This post aims to clarify the new process of requesting payment of expenses or to obtain reimbursement from Finance nest, which will be paid out through the operations account. We will break down the process below and the information we expect to be submitted.
Finance nest are currently working on obtaining a DAO credit card to support fiat purchases, we will update the post once this has been obtained. Currently for fiat payments contributors can request reimbursement from finance nest in USDC.
Finance nest will be carrying out payments weekly every Friday.
Process
The diagram below gives a visual representation of the process.
I have an approved budget for Paid Performance and SEO which was subject to
G.Nest Leads
F.Nest and
Council v1 scrutiny prior to
passing IIP and
which is being tracked in our nest budget and
is significantly below budget
We are looking to add a 8th check?
Q: Do I now need to synch with @Metfanmike to talk through budgeted expenses each week?
Q: is the intention here is to
Occupy our Nest Leads and Council Members with pod level detail and
Limit pod autonomy?
Feel like PPSEO pod might be an outlier here in terms of the # of invoices generated but you guys probably have noticed I’m a stickler for detail and I will stop spending money before agreeing to this type of micro-management
Also apologies for not first highlight that this is also a much needed process and I appreciate all the work @ElliottWatts@Hammad1412 do to help me understand how we need to work and for paying suppliers on time. I recognise that I’m especially demanding of our leaders and finance (as I am of myself) sorry for my at times blunt approach. I need to do a better job of checking myself in future to ensure I focus first on the positive before querying detail or expressing opinion.
Hi Lee, understand here and appreciate that PPSEO is an outlier given the high volume of expenses, it would not be prudent to run all expenses through the nest lead. The first question merely asks is it in line with the season 1 budget approved by the nest lead - potentially a wording change is needed here to make it clearer and we will make those edits.
The intention here is to provide a process for how payments are requested to be made from the operations account, currently, people just DM a member of the finance team to set up a payment which is not very efficient. This form and process will make it easier for Finance, operations account signers and community members to pay suppliers directly from the operations account, without having to bridge the gap with personal funds.
This process also allows us to create a paper trail for all supplier transactions so that we can refer to it should we ever need to. (Im an ex-auditor would you expect any less )
In answer to your questions:
Nest leads should have visibility over pod level detail, I’d be really surprised if they didn’t, a weekly nest call usually does the trick here to keep everyone up to date, that’s what we do in F.Nest
I am not sure how this would limit pod autonomy? This process in my opinion is actually an enabler for autonomy to make and request payments directly from the ops account
What are you specifically referring to here? I assume it is because finance nest will review expenses against the season budget?
I don’t see this as being micro-management but rather good stewardship of Index funds, its not an additional step for the contributor requesting payment it is simply an internal F.Nest check and balance review. One of our core deliverables is being accountable so if we allow overspending with no business justification then we are not upholding our S1 proposal.
Hopefully that provides clarity, I think some wording changes will address any concerns you have with the process.
Appreciate the clarification @elliot and I do see this as a solid improvement to the process. I value the transparency and financial insight FNest provides and look forward to understanding the forecast models and applied assumption that FNest can deliver to ensure sustainability and guide strategic decision making.
Few points to clarify how “micro management” effectively “limits autonomy” in my situation
I am actively working to inform S2 Growth budget by applying industry best practices in S1 to Paid Performance and SEO. I am well positioned and I undestood entrusted to make these calls given my professional (15+yrs) consultancy background in growth marketing and performance.
My time and bandwidth to deliver is hindered if I must report upwards on the multiple and varying consideration of who, what, where, when and why I make paid performance and SEO decisions because unless speaking to those like @0x_Dev@mrvls_brkfst who speak the same language, I do not see that talking adds value at the testing stage.
Once performance is established (only 2 months in to season 1 here) I’m happy to talk about these topics to anyone that cares to listen preferably in an open Growth Community call as an opportunity to develop shared understanding of the wwwww of decisions.
Considering the 7 steps already in place to ensure financial oversight and alignment - needing to further justify/explain several invoices per week limits my autonomy to GSD .
Ultimately, it’s not my even professional opinion that matters, it’s the numbers. Therfore, until I can pay to gather the performance data to prove/disprove performance, discussion of invoices is conjecture and time wasted.
Thanks for seeking to build understanding here. I will definately be using the xls and timeframes here to notify FNest of expenses. And will raise the discussion of invoicing at the next growth strategy meeting.
I think there is some confusion here. We aren’t trying to restrict you in any way or question the reasoning for the payments, that is why you lead PPSEO and of course, are entrusted to make those calls. This is simply a process for making payments simpler and easier for all involved. We aren’t asking you to justify any of the expenses unless they are over budget, currently as you have stated, PPSEO is well under budget so this isn’t a problem.
All that needs to be populated is an excel spreadsheet stating the amount and wallet address along with uploading the appropriate invoices with a brief description of what the payment is for. This is so that we can map the cost appropriately for financial reporting purposes. This process will take a matter of minutes to complete and does not hamper autonomy. Think of it as just a weekly payment run like any normal business nothing more nothing less.
I feel it would be useful for us to jump on a call to discuss, as I think we can clear up any concerns you have.
It was just that first blue box and red NO that made me raise the question. As I’m contracting a few suppliers via NZ Company I was concerned that Nest leads approval would 1) hinder the negotiation process and 2) introduce the risk of unpaid debt
We do now request the option for USDC payment at invoicing but for those requiring fiat payments are these available for payment via FNest as of today’s post?
In terms of your example for SEO payments there is no change in the process other than filling out the google form. The spreadsheet is in the same format as the one you are currently filling out. This process will just provide better documentation and a smoother payment process, rather than these conversations happening in DM’s.
As Elliott has highlighted in your case there is no need for Nest approval or any additional steps before submitting. Those conversations with your lead are only relevant if your expense is outside the scope of the nest’s season 1 budget, or are overspending.
Currently we are still in the process of obtaining a DAO credit card. The process will be the same as before at the moment, where you request to be reimbursed in USDC. I will update the wording as I can see the wording is confusing, we will provide an update when the credit card is obtained.
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