Reimbursements from work

futility

The place I work, to make purchases for things a lot of use tend to use our own money and then get reimbursed for what we purchased... I know that's not really normal right?

Would anyone know (specifically for CA) how long my employer has to reimburse me should I make one of these purchases? Or is there a way I can try and help my employer have some sort of system to make purchasing easier?


[Explanation for fun conjecture and whatnot: I work for a non-profit where a lot of people are more than happy to follow non-traditional business practices]

TK-42-1

In my line we just buy things and every month we turn in an expense report with receipts to be reimbursed. once it get approved it usually takes AP about a week to cut a check and get it to me. It really depends on what you're buying. For me it's usually something like I need a 50ft network cable so I drive to the parts store, buy it, use it, then get paid back. If it's office supplies or something like that you should probably ask them to open a corporate account at office depot or whatever.

Figgy

Um, that's pretty normal, especially when you're in a position where you don't exactly need/deserve a company credit card.

I know plenty of people who have to buy things on their own dime for work and get reimbursed at the end of the month.

kaliyama

That's pretty standard up and down levels of seniority. I think the reason HR and policies have shifted is that it essentially acts like a co-pay - if you feel like you are spending your "own" money, you're less likely to make unnecessary if justifiable purchases.

I do have a corporate amex, but payment + reimbursement work the same way - I have to write the check directly. Frankly, I have never used it, because I would much rather get the points + mileage for my own credit card. How long are they taking to reimburse you?

Jimmy King

Yeah, pretty normal, especially for smaller companies. Both my employer and my wife's old employer had us doing that on a regular basis.

futility

I thought petty cash & company card was the norm

Jimmy King

It may be more common to hav ea company card or petty cash (I've only worked for one company where I was in a position to be making purchases), but reimbursing employees definitely isn't strange or shady. Company cards are honestly mostly just going to be people who are either have a fancy title or making a LOT of purchases such as someone who commonly travelling on the company dime and so just paying off the credit card bill is less work than dealing with tons of reimbursements from them every month.

Improvolone

Reimbursements usually happen by the end of every pay period for financing reasons

Janson

futility wrote: »

I thought petty cash & company card was the norm

I think the economy (and it also has to do with the size/value of the company; I work for a medium-sized start-up so we definitely try to save as much money as possible) has forced a lot of companies to reconsider this approach.

Reimbursing employees is great because as kaliyama says, employees are less likely to make unnecessary purchases. It also forces employees to give you receipts (I know that, working in AP, the couple of employees at my work who do have a corporate credit card are TERRIBLE at providing receipts and often we end up revoking their right to a card) and they then also know their purchases are under greater scrutiny.

Oh, and at our company we try to reimburse within 7 days, but end of the month is more common.

Thanatos

If it's something you purchase regularly, then you should either have an account with the people you're getting it from (they can invoice your billing department, so you don't need to worry about receipts), or it should be set up with a company credit card.

If it's, like, a once-in-a-rare-while kind of thing, this is perfectly normal practice.

Seattle Thread

futility wrote: »

I thought petty cash & company card was the norm

It really does depend on the company, but most won't have a lot of, if any, petty cash on hand. Liquid assets are a bad thing to a bottom line.

MichaelLC

No, that's not unusual. Refund time should be a week or two.

Be sure to sign up for whatever (if any) loyalty programs from wherever you're buying from. I got a nice scanner from my Staples points after buying several large print runs for the company.

Sheep

futility wrote: »

The place I work, to make purchases for things a lot of use tend to use our own money and then get reimbursed for what we purchased... I know that's not really normal right?

This is how it works for me.

If I need to make a purchase for something work related, and it's legit, they reimburse me. I just submit a claim and they cut me a check. For example, today I'm at work. Right now, actually. Since it's a Sunday they pay me the moment I got in my car, the gas to get here, etc. And if I had to stop by and grab a cat5 or something from a store then I submit the receipt to them.

Just get with your boss about how to do it correctly as not all companies ar ethe same.

futility

MichaelLC wrote: »

No, that's not unusual. Refund time should be a week or two.

Be sure to sign up for whatever (if any) loyalty programs from wherever you're buying from. I got a nice scanner from my Staples points after buying several large print runs for the company.

That's the reason I switched to a credit card with points.