Volunteers are not expected to be out of pocket due to their volunteering activities with SSAFA. We strongly recommend that you claim any expenses on a monthly basis.
It is important that your bank details are maintained up-to-date on Assemble as any expenses claimed, will be paid in to that bank account. Please see the article here on how to update your bank details.
Assemble does not complete actual payments or hold user financial details, it helps us handle the claim process only. Payments of expenses will be completed outside of Assemble.
Expenses process
To claim expenses, add new claims as soon as you complete a visit/case related activity. These will go to your unclaimed expenses list. At the end of the month, submit ALL claims to your manager for approval and payment.
Casework Volunteers will have their expenses approved by designated staff in the Regional Office who will make the payment through their normal method of payment. The finance team will authorise payment as soon as the claim goes on the system. If you have a problem with your expense claim, please contact the Regional Office.
Branch Volunteers will have their expenses approved by Branch executives and paid by the Branch Treasurers through their normal method of payment. If you have a problem with your expense claim, please contact your Branch Treasurer.
Add new expense
- Click on 'Expenses' tab on the left panel in Assemble
- Select 'My Expenses' field to add a new expense
- Select the expense type from the drop-down list *
- Add the date when the expense was incurred (not the date of submitting the claim)
- Add a short description of the expense. For mileage expenses you must include a start and finish postcode
- Specify the value of the expense to claim
- Upload receipts or other supporting documents related to the expense.
- Click on 'Add expense' button - you will now be able to see your expense in the 'Unclaimed expenses' section underneath
You can edit the expense by clicking on the 'Actions' button and select 'Edit expense' and then on 'Update expense'.
* Mileage is a special expense type, allowing calculation of related payments for car or other transport based on miles traveled. Selecting mileage will prompt for the related mileage rate (defined by our system administrator). The total will be calculated automatically based on miles traveled and number of passengers.
Receipts are not normally applicable to mileage claims but supporting information can be attached where applicable.
Once all your monthly expenses have been added, click on 'Claim all' if all expense items relate to a single SSAFA role you undertake. If your claims relate to multiple SSAFA roles, using the tickboxes in the first column, tick all expense items that relate to one role for submission to the relevant authoriser. You can then use the tick boxes to submit remaining lines to a different authoriser(s).
Submitting an expense claim
The system will show you a summary of the expense items in the claim:
Notes: Add additional notes to the approver on the overall claim. Notes for individual expense items should be completed on the line item directly.
Authorisation: shows you which approver the expense will be sent to. Please make sure you select the right person to submit it to based on the activity that you have carried out. For branch related activity, including community engagement roles, please choose the Branch Chair, for Casework please include the relevant Volunteer Development Manager (VDM) and for other services, please choose the relevant service lead (e.g Regional Mentoring Coordinator (RMC) for mentoring). You will need to submit separate claims for individual roles.
Submission declaration: To create a claim the user must confirm acceptance of the submission declaration by ticking the box. The 'Create claim' button is disabled until this is complete.
Creating a claim will inform the manager that approval is required. The claim will move to the users 'Previous claims' where the user can track approval.
Previous Claims
Previous claims allows access to historical claims and displays the status of active claims.
Status
Awaiting approval: Awaiting manager approval.
Approved: Once the expense has been approved, it is no longer being tracked by Assemble.
Rejected: A rejected claim by a manager remains on 'Previous claims' for reference only. Expense line items from the rejected claim will return to the 'Unclaimed expenses' allow a user to modify and resubmit as a new claim.
Expense claims should be completed once a month, but for higher amounts that may require a more prompt payment, please contact your Branch Treasurer or the Regional Office as appropriate.