Travel Expense and Reimbursement Regulations for the TYPO3 Association

Version 2.0.1 • Valid for reimbursements submitted from 1st July 2023 (by TYPO3 Association Board decision 17th May 2023). Modified 10 January 2023, adding Swiss VAT number to 4.e.

If you are new to the reimbursement process, you can read this introduction to learn the basics of how and when to reimburse expenses from the TYPO3 Association. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact the budget owner or read the detailed Reimbursement Regulations.

While it is your job to correctly document your expenses and submit them in time, it is each budget owner’s responsibility to answer your questions and give you the information they think you need.

You should start the reimbursement process early, before you have had any expenses or done any work.

Given the budget owner’s approval, the TYPO3 Association reimburses travel and lodging expenses, for real and practical participation in a TYPO3-related activity. The expenses should cover travel with the best price/time ratio, on the most environmentally friendly means of transportation, in the lowest service class, from a person’s home to their destination, and back.

Flying distances shorter than 300 km one way is a big “no”. Using your private car is allowed at EUR 0.30/km, maximum EUR 220. More private car rules in section 2.g.

Hotel rooms are reimbursed at maximum EUR 130/night. To save money, some teams do group bookings and share rooms. Don’t book hotel rooms in Düsseldorf, Germany. TYPO3 has special rates there, so contact your budget owner instead. Further details in section 2.k.

Food is only reimbursed if it’s an inclusive hotel breakfast or a reasonably-priced group meal at a sprint. See section 2.l.

If you reimburse work time, you have to keep a log of hours worked. It has to show the total number of hours worked per day, as well as either individual time entries or summarized time per task per day. You can work a maximum of 6 hours/day for a maximum of EUR 55/hour. See section 3 for details and this time log example.

If you’re a business or freelancer, you can invoice the TYPO3 Association and submit the invoice as a part of the reimbursement request. Remember to write the budget number on the invoice. Most invoicing applications will generate invoices that comply with the minimum requirements in section 4.d. Remember that you’re invoicing a Swiss association, so you should only apply VAT if you are invoicing from Switzerland.

Although you’re invoicing, you still have to include all of the paperwork that documents your expenses or work time. The invoice must be due at least 20 days into the future when you submit it. See section 4 for detailed requirements and this example invoice.

Events such as natural causes (fire, storms, floods), governmental or societal actions (war, invasion, civil unrest, labor strikes), infrastructure failures (transportation, energy), etc.

The keywords must, must not, required, shall, shall not, should, should not, recommended, may, and optional in these regulations are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

Expense types that can be reimbursed. These are: travel, lodging, event tickets, food at sprint or meeting, work time, and invoiced services.

The TYPO3 Association’s reimbursement management tool at reimbursement.typo3.com.

Documentation that doesn’t directly document an expense, but explains a decision or need. For example a screenshot showing a travel cost different to the chosen one or an adverse weather alert requiring a detour. (Requirements for secondary documentation can be found in section 5.e.)

Reimbursement requests shall only be approved if they comply with these Reimbursement Regulations.

Reimbursements must be relevant to the reimbursing budget. In case of uncertainty, the final decision is up to the Business Control Committee.

All reimbursement requests must be submitted through the Reimbursement Tool unless it causes excessive inconvenience to the reimbursed.

Reimbursements will be made in Euro through bank account or PayPal transfers. 

The TYPO3 Association shall not be liable for any fees or taxes incurred by the reimbursed when paying out a reimbursement.

All reimbursements should be pre-approved by the budget owner. Pre-approval indicates that the budget owner will approve the reimbursement request as long as it complies with the Reimbursement Regulations. Requests for pre-approval must state:

1. A budget name, number, and purpose.
2. An estimated cost.
3. A maximum cost ceiling, above which the pre-approval would be invalid.
4. A description of the purpose of the reimbursed expenses, including an approximate date or month name. (e.g. “Travel costs for the March 20XX QA Team Sprint” or “MyAI License, January–December 20XX”).
5. The type(s) of Reimbursable Expenses that are included in the general pre-approval.

The budget owner may choose to issue a general pre-approval of reimbursements for a specific purpose. General pre-approvals must state:

1. The budget name, number, and purpose to which the general pre-approval applies.
2. A maximum cost ceiling, above which the general pre-approval is invalid. Reimbursements above this ceiling should be individually pre-approved.
3. A definite period of validity. This could be a named, time-limited event (e.g. “Attending the March 20XX Finance Team Sprint”) or as a time period (e.g. “From 1 April to 16 August 20XX”). The period of validity can only cover dates within the same budget year.
4. The type(s) of Reimbursable Expenses that are included in the general pre-approval.
5. That the general pre-approval does or does not have additional limitations, such as the people or the teams it applies to.

The budget owner can reject reimbursement requests submitted without pre-approval at their own discretion.

Expenses can be split between multiple budgets using multiple reimbursements. Budget owners must be informed and agree to the split before such a reimbursement is made. The percentage reimbursed and the other budgets involved in the split must be included with the reimbursement documentation.

All budget-related decisions must be documented by the budget owner by uploading a PDF file in the Documents section of the budget's Reimbursement Tool Page. Budget-related decisions include reimbursement pre-approvals.

Expenses for travel, lodging, and food must concern participation in a TYPO3-related activity in a real and practical sense, unless participation was prohibited by unforeseen circumstances, such as illness, urgent family matters, job-related emergencies, or Force Majeure.

The TYPO3 Association will reimburse travel expenses with the best price/time ratio, on the most environmentally friendly means of transportation, from a person’s home to their destination, and back, including:

1. Additional costs to reach home and destination.
2. Trips on behalf of the TYPO3 Association at the destination.
3. Reservation fees.
4. Carriage of required luggage not otherwise included in the ticket.

Expenses for public transportation should be for the lowest service class.

Expenses for car rental should be in the smallest vehicle class.

Reimbursement of a higher/larger service or vehicle class is possible in either of these cases, provided the reimbursement includes Secondary Documentation of the lowest/smallest class price:

1. A higher class was available for the same price or cheaper than the lowest class.
2. A higher class was purchased, but the reimbursement covers only the lowest/smallest class price.

If the total traveling time is more than 8 hours, a more expensive means of transportation is acceptable, if it reduces travel time or provides a more convenient itinerary.

When using a private car, up to EUR 220 will be reimbursed at EUR 0.30/km using the shortest route found on Google Maps. If added as Secondary Documentation in the reimbursement request, higher expenses or detours can be reimbursed in these cases:

1. The destination cannot be reached by public transportation.
2. Non-personal luggage of at least 25 kg is transported on behalf of the TYPO3 Association.
3. It enables visiting several locations on the same day, on behalf of the TYPO3 Association​​​​​​​.
4. Adverse weather or traffic conditions made a longer route preferable from a time or safety perspective.

Plane tickets for distances below 300 km one way will not be reimbursed.

Extra costs for CO2 offsetting will not be reimbursed. The TYPO3 Association​​​​​​​ offsets emissions through our climate protection partner.

Only the real net cost will be reimbursed. If you use a discount card, such as the German BahnCard, only the cost after discount will be reimbursed.

Hotel accommodation will be reimbursed up to an average of EUR 130/night. Higher expenses must be pre-approved. Hotel accommodation in Düsseldorf, Germany, should be booked through the TYPO3 GmbH. Alternatively, any accommodation below TYPO3 GmbH’s negotiated rate or the maximum rate given above (whichever is lowest) can be reimbursed.

Food costs will not be reimbursed, except for

1. Breakfast, when included in the accommodation rate.
2. Reasonably-priced shared meals with no alcoholic drinks (e.g. as a part of a sprint), when pre-approved by the budget owner and charged on a single receipt.

Reimbursement requests for travel, lodging, or food, must be submitted no later than 20 days after the last expense date or last day of travel, whichever is the latest.

If a person is unable to cover travel expenses out of their own pocket, travel expenses can be covered in advance following these rules: 

1. A request for advance payment must be submitted to the budget owner as a reimbursement request using Secondary Documentation (5.e) to show the expected expenses.
2. The request must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the first day of travel.
3. Documentation of the incurred expenses must be emailed to the budget owner according to the regular documentation requirements and submission deadline (2.m).
4. If the advance payment exceeds the incurred expenses by more than EUR 10, the surplus must be transferred back to the TYPO3 Association before the regular submission deadline (2.m).

Work time will only be reimbursed if it is explicitly mentioned in an approved budget application, and only to the maximum amount mentioned therein.

The maximum paid work time must not exceed 6 hours/day.

The maximum rate must not exceed EUR 55/hour.

Invoices can be addressed to the TYPO3 Association by businesses and freelancers.

Employees are free to choose whether they choose to reimburse expenses as a private person, without an invoice, or through their employer, using an invoice.

Invoices should be submitted through the Reimbursement Tool.

At the time of submission, invoices must:

1. Each be contained within a single file (ideally PDF).
2. Be addressed to TYPO3 Association, Gewerbestraße 10, CH-4450 Sissach, Switzerland.
3. Contain all relevant information, documentation, and attachments upon which the invoice is based, as described in the Documentation section.
4. Contain the budget number, either printed or handwritten.
5. Not have an invoice date older than 20 days.
6. Contain only VAT applicable when invoicing a Swiss, non-EU Association.

If the TYPO3 Association is the invoice recipient and the invoice issuer is not Swiss, no VAT should be applied to the invoice. The TYPO3 Association’s Swiss VAT number is CHE‑112.256.297 MWST.

All reimbursements must be fully documented using digital originals or complete and legible scans or photos of the documents.

The only acceptable documentation types are:

1. Invoice or tax receipt
2. Valid ticket stating the expense
3. Time log (only for work time)

The documentation must contain at least the following information:

1. Name of issuer or time-logged person.
2. Date of issue
3. Date of payment or due date
4. A meaningful description of the expense
5. The total time-logged hours or the sum of the expense with currency or reasonable information for determining the currency (such as the issuer's country).

Time logs must additionally contain at least the following information:

1. Individual time entries for tasks or summarized time for each task during each day.
2. Total time worked for each day when work was performed.

These documentation requirements do not apply to Secondary Documentation. It should instead contain as much of the relevant visible information as possible, e.g. a screenshot of the entire visible part of the website in the browser window.