# Expense policy ## Why an expense policy? It's important to have a public expense policy so that rebels can know in advance what can be expensed. Also, you need a public document that you can go back to to justify why you are accepting or refusing a given expense. This makes sure that decisions are fair for everyone. ## What should be in an expense policy? * General philosophy * What are we trying to achieve with the money? * Always ask first if someone can offer it before making an expense * Favor the local and sustainable economy (e.g. second hand shops) * Make sure it respects the [values and principles of XR](/docs/principles-and-values.md) * Types of expenses that can be submitted * Can rebels expense their public transport tickets? * What are the restrictions? (e.g. don't pay for meat, fast fashion, etc.) * How to submit an expense? * Is there an online form somewhere or an email address? * Decision making process to approve them * Light process for small amounts? * Is there an amount above which the decision process should be different? * Is there a pre-defined budget per working group? ## Where to publish it? Wherever the rebels might look for information about your finance; on your website on the page where you ask for donations, in your vade mecum (aka onboarding handbook), on basecamp in the documents related to your finance working group, etc. If you use Open Collective, you can write a summary of your expense policy that will show up right above the form to submit an expense (and you can add a link to the more complete expense policy if it's a long one). ![Submit expense form on Open Collective](/files/-LoTqrXmOZPdw_3MaEnG) ## Examples * XR Hackney * [Expense Policy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b7xF8gJ2KxzG6oNOPATfcMNFlEic6NcNqw308XKraF8/mobilebasic) (google doc) * [Submit expense form](https://opencollective.com/xrhackney/expenses/new) (open collective) * [Public record of expenses](https://opencollective.com/xrhackney/expenses) (open collective) * XR Tower Hamlets * [Expense Policy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zx5JWNgjfHyAuqw6DILdPfpXHJ_L0bTZLbMqPtPM89Y/edit) (google doc) * [Submit expense form](https://form.jotformeu.com/91277648344365) (online form) * [Public record of expenses](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mjOjGr8ZjCCJkGfLZ5lZU342KCbS105o1oCjsu4IdkU/edit#gid=0) (google spreadsheet) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://extinctionrebellion.gitbook.io/docs/finance/expense-policy.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.