Staff Reimbursement Form
• Project reimbursements should generally be submitted through the normal method that the project has for requesting expenses paid, either Open Collective or Typeform.
• Project Summit reimbursements will be submitted and paid through Open Collective - the link will be made available prior after the Summit is announced each year.

 

How to Get a Credit Card for Direct Expenses:

 

• Employees, event organizers, and project financial representatives are eligible to have a NumFOCUS credit card through Expensify. It is usable throughout the world, and has a flexible spending limit. Please contact [email protected] to inquire about getting a card.

 

Navan Travel Arrangements

 

• Employees and projects without credit cards and who do not wish to go the reimbursement route may use our travel software, Navan, to purchase travel and have it paid for with a NumFOCUS credit card.
• If you wish to purchase travel and lodging through Navan, please contact us at [email protected] and we can set up either individual guest travel or a group travel plan to fit your needs. Please specify where you are traveling (airport or train station), the dates of your engagement, and the email address of the person traveling.
• Please note that although your flight, lodging, train or other costs will be covered, you will still need to travel with a credit card of your own for incidentals, wifi charges, baggage fees, food, and other costs. 

 

Purchase on Behalf of:

 

• If neither of the above options are possible, we can sometimes pay for travel arrangements on behalf of projects and employees. Please contact us at [email protected] if you want to inquire about this option.