OpenMRS Inc. Operations and Financial Management
- Erica Kigotho
- Jennifer Antilla
Payments
What to submit in order to receive payment
- Invoice
The invoice details should include:
- Unique invoice number
- Invoice date
- Your name and address
- OpenMRS Inc and address
- Date, description of item or services provided, and quantity of each item
- Performance period
- Amount for each item
- Total amount payable
- Supporting Documentation
These can take various forms depending on purpose and would therefore be used as applicable. They could be reports, receipts, work plans, schedules among others.
Some specific examples are:
- Professional Development Plan
- Supporting Documentation as per contract
- Activity Report
- Travel Expense Report
- Fellowship Plan
- Bank Transfer Information
Payments are made as direct deposits to the bank details provided with the invoice. In the event that the transaction accrues back charges, these charges can be included in the invoice as a separate line item that can be labelled wire transfer fees.
Wire transfer required details.
When and where to submit your invoice for payment
When: By the last Monday of your invoicing period. Payments can be made on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis.
Where: To accounting@openmrs.org
How payments are approved
The submission of an invoice and relevant documentation does not mean automatic approval for payment. The submitted documentation must first be reviewed and then sent for approval to respective offices. Every week the Operations and Finance teams will review invoices that have been submitted by Close of Business (COB) Monday.
The approval process can take 2 - 3 weeks from the date the invoice was received at accounting@openmrs.org. especially when there is follow-up or missing information to address. Public holidays and weekends are not considered working days in this process. Generally the teams endeavour to make payments as quickly as possible and in line with what was stipulated in the agreement.
When payments are made
Approved payments are released on Fridays.
The payee with receive two separate emails from Bill.com regarding payment status: one e-mail after the invoice has been fully approved for payment and the other once the funds have been released to payee's account.
Frequently asked questions about payments
Question: When are receipts required?
Answer: For any receipt to be deemed valid, the expense must have been pre-approved. Examples where a receipt would be called for as supporting documentation for payment include:
- Accommodation - an itemized receipt from the hotel detailing all charges, the person(s) for whom the lodging was provided, and the specific business purpose.
- Meals - a receipt must be provided showing the cost of food, beverage, and gratuities, including the names of every person for whom food or beverage was provided, and the specific business purpose.
- Other Expenditures - a receipt from the vendor detailing all goods or services purchased (including the class of service for transportation) and the specific business purpose.
Question: What happens if I submit my invoice after COB Monday?
Answer: The review and approval of the invoice and relevant documentation will begin the following week.
Community Management Roles
The OpenMRS Community Management Teams help build and support the OpenMRS community and they fall into two categories: Product Roles and Community Management Roles led by OpenMRS' Director of Product and Director of Community, respectively.
Frequently asked questions about Community Management Roles
Question: Most open source projects have a core team of paid developers. Why doesn't OpenMRS community have a core team?
Answer: While open source projects have a lot in common, each one is a little bit different. Community is about bringing together a group of people who are passionate about solving a shared problem.The OpenMRS Community has been privileged to have strong relationships with a number of organizations. Throughout our history, these organizations have demonstrated their commitment to our community’s principles by seconding developers to the community. This has led to $$$ worth of code!
Question: Without a core team, how can the OpenMRS community maintain the OpenMRS platform, Ref App and Community Modules? Who is responsible for these products?
Answer: Our governance structure is set up in a way that enables a variety of contributors to come together and produce new modules, maintain existing ones and keep our platform and reference application up to date. How well and how quickly we are able to keep up with demand does depend on the availability of contributors - which in turn depends on volunteer commitment and organizations’ commitment to making in-kind contributions.
Funding
Sources of Funds
OpenMRS Inc.'s major funding sources are individual donations, grants, fund-raising and support contributions given for specific work such as Google Summer of Code (GSoC). The grants, contracts and award opportunities pursued by the organization are aligned with the community's mission, vision and values. Check out the fund-raising status page for more details.
Use of the Funds
These investments broadly focus on community management, product and project management, technical guidance and mentorship. Specifics include:
Infrastructure
Operational Support
- Community Management Support
- Product Management Support
- Quality Assurance Support
Legal Fees/Service Fees
Training/Education
Community Meetings
- Scholarships and Travel Grants
General Procurement
Guiding Principles
The following are considered prior to making any acquisition:
Does the funding source allow for this purchase?
Are there sufficient funds within the approved budget category for the proposed expenditure?
Is the cost reasonable, and the vendor selection process documented?
Is the purchase free of conflict of interest?
Will the goods or services be delivered/completed within the program’s fiscal year?
General Guidelines
Some of the general guidelines enacted by OpenMRS Inc. before procurement:
To the extent practical, the functions of ordering, receiving and invoices are performed by different individuals
Except for emergencies all goods and services should be purchased in the most cost efficient and least expensive manner
All purchases must be authorized by personnel at the proper level of responsibility
All purchases must be for business purposes and within budgetary allocations
Vendors are not made available until they complete the necessary state forms, i.e., business registration, W-9, Certificate of Liability Insurance, affirmative action registration, etc.
Vendors are monitored to ensure that they are not on the Federal/State/City disbarment list.
Internal Budgeting and Financial Reporting
Internal Budgeting
The organization’s annual budget is prepared and approved annually. The budget is prepared by the Executive Director in conjunction with all program managers to ensure that it is an accurate reflection of programmatic and infrastructure goals for the coming year.
The budget is approved by the Board of Directors prior to the start of each fiscal year and revised during the year only if approved by the Board of Directors.
Financial Reporting
The organization prepares internal financial reports on a monthly basis. All reports are finalized no later than 10 days after the close of the prior month. The Executive Director, Director of Operations and Board representatives review the reports each month. The reports are presented to the full Board of Directors on a quarterly basis during which time the Director of Operations prepares a narrative report that summarizes the organization’s current financial position, including explanations for budget variance if any.
The presentation of the Financial Statements follows the recommendation of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) No. 117, “Financial Statements of Not-For-Profit Organizations.”
Accounting
OpenMRS Inc. uses the accrual basis of accounting. This method allows for recording revenue and expenses when incurred. Throughout the fiscal year, expenses are accrued into the month in which they are incurred. The books are currently closed at the end of the tax year which is June 30th. Invoices received after closing the books will be counted as a current-month expense.
The accounting procedures used by the organization conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to ensure accuracy of information and compliance with external standards.