Expense account
Wikimedia Belgium has a bank account to book invoices (both incoming and outgoing), expenses, incoming payments, membership fees, and small donations (without fiscal certificate) from the general public or enterprises.
Business rules
[edit]Wikimedia Belgium doesn't have bank cards, nor credit cards. We don't handle cash. All transactions are done via the bank account, to have a proof of the transaction, and to avoid any abuse or discussions. Debit and credit payments are transferred separately for easy verification.
At any time during the booking year, the expenses are reported through the general ledger, the bank account statements, and finally the (yearly) financial statements.
The Foundation grants are administered on a separate Foundation bank account, to keep the yearly WMF budget separate from the internal transactions.
Legal requirements
[edit]| Prefix | Usage |
|---|---|
| /A/ | Salaries |
| /B/ | Expense claims |
| Pensions |
As per the Belgian tax authorities the free communication field of any type of expense payment must start with a /B/ prefix for the tax authorities to be able to detect and investigate potential fraudulent transactions.[1] This is required for all types of expense claims: volunteer allowances, reimbursements, and volunteer fees. For reimbursements, volunteers have the obligation to register their receipts and invoices, which must reflect the real amounts. Expenses must be paid in the year in which the costs were incurred. Not adhering to those rules can have as consequences that the beneficiary has to pay social security and taxes on the expense claim amounts. It also exposes the organisation to fiscal fines.
Example payment reference: /B/ D2025-10 Expenses 2nd quarter
The D2025-10 is the general ledger booking reference number, which is incremental within each calendar year.
The /B/ prefix should not be used for special occasions like New Year gifts, or e.g. prizes of a photo contest. Those payments are not legally considered as expense claims.
See also
[edit]Notes and References
[edit]- ↑ VSDC Review 194, Jan-Feb 2021, p. 4 - Handleiding: Werken met vrijwilligers