Company Expenses

Company expenses are paid either by the EOR, a corporate credit card or through the Accounting and Finance Team.

1. Employer of Record (EOR): Payroll and some one-off reimbursements.

2. Individual Corporate Credit Card Expenses: Ad hoc individual business-related expenses like paying for a promotional article, business travel, or work accessories.

3. Corporate Accounting Credit Card Expenses: Software subscriptions used by the majority of the business.

4. Paid via the Accounting and Finance Team: Vendor invoices and ad hoc expenses that are more 1,000 USD.

Expense policies

Founders should also work with the Accounting & Finance Team to establish specific employee expense reimbursement policies, including what expenses will be reimbursed by the company and whether to issue team members an individual corporate credit card.

All expenses must be approved by the founder before payment is completed. Expenses should have a receipt/invoice attached, include a description, and go through Accounting & Finance Team's vetting. In the case a founder is not available, OCV Finance team will approve outgoing payments.

Corporate credit card usage

Every company has two types of corporate credit cards: Accounting Card and Individual Employee Cards.

Accounting credit card

The Accounting Card is used for the company's general business needs. Examples include monthly subscriptions to workplace tools, one-time fees, and any business-related activities for one individual (purchasing a computer). Use the Accounting card when an invoice is not available.

Using the Accounting Card instead of personal credit cards for company-wide subscriptions ensures business continuity. If a team member leaves the company, the team wouldn’t need to remember all the accounts tied to their individual credit card and request updates.

All transactions on the Accounting Card are reviewed by the Accounting & Finance Team.

Individual employee credit card

Founder(s) and (interim) CEOs are issued a business credit card for individual business use. Typical expense items include but not limited to business travels, meals with clients, individual workplace subscriptions, and other business needs.

All card holders are required to submit notes and receipts for all credit card transactions. This is an IRS requirement.

Payroll processing

The Accounting and Finance Team manages payment processing through the EOR. Payment is processed on a semi-monthly (cadence may vary by country), but invoices the company once a month. For cash flow planning, founders may need to be aware that the current cash on hand (bank account balance) may not reflect the latest payroll draw due to a timing difference of the EOR invoice.

Once the EOR invoices the company, payroll payment is processed by the Accounting & Finance Team. It's important to note that payroll must comply with various laws and regulations, including wage and hour laws and tax laws. Failure to comply with these laws can result in penalties.

Reimbursements

Founders and employees can submit reimbursement requests directly through the EOR platform. These requests will be reviewed and approved by the Accounting and Finance Team and are included in the next payroll cycle.

Notify the Accounting team of one-off reimbursement requests. They may recommend either using the EOR platform or another expense management platform. Contractors may submit reimbursement requests via invoices or the COR platform.

Founder reimbursement prior to an active bank account

OCV sets up each company's bank account and credit card within a week of funding. This ensures immediate access to a company expense account for necessary systems and other business expenses.

Sometimes, founders may need to purchase equipment or initiate essential services before funding and account activation. In such cases, founders must pay for these items personally and submit reimbursement requests to the Accounting and Finance Team.

Expense allocation

OCV manages expenses for many entities. These include OCV (under the Management Company), OCV funds, and OCV companies (typically during the formation phase only).

As a default practice, we ask our vendors to bill the appropriate entity for which services/goods were rendered.

Company pre-launch expenses

OCV has a designated payment method for standard pre-launch systems. These systems and accounts are expected to transfer to the company's own business credit card upon activation.

As a general practice, OCV would minimize expenses incurred on behalf on the company during the formation phase.

For each company, OCV would not seek reimbursements for total expenses below $500. Once total expenses exceed $500 (potentially driven by domain purchases), OCV would invoice the company for all direct expenses incurred.

When founding team members need to purchase equipment or services before their company's financial systems are set up, the preferred method is to pay for these personally and later submit expense reimbursements to their company's accounting team.

Reimbursements across entities

Occasionally, OCV may need to cover payments on behalf of another entity. These payments are recorded as receivables on OCV’s balance sheet. Once the entity can process invoices, OCV will request reimbursement at actual cost by submitting receipts to the entity's accounting department.

Table below highlights typical expense categories by entity type.

Operating costs (i.e. payroll for OCV team, systems, etc.)	Deal-specific expenses (primarily legal, travel, etc.)	Company operating costs (payroll, fixed assets, systems subscriptions, etc.)
Content production for OCV blog posts including new company launch announcements	Fund admin fees	Company-specific legal fees (including entity formation)
OCV-specific legal & accounting needs and non-company specific work that benefit all OCV companies	Tax services for funds (GP and LP entities)	Outsourced HR & recruiting services
Catalyst program sponsorship payments	ㅤ	Marketing (including contract content writers, etc.)
ㅤ	ㅤ	Outsourced accounting & tax services
ㅤ	ㅤ	Corporate taxes and statutory filings

Workspace and office leasing

Founders may decide that an external workspace—whether a co-working facility or an office—would be advantageous for productivity and collaboration with co-located team members. If founders wish to rent office space, OCV advises them to discuss budgetary and tax implications with the finance team before making any leasing commitments. Out-of-US founders will need to pay leasing bills directly and then submit expenses through the company's payroll platform for reimbursement.Donations & Sponsorships

Prior to the launch of an OCV company, the open source project may have been supported by public donations and/or other sponsorships.

Donations

Prior to the launch of an OCV company, the open source project may have been supported by public donations and/or other sponsorships.

If there isn’t an existing non-profit organization (unaffiliated with the commercial entity) managing the open source project and donations, general guideline is for OCV companies and employees not to accept public donations.

Sponsoring the OS and/or a related foundation

If there are unaffiliated non-profit organizations supporting and promoting the open source project, the Management Team may consider making a monetary contribution. Amount and frequency consideration should include the company’s cash runway.

Guardrails on unusual activity

The Accounting & Finance team will regularly review for any unusual expenses or activity. Irregular activities will require submitting a receipt and the Accounting & Finance team may request for additional information. Invoices going to new vendors will require due diligence before processing, ideally a W-9 is provided.

Investigating financial fraud

In the event of a fraudulent purchasing card, ACH, or wire transaction, contact the company’s financial institution provider and ask them:

1. What user account changed the "account"? From which IP address?

2. What user account made the payment? From which IP address?

3. Is there a way we can lock what vendors we can send ACH payments to?

On the credit side, companies could implement credit card masking tools or use an enterprise password manager to generate new virtual cards every time a purchase is made on top of using vendor cards with approval limits.