1. Overview
OET reimburses business expenses you pay out of pocket, and covers travel and tools you buy on its behalf. To make this work, every expense needs a short cost-center code in its description so Finance knows which project or category to charge. Submit your expenses at least once a month, by the 5th of the month following the month in which you incurred the expense.
Three things to remember:
- Spend reasonably — only what you'd spend if it were your own money.
- Always have a receipt — separate file per receipt, never embedded in an email or a form.
- Always include the cost-center code in the description — without it, Finance can't allocate the cost and the expense will come back to you.
OET is a fully remote organisation, so coworking and office costs are reimbursable only with prior Finance approval. There is no general per diem. Expenses above 500 EUR (other than travel booked through Navan within Navan's policy limits) need Finance approval before you incur them.
2. Cost center codes
Every expense carries one three-character code. There are two kinds:
- Project codes — three digits or three digits plus a letter (e.g. 022, 028, 031, 019a). Use these whenever the expense is for a specific project. The current project list is maintained by Finance.
- Category codes — three letters (e.g. TEC, BDE, EVT). Use these for expenses that are not tied to a specific project.
If both could apply (for example, a flight to a project event), use the project code — the type of expense is implied by the receipt.
Category codes
| Code | Category | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TEC | Tech equipment | Laptops, monitors, keyboards, peripherals, accessories. |
| SFT | Software & subscriptions | Software licences, SaaS subscriptions, online tools. |
| HOS | Home office supplies | Desk supplies, ergonomic items, stationery for remote work. |
| CWS | Coworking spaces | Day passes or memberships. Prior approval required. |
| EVT | Events & conferences | Registration fees, workshop materials, catering, and travel to events. |
| BDE | Business development | Client meetings, networking events, prospecting costs, and travel for these activities. |
| COM | Communications | Business-related phone, mobile data, internet share. |
| GEN | General / Other | Anything not fitting above. Requires Finance approval before submission. |
Writing the description
Format: the three-character code at the start, an em dash, then a short note explaining the business purpose. [CODE] — short business-purpose description
Examples:
- 022 — Train Berlin → Stuttgart for Cement Study kickoff, 18 May
- 028 — Taxi Lusaka airport → ZESCO office, 12 May
- BDE — Lunch with prospective partner ACME Energy, 4 attendees
- TEC — USB-C dock, replacement for failed unit
The code goes in the expense description field in Remote, and in the booking notes field in Navan. Common mistakes that cause an expense to be returned: no code at all ("Travel", "Lunch"), the code only in the file name, the wrong code (e.g. BDE for an internal project meeting), or several codes mixed into one description. For Contractors look under “How to submit your expenses” contractor section.
3. How to submit your expenses
All expenses are submitted via Remote HRIS. Irrespective of how you are employed (German direct, via Remote, via a different HRIS, as a Contractor), the first step is submitting the expense on Remote, so that all expenses are logged in one place. Information is then pulled from Remote into other relevant apps for reimbursement.
The remaining submission steps depend on how you are engaged with OET. The cost center coding rule above applies in every case, as does the 5th-of-the-month deadline.
German direct employees
If you are employed directly, i.e., via our German entity, submit expenses through Remote with the receipts and each line item must include the cost-center code in the description (e.g. 022 — Train Berlin → Stuttgart, 18 May). . Reimbursements are paid manually by bank transfer by the 10th of the month following the expense (April expenses are paid by 10 May). Submissions received after the 5th roll to the following month. In certain cases, reimbursement can happen after 10th - inquiry with the Finance department.
Two German-specific points worth knowing:
- Personal vehicle for business travel (Germany / Europe) are reimbursed at 0.30 EUR per kilometre, supported by a kilometre log.
- Tax-free reimbursement for repeated business travel to the same external location is limited to three consecutive months (Dreimonatsfrist). After that, reimbursement becomes taxable. The period resets if there is a four-week break in travel to that location.
Missing-receipt reimbursement is capped at 50 EUR per expense and needs your team leader's and the Finance Manager's approval. Expense records are retained for ten years in line with German tax law.
EoR (non-German) employees
If you are employed through Remote.com or another EoR provider, submit each expense via Remote. Attach each receipt as a separate file (PDF or clear scan) and include the cost center code in the description (e.g. 028 — Taxi Lusaka airport → ZESCO office, 12 May).
Travel: book through Navan whenever possible. If travel is unavoidably out-of-pocket, submit through Remote with full receipts and the code.
Reimbursements are paid in the next payroll cycle following Finance approval. Expenses approved in Remote before the monthly cut-off (currently the 11th) are paid in that month's payroll; later approvals roll into the following month. Submitting by the 5th gives Finance enough time to review and approve before the cut-off.
Contractors
If you are engaged as a contractor, expense invoices stay entirely separate from your service-fee invoices — mixing the two creates accounting issues at OET's end and the invoice will be returned. Raise a separate expense invoice for each project: three projects in one month means three separate expense invoices. Compile receipts per project, no need to have a separate invoice for each expense. Invoice numbering should be the cost center and date of the submission. Example (e.g. 022-07052026), with all receipts attached as separate PDFs. Create invoices by the 5th of the following month. Contractor expense invoices are processed at least once per month. If necessary can be processed several times, but need to inquire with the Finance department.
4. Travel and special situations
A few situations come up often enough that it's worth setting expectations rather than leaving every case to judgement.
Meals
OET does not pay general per diems. Meal costs during business travel or at OET events are reimbursed against receipts and must be reasonable. As a working guideline, expect Finance to query individual meal costs materially above 25–40 EUR for lunch or 40–60 EUR for dinner per person, depending on the city. For shared meals at OET events, the project lead or most senior team member present organises the spend through an Advance (check Handbook section on Advances) - you do not need to front the cost yourself. Where non-OET guests are included in a meal, note their names and the business reason in the description.
Travel — when to stay overnight
Working rule: if the one-way drive from home to an event venue is more than 1.5 to 2 hours, an overnight hotel is reasonable and reimbursable. Below that threshold, travel home unless there is a specific reason (early start the next day, late finish, safety concern), which should be noted in the expense description. For air travel, an airport hotel the night before is reasonable when the alternative is travel during normal sleep hours or a high risk of disruption that would cause you to miss the start of the event.
Africa-specific
In specific African field contexts — currently per diems may be used in lieu of receipt-based meal reimbursement where receipts are impractical to obtain. Driving is reimbursed at 0.20 EUR per kilometre with a simple kilometre log that is included in project Folder. Both arrangements are agreed in advance with the project lead and Finance, and applied consistently across the trip. If you think your trip needs per diems or African mileage rates, raise it with Finance before the trip starts. Cash, coworking Cash payments are exceptional and need Finance approval before you commit. Coworking day passes and memberships also need prior Finance approval.
5. Approving expenses
Expenses go into a pending list on Remote, and our Remote admins are notified that things are awaiting approval. An expense can be approved on Remote by your HoD, another HoD (for efficient admin), or by Finance directly. Regardless of who approves them, they all go via Finance before reimbursement, as part of standard payroll processes.
If you submitted an expense many weeks ago and it has still not been approved, and has also not been rejected, please DM our Head of People, our Head of Finance, or your HoD, so they can check it for you. The person you ask can also go into the expense on Remote and forward it to another admin.
We aim to have all relevant expenses approved within the month in which they were submitted on Remote.
To those approving expenses, please check that you have toggled on the "Gross up (if taxable)" section within each expense. It should be on by default for countries where this is possible, but it's good to check. This means the person who submits the expense receives the actual amount, not a reduced amount as a result of income tax.
When an expense is approved, you will receive an email from Remote.
6. Q&A
What's the deadline again? The 5th of the following month should be base, to leave time for Finance to double check and approve them. April expenses are due by 5 May. German employees who miss that deadline are reimbursed by 10 May; EoR employees by the next payroll cycle; contractors in that month's processing run.
My receipt is in another currency. Do I need to convert it? No — submit the receipt as-is in the original currency. Remote and Finance handle the conversion at the prevailing rate.
Which code do I use for a flight to a project workshop? Use the project code (e.g. 022). The fact that it is travel is implied by the receipt; you do not need to add anything else.
I'm meeting a prospective partner — but it's also at a conference I'm attending for project 022. Which code? Pick the dominant purpose. If you went to the conference for the project and the partner meeting is incidental, use 022. If the trip exists primarily to meet the partner, use BDE. When genuinely split, use the project code and note the partner meeting in the description.
I forgot to include the code. What happens? Finance will return the expense and ask you to add it. Re-submit with the code in the description; you don't need to redo anything else.
I submitted an expense, but noticed it has an error. What now? Please go to Remote > Expenses and cancel the expense. Then simply resubmit it.
My submitted expense has an error, but it's already been approved. What now? Please DM our Head of People or Head of Finance, so that they can cancel it for you. Then you can resubmit it.
My submitted expense has an error, but it's already been paid to me. What now? If the value paid was too high, please DM our Finance team so they can arrange reimbursement. If the value paid was too low, please submit a new expense and note the reason in the comments, along with the reference to the previous expense.
I submitted an expense ages ago and it still hasn't been approved. What should I do? Please DM our Head of People, Head of Finance, or your HoD, so that they can check it for you.
I have questions about expenses that are not covered in the Handbook. What should I do? Please DM our Head of People or Head of Finance.