Expense Reimbursements & Nexonia Expenses

The Austin Stone Reimbursement Program

Below is the church's Expense Reimbursement Program Summary and Expense FAQ. By participating in this program, you understand and agree to everything in these documents.  (Click on each document to open)

Setting up a Nexonia Account

Nexonia Expenses is a module within Nexonia that allows you to submit reimbursement requests for expenses you purchased on behalf of Austin Stone. 

Paperwork for Staff Account in Nexonia

In order to create an account in Nexonia for a new staff member, please follow the following process:

1. Fill out the direct deposit document below
2. Submit your direct deposit form using this Asana Form to request a Nexonia Account. 

Paperwork for Resident or Shared Staff Account in Nexonia

1. Fill out the W-9 and ACH Authorization Form below
2. Read and complete (but do not sign) the correct reimbursement policy for your position
3. Schedule a meeting with Emily Moscoso (emily@austinstone.org), and your supervisor (Please use google calendar to find a time that works for everyone)
4. After the meeting with Emily, use this Asana Form to submit documents and request a Nexonia Account. 

Ministry Credit Cards

Ministry Credit Cards are now available for employees, shared staff, or residents and are intended to provide access to efficient, flexible, and alternative means of payment for approved ministry expenses. These cards and expenses will follow the same documentation, submission, and approval process as those outlined in the Expense Reimbursement Program described above.

How to obtain a Ministry Credit Card

Steps required to obtain a Ministry Credit Card are as follows:

1. Apply for a Ministry Credit Card using this Asana Form (choose the "Apply for Ministry Credit Card" in the initial drop down).
   1. This submission will be evaluated by the Finance Team and a credit card will be ordered upon approval.
   2. Please allow up to two weeks for processing and mailing of the physical credit card.
2. Upon receipt of the physical credit card a member of the Finance Team will schedule a meeting with you and your Department Leader to
   1. Review and complete the Ministry Credit Card Policy and Agreement,
   2. Set final credit limit,
   3. Issue you your physical credit card, and
   4. Provide training on differences in Nexonia submission process.

Using Nexonia

Information Required for all Expense Report

For expenses to be reimbursed under the church’s accountable plan, support must be provided to verify a legitimate business reason for the expense. To meet this criteria, expenses must include the “Five Ws”. Any expense that does not meet all five of the requirements below is not eligible for tax free reimbursement by the church. For more detailed info, please look at our expense reimbursement program.

• Why (business/ministry purpose)
• What (detailed description of what is being purchased)
• When (date of the purchase)
• Where (location of purchase)
• Who (names of those for whom the expense was incurred

Ministry Purpose Quick Reference: 

Special Instructions

Splitting a Receipt

You can easily split one receipt between multiple expense categories using the "Split" function on the item screen, however you can only split between expense categories that are in the same department. YOU SHOULD NEVER SPLIT ONE ITEM ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS. To allocate one receipt across different departments, you need to create an item for each department and attach the receipt on the expense report or to each item on the report. Please ask the finance team if you have questions on this.

Reports with Multiple Items

While there is no limit to the number of items that one report can contain, we recommend not grouping more than a week's worth of receipts on each report. This is for multiple reasons: 

• Nexonia will post all items from one report with the earliest transaction date in the report. For example, a report which contains items from multiple months (e.g. May and June) will post all transactions to the earliest date (May). 
• It helps you keep a better record of what has been approved and reimbursed
• It begins the approval process for the items you have submitted resulting in a faster reimbursement cycle for you

Approval Proxy

If you are an approver, you have the ability to proxy your approval while out of the office. Please make sure you assign and set up an approval proxy with one role above you. This proxy will need to be set up before you leave town, and you must communicate this to the person you proxy the approval too. That person will then need to set it up on their device and toggle to your account daily to approve. See more details on how to do this in the "How To" documents below.

Sales Tax

Always try to get sales tax exemption. See Tax Exempt Documents. If you do get charged for sales tax, use the "Split Item" feature to separate out the sales tax. REMINDER: When you travel out of the state of Texas, rent a car, book a hotel or pay an airline ticket- those taxes are NOT considered Texas sales tax so please include the tax amount in the total amount.

Processing

Expense reimbursements are processed on Thursdays. That means that your expense request needs to be fully approved by 5pm on the Wednesday before. If you send it through on Thursday, there is no guarantee that it will be processed. If your expense report is processed on Thursday you should receive the reimbursement on Friday. 

Nexonia Access

To maintain compliance with our security controls communicated to our Auditors, please do not (for any reason) share your Google login or password. If you have any addition questions, please reach out to our AP team at accountspayable@austinstone.org

Reimbursements Over 60 Days

If you are on Austin Stone's payroll and want to get reimbursed for expenses that are older than 60 days, per the IRS, that is now considered taxable income. Please process reimbursements using these instructions:

• Email your Department Leader AND Central Elder with an email that includes: 
  • Title email with “Over 60 Day Reimbursement:…” 
  • The usual expense details (amount, time and place, people present, ministry purpose)
  • Which budget this expense should be charged to
  • Relevant receipts or invoices (with date of purchase, total amount, etc visible)
• Once you have received approval from BOTH your Department Leader and Central Elder via email, forward that email chain to payroll@austinstone.org and accountspayable@austinstone.org and it will be entered into the next payroll to be recorded and paid as taxable income.

Shared Staff and Residents are not eligible for Over 60 Day Reimbursements.