When running an organisation, there are a few tasks that can be a real-time suck for all of the employees, and reimbursing expenses can be one of them. Ensuring you have all the correct information can be extremely time-consuming, not to mention if it’s a one-off payment and you have to input it into an automated system for just one month. In this article, we will be looking at what counts as an expense, how to more efficiently reimburse your volunteers and how making this system more effective can truly benefit your business in both the short and long run.
What Counts As an Expense?
If your organisation works closely and often with volunteers, then having an efficient and effective way of reimbursing any expenses they may incur is a must. Not only does it create a good relationship between your company and volunteers, but also, it saves you time and money in the long run.
But what counts as an expense? An expense is any cost that your volunteer incurs during their time with you. The law surrounding volunteering states that volunteers should not be left out of pocket as a result of their volunteering role.
For example, travel is a big one. If your volunteer has to take a bus, train, bike, or even a taxi or Uber to their position, then this is a cost you must reimburse them for. Another example would be food. If you aren’t providing lunch, then some volunteers will go out to purchase food and snacks. This is also on relevant ground to be reimbursed.
More Efficient Ways To Reimburse Volunteers
During the pandemic, many organisations took to bank transfers or used a different form of online payment to reimburse their volunteers. Typically how this would work would be that the volunteer would send the company their invoice, along with their bank details. Then, the HR employee, or whoever is in charge of the payroll system, would either add to their automated payroll or, just transfer the money. This acted as a way to minimise any need for face-to-face communication during the pandemic. However, there are many problems with this method. Firstly, the volunteer’s bank information is not safe. Sending over any personal information over email should be discouraged as it could easily end up in the wrong hands. Secondly, the manpower it takes for the employee to process that information is massive – many organisations have many volunteers working with them, meaning that they would have to do this multiple times. There is also the occasion that the volunteer’s personal or banking details are not fully correct. Therefore, the person in charge of payroll must then spend more time following up with the volunteer to gather the correct information in order to make the payment.
To break out of this time-consuming practice, many people are turning towards using systems such as vHelp, which is both a website and an app, where volunteers and organisations alike can request reimbursement. Gone are the days of spending hours inputting numbers into banking apps to reimburse your hard-working volunteers. Now, once your organisation has signed up, your volunteers can request their reimbursement through this service, and you can reject or approve it with a few clicks of a button – simple really!
How Does This Benefit The Organisation?
Now, the question is, how do using services such as vHelp benefit your organisation? Well, firstly, it can reduce admin and paperwork by 85%. This means that it saves your employees time, saving your company money!
It also allows your organisation to pay its volunteers more quicker. Payments of reimbursement are typically paid within 24 hours, which means that all the people that volunteer their time with you won’t be left out of pocket for a long period of time.
Finally, raising money! If you do choose to go with vHelp, charities can actually fundraise with them, which enables volunteers to be able to donate their expenses back to charity. If you are working with a cause that is close to their hearts and wants to support them further, apps such as vHelp allow them to do that.