Slightly increase scope: include payment requests

The project should really include outgoing payments along with it.
Submitting an invoice for payment as an external party is really just a
"base case" of a reimbursement request.

The only complication I can imagine this adds is allowing the general
public to create an account on the system, or allow for anonymous
submission, which might lead to spam concerns in deployment.

I believe these issues should be easily mitigated and will not
drastically increase scope of the project.

As part of this actual change to the text, some wordsmithing and changes
throughout to s/reimbursement/outgoing payments/ and other similar
changes are made.
This commit is contained in:
Bradley M. Kuhn 2016-08-30 09:43:35 -07:00 committed by Brett Smith
parent 8018097f93
commit 2204e09bfe

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@ -1,31 +1,34 @@
# Requirements for the Reimbursement System
# Requirements for the Reimbursement and Outgoing Payment Request System
## Overview
One short-term goal of the Non-Profit Accounting Project is to create a
system that allows members of an organization to submit requests for
reimbursement, and the organization's bookkeepers to review those requests
and add them to the organization's books. The primary umotivation for this
project is to save time both groups spend on handling reimbursement requests,
and reduce turnaround time for these requests, by helping members file
complete requests that are easy for bookkeepers to review and accept.
system that allows (a) members of an organization, and external parties, to
submit requests for reimbursement or request for payment (e.g., invoices),
and (b) the organization's bookkeepers, accountants, and managerial approvers
to review those requests, add them to the organization's books, and prepare
payment. The primary motivation for this project is to save time both groups
spend on handling reimbursement requests and outgoing payments, and reduce
turnaround time for these requests, and to help members file complete
requests that are easy for bookkeepers to review and accept.
Members of the organization could be employees, members of projects
represented by the organization, or others doing work to advance the
organization's mission—anyone who the organization might want to reimburse.
organization's mission—anyone who the organization might want to reimburse or
pay.
The system should not have knowledge of specific reimbursement policies
written into it. Instead, it should be possible for a bookkeeper or
administrator to define follow-up questions and what responses are and are
not eligible for reimbursement. Early versions may require sysadmin-level
technical expertise to do this, but ultimately it should be doable by a
bookkeeper with appropriate privileges.
The system should not make assumptions about specific reimbursement policies
or invoicing requirements. Instead, it should be possible for a bookkeeper
or administrator to define follow-up questions and what responses are and are
not eligible for reimbursement or payment. Early versions may require
sysadmin-level technical expertise to do this, but ultimately it should be
doable by a bookkeeper with appropriate privileges.
## Requirements for first release
### Defining the request form
Requests for reimbursement have four states: In Progress, Submitted,
Requests for payment have four states: In Progress, Submitted,
Accepted, and Rejected.
Administrators can define questions to ask the member about the entire
@ -77,8 +80,8 @@ follow-up questions as necessary based on those answers.
When an In Progress report has at least one expense associated with it, and
all questions have been answered, the member may submit the request for
approval. If any of the answers do not meet the administrator's conditions
for reimbursement, the member may still submit the request, and provide an
explanation for why the expense should be reimbursed (e.g., because it was
for payment, the member may still submit the request, and provide an
explanation for why the request should be paid (e.g., because it was
approved in advance). Once the request is submitted, it moves to the
Submitted state.
@ -117,7 +120,7 @@ built.
* Usable without JavaScript: For consistent mission advocacy, it's important
that some organizations not require members to use JavaScript. (e.g., Tor
browsers typically have JavaScript disabled because it can undermine Tor's
anonymity guarantees.) It should be possible to submit reimbursement
anonymity guarantees.) It should be possible to submit payment
requests without JavaScript. The interface can be enhanced when JavaScript
is available.