# Spending Money ## Expense Procedure This policy applies to all Partners and associates that need to spend money for mission-related activities. Any member of the Mission Circle may unilaterally approve expenses less than $500 per month. Any expenses over that threshold must be approved by a decision of the full Mission Circle. There is no guarantee that an expense will be approved after the fact, so when possible, you should seek approval before spending money. If you make an unauthorized purchase with an organizational account, you may be required to pay the money back yourself. ### Circle Budgets The Mission Circle may also approve a budget for any sub-circle. At that point, the circle lead has discretion over use of the use of their circle's budget. ### Reimbursement If an approved expense was paid by an individual Partner or associate, reimbursements may be made by check or electronic transfer, at the discretion of the recipient. ### Voluntary Simplicity We practice voluntary simplicity and want to avoid overspending or unnecessary costs. With any purchase, please put in some extra effort to find a less expensive option, within reason. In general, Pro-Animal Future is very unlikely to reimburse expenses that could be deemed luxuries, such as professional dinners or business-class tickets and other upgrades. ## Some Eligible & Ineligible Expenses ### Travel Expenses Travel expenses include any kind of transportation and accommodation expenses that you incur when going on a work trip. Expenses related to this category that may be fully or partly reimbursable include: * Accommodation * Legal document expenses (e.g. Visa) * Air, train, ship, gasoline, or other transportation fares * Necessary medical expenses (e.g. vaccinations) * Local transportation during trips (taxi fares, rental cars etc.) * Other minor or per diem expenses that are included in that trip’s budget (e.g. meals, business material) * Medical expenses arising from travel-related accidents, if appropriate. ### Non-reimbursable expenses We won't reimburse the following: * Expenses incurred by spouses or other associates who accompany our Partners on their travels * Un-authorized service upgrade (e.g. business class or hotel rooms) * Travel insurance (unless explicitly approved by MC in writing) * Personal services (massages, beauty treatments etc.) * Personal purchases (gifts, clothes etc.) * Lost personal property (e.g. luggage) * Cannabis or alcoholic beverages * Animal products * Fines incurred while driving or parking * Non-business subscriptions/ training * Personal trips This list is not exhaustive. Seek approval before spending money when possible, and use the normal approval process for uncertain reimbursements after the fact. ## Abuse of the Expense Procedure Any excessive expenses will be investigated. Consistent falsified or exaggerated claims, or repeatedly making unauthorized purchases with a Pro-Animal Future account, will be grounds to initiate a conflict process and may initiate a review of a Partner's membership in Pro-Animal Future. --- # 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://handbook.proanimal.org/overview/paf-wide-policies/business-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.