How to spend company money
At Mattermost, we want you to be successful from Day 1. As staff members, you're empowered to determine and purchase what you need in order to do your job. We value high impact over stringent expense rules and these expense guidelines are intended to help make decisions not hinder movement. Depending on country/region, some items may be way below or way above the averages listed. If you need to spend more to get the right equipment for you to be productive, we trust you’re making purchase decisions to optimize cost and efficiency.
If you're uncertain, feel free to ask in the Finance Team channel, or reach out to expenses@mattermost.com.
Mattermost guidelines
Mattermost’s policy for spending company money is influenced by GitLab, who open sources its policy on spending company money online and who has been highly successful in an open, frugal, iterative culture.
Spend company money like it's your own money.
You don't have to ask permission before making purchases on behalf of the company. When in doubt, inform your manager before the purchase or as soon as possible after the purchase.
It's uncommon for you to need all of the items listed below. Use your best judgement and buy them as you need them. If you wonder whether something is considered common, feel free to ask People Ops (and in turn, People Ops should update the list).
You may privately use Mattermost property, a laptop for example, to check your private emails or watch a movie as long as it does not violate the law, harm Mattermost, or interfere with Intellectual Property.
It's generally easiest and fastest for you to make any purchases for office supplies yourself and expense them. If you are unable to pay for any supplies yourself, please reach out to People Ops.
If you make a purchase that will cost Mattermost 1000 USD (or over), this is classified as company property. You'll be required to return the item(s) if you leave the company.
Use Airbase to file your expense report in the same month that you made the purchase in. Please combine multiple expenses on one report if possible. Do not submit expenses older than three months. Please do your best to submit your expenses in a timely manner.
Any non-company expenses paid with a company credit card or other means will have to be reported to your manager as soon as possible and refunded in full within 14 days.
Home office equipment and supplies. The company will reimburse for the following items if you need it for work or use it mainly for business, and local law allows us to pay for it without incurring payroll taxes. The amounts set forth below are guidelines and not strict limits.
Equipment
Equipment is essential to being successful at Mattermost. If you're a new staff member joining the team, welcome aboard! Use your best judgement and buy the below items as you need them. It is uncommon for you to need all of the items listed below. If you wonder whether something is common, feel free to ask your manager if it's specific to a role that's only under your manager or in the People Ops channel if it's general (and in turn, People Ops should update the list).
While we're sharing average costs for various items below, you should use your best judgement. If there’s a piece of equipment that you’re passionate about, you can spend less on other items to get the product that you want. If you're uncertain, check with your manager or the Finance Team. In addition, use our Currency Exchange Tables, which are updated monthly, when dealing with reimbursement in currencies other than USD.
Computer hardware and software
Please refer to the guidelines here
Home office guidelines
Home office equipment
Height-adjustable desk: Average price 500 USD
Desk chair: Average price 300 USD
Laptop stand: Average price 180 USD
Laptop carrying bag: Average price 60 USD
Work-related books: 30 USD per month or 360 USD annually
Business computer accessories
USB-C dock for New MacBooks: Average price 150 USD
External monitor: Average price 500 USD
HDMI cable: Average price 15 USD
Webcam: Average price 75 USD
Ethernet connector: Average price 20 USD
Headphones: Average price 80 USD
Keyboard and mouse set: Average price 150 USD
IDE for developers: Average price 300 USD
Mobile device policy
The Mattermost mobile device policy enables the use of mobile devices for customer-facing roles, development, or those providing repeating on-call service in a secure fashion.
Subscription
If you are using your personal device for business-related matters, we will reimburse up to 100 USD. In some countries/regions, reimbursement of a personal phone plan for business use is considered a taxable benefit. It is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with local tax laws when filing your taxes. Positions or roles where mobile reimbursement may be needed include the following:
Customer-facing roles:
Account Executives
Customer Success Managers
Sales Leadership
Customer Engineers
On-call roles:
Software Design Engineer
Build Engineer
Security Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer
Support Engineers
For all other positions, we will reimburse up to 50 USD.
If you're unsure whether you qualify for a customer-facing role or on-call role, reach out to your manager and follow the Manager Approval process.
The company doesn't currently provide mobile device subscriptions in a centralized fashion. Subscriptions should be organized by the employee and expensed monthly. Mattermost recommends the usage of a monthly subscription model where possible.
Travel
Mattermost will cover work-related travel expenses for approved business travel. You may extend a business trip for personal reasons, but you will only be expensed for meals and lodging that are part of the business-related portion of the trip. Use the same Expense Guidelines when spending on air, lodging, and meals.
Meals and entertainment
Spend company money like it’s your own. When traveling on behalf of Mattermost, average meal costs will vary by destination city and country. The two links below are helpful reference points for city and country averages. Note: 20% is considered the maximum gratuity for exceptional service.
The below links provide a few examples regarding daily per diem guidance.
San Francisco 70 USD
New York 70 USD
Austin 55 USD
London 75 USD
Toronto 50 USD
Berlin 45 USD
The following links provide further detail regarding location-specific per diems:
When dining with another staff member on one check, the most senior person is responsible for payment. When submitting your receipt in Expensify, include the names of all staff members who attended.
Airfare and traveling
Refer to our separate policy Mattermost Airfare and Traveling.
Hotel and lodging
Use your best judgement when assessing hotel costs and proximity to your workplace or event. Similar to booking airfare, book lodging in advance whenever possible and optimize for cost, convenience, and safety of location. Due to potentially unforeseen circumstances causing a change in plans, it’s advised not to pay in advance for your hotel accommodations.
Please spend company money as if it's your own. As always, security and safety is important and paramount for our staff members.
Loyalty points
Staff members may retain points earned for hotel stays. However, hotel reservations should optimize business needs and cost vs. points.
Mileage reimbursement
We will reimburse mileage according to local laws of the country in which your contract is legally signed. For example, a contract with Mattermost, Inc. would be subject to IRS mileage reimbursement at the US rate per mile. For approval, you must add a screenshot of a map to the expense in Expensify indicating the mileage.
Conferences and trade shows
Airfare, Meals and Entertainment, and Hotel take precedence.
Team events, meetups, and off-sites
Team events and meetups should be planned in advance with ample notice and approval from your direct MLT.
The Airfare, Meals and Entertainment, and Hotel policies take precedence even in the case of team events or meetups.
For team off sites, where travel and overnight stays are necessary, we encourage staff to use their best judgment. Historically, the average cost is $250 USD per person per day which includes meals, lodging, and meeting spaces. Travel costs like airfare, ride shares, or external partner and customer dinners are considered an additional expenditure and should seek manager approval first.
Team celebrations
There will be times to celebrate with staff members, and we want you to. Please be sure to obtain approval from your department head by following the Manager Approval process.
Rideshares and rentals
Use your best judgment if a rental car is needed. It's recommended to use Uber, Lyft, Taxis, or other cost-effective budget services. In certain instances, it may not be economical to do so and a rental car is necessary. Mattermost does not have a corporate account with any rental car agency at this time. Please continue to follow the spend principle (spend company money like it is your own money).
Frequently asked questions
What happens if we need to cancel a reservation related to an internal travel (e.g. conference, customer meeting, team event) that’s non-refundable?
Try to get a refund, sometimes this is possible even if the vendor has a standard policy against it. Otherwise try to get credit for future use. If you’re able to achieve either, or if the amount paid needs to be forfeited, please let finance know. Please expense any non-refundable charges for work-related reservations due to cancellations.
If I didn’t get a chance to submit an expense for work travel and are unable to get a refund for it, can I still have it reimbursed?
Yes, please submit work-related expenses via Expensify.
I have a personal stay planned before/after my in-person work travel that was canceled. I was originally planning to have the company cover airfare costs to and from the destination. What are my options?
You can choose to continue your personal stay by covering your airfare cost out-of-pocket. Travel costs or UATP (United Air Travel Plan) for work meetings should be refunded to the company when possible. If a staff member was reimbursed for a company expense that’s repurposed for personal use, the reimbursement should be returned to the company. This is common for how most other companies are treating the separation between work travel and holiday travel. Alternatively, try to get a refund on any deposits for your personal stay, sometimes this is possible even if the vendor has a standard policy against it. Otherwise try to get credit for future use.
If I decide to pay airfare and other work-related costs out-of-pocket for personal use, what is the timeline for paying back these expenses?
Please repay back to the company before using the work-related expense.
Can credit from a canceled, non-refundable company reservation be gifted by the company to a staff member for personal use, such as a holiday, if the credit would otherwise expire and be unused (e.g. non-refundable air ticket)?
No. For a number of reasons, including complexity, compliance, and risk of self-dealing, our policy is to not gift credit from unused company expenses that would otherwise expire for personal use. Read How we develop policies for more context.
Can I use credit from a canceled, non-refundable company reservation for personal use, if the credit would otherwise expire and be unused?
To keep work and personal expenses separated, if a staff member receives a reimbursement for a work expense, which is then deployed for personal use, the reimbursement should be returned to the company.
Other expenses
The company will reimburse for the following expenses if you need it for work or use it mainly for business, and local law allows us to pay for it without incurring taxes:
Flexible office space: If working from home is not practical, you may rent out a co-working space at the expense of the company. This can include non-traditional spaces that require a membership as long as you average ~3 working days per week at the space. Any agreement must be between the team member and the co-working space (i.e. Mattermost will not sign or appear on the agreement). All expenses must be submitted through Expensify. The company will not be responsible for any expense that relates to office space subsequent to the termination of service between Mattermost and the staff member.
Flexible office spaces or hot desk will be reviewed based on average costs for the city and location. That said, we expect an office space to not exceed 600 USD per month. If you are requesting to be reimbursed on a space that exceeds 600 USD per month, the Manager Approval process should be followed.
Professional development: Work-related online courses and professional development certifications, not included in career path training or training for specialty roles, e.g. Information Security. Mattermost staff members are allotted 500 USD per fiscal year to spend on one or multiple training courses. Manager Approval is required for reimbursement greater than $500 USD.
Home internet: Mattermost will reimburse up to 50 USD per month that can be expensed for home internet. If you are submitting an expense other than USD, please use the Currency Exchange Rate Table to determine how much to expense each month. As always, expenses should be submitted in a timely manner and follow the How to use Expensify process.
Foreign currency reimbursement: From time to time, you may receive an unfavorable exchange rate between the date you made the expense and the date Mattermost reimburses you. If that happens, Mattermost will make up the difference. To submit a foreign currency reimbursement claim, refer to How to use Expensify. For the least amount of monetary impact, follow the Company Guidelines including submitting your expense in the period incurred.
Manager approval
For anything requiring manager approval, please complete the following steps:
Reach out to your manager/department head regarding the approval.
Give the business reason need and (if applicable) date/s if approval relates to an event or conference.
If the manager approves this as legitimate business need, the manager is required to contact Finance for spending approval at expenses@mattermost.com.
If/when approved, an approval email will be sent to the staff member and manager.
Staff member must attach the approval to the Expensify expense report.
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