Reimbursement going to submitter NOT selected payee

I've been out of the business for a while, so I have no idea how these online reimbursements are working, but I have a question. My wife has been submitting expenses (she's an RSP) on behalf of members of the RS who are doing activities. She selects the Payee in the Tools app as she submits the expenses, but the reimbursements are always going to her. Is it possible for a clerk to just ignore or be ignorant that the payee should be different that the submitter? Is there anything else we can ask to ensure this works going forward - we're tired of having to duplicate these efforts.

Note - Yes, before doing the submissions she ensures the payees have a bank account listed to be the reimbursements, not just for submitting donations.
Note - Yes, it seems if the others would just submit them it'd be easier, I think this is a cultural/historical thing where people are just not over the idea that the RSP needs to submit these things. She has a counselor that 'teaches' others that this is the way it's supposed to be
Note - Regardless of why it's being done, I need an answer to why the clerk ends up reimbursing my wife rather than the payee - you do you wherever you are and be happy you do it the way you do it.

thanks

Regular members cannot submit online for reimbursement so they will have to provide their receipts to the organization presidency or the clerk to enter. I think if she selects the Payee it should be good but when expense submittals were first added to the tools app there were lots of problems. I don't know if the problems have been resolved but the forum posts at the time made me think they were painful enough that I never bothered to risk it - I always submit expense reimbursements via LCR (I'm more comfortable with a PC anyway).

I have not submitted expenses for anyone else other than me or my wife, so unfortunately others will have to comment on that piece... I was released as clerk before the Tools app allowed expense submittals so have no experience as to what that looks like to the clerk. I think her first stop should be to ask the clerk "Why aren't the reimbursements going to the payee as she indicated on reimbursement request in the app?" - he should be able to look into it and explain what is going on.

johnshaw wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:49 pm My wife has been submitting expenses (she's an RSP) on behalf of members of the RS who are doing activities. She selects the Payee in the Tools app as she submits the expenses, but the reimbursements are always going to her. Is it possible for a clerk to just ignore or be ignorant that the payee should be different that the submitter? Is there anything else we can ask to ensure this works going forward - we're tired of having to duplicate these efforts.

The payment request feature functions a bit different in Member Tools than what is available through the LCR version. In both versions the submitter must select the payee name. Member Tools requires the payee to be selected first before anything else can be completed. The payee cannot be confused with the submitter unless the submitter selects/adds/enters their own name. The Member Tools version requires the submitter to select the payee before continuing with the remaining data entries whereas the LCR version does not require this to be the first step. Any changes to the payee would have to be done manually by the first person to review and approve the payment request.

The payment request feature automatically attaches a PDF document of the payment request page as the first attachment titled 'Payment Request.pdf'. That attachment shows the submitter name and the original payee name. Anyone reviewing the payment request can see this attachment unless a reviewer/approver intentionally deletes that attachment. Issues with payee names being changed should be brought to the attention of the unit clerk or one of the two reviewers approving the payment request, if known. I have not tested this, but if the second reviewer makes any changes to the payment request, such as deleting an attachment or changing any data fields, he becomes the first reviewer/approver.

johnshaw wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:49 pm Note - Yes, before doing the submissions she ensures the payees have a bank account listed to be the reimbursements, not just for submitting donations.

While this will ensure a timely reimbursement, it is not required. The payment request feature does not have the option to select the payment method. It processes all payment requests using the EFT payment method. If the payee has not set up their Expense Reimbursement Account in their online donations account settings then the first reviewer will see an error message below the payment method and the payment request cannot be approved until either the member sets up their Expense Reimbursement Account or the reviewer changes the payment method to 'check'.

johnshaw wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:49 pm Note - Yes, it seems if the others would just submit them it'd be easier, I think this is a cultural/historical thing where people are just not over the idea that the RSP needs to submit these things. She has a counselor that 'teaches' others that this is the way it's supposed to be

I agree that allowing the general membership to use the online payment request may expedite reimbursements. However, my experience prior to the online system demonstrated that someone needed to intervene in many reimbursement requests to correct errors and/or ensure all elements of the requests were properly completed. The current online payment request implementation pushes this to the organization presidencies (including secretaries) who manage their allocation of the ward budget. This management could be included in the current system to allow members to submit their own online payment requests. But I also can come up with several scenarios where the processing time would be increased, or significantly increased, due to the lack of knowledge, experience, technology know-how, or access to necessary technology by some members.

johnshaw wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:49 pmNote - Regardless of why it's being done, I need an answer to why the clerk ends up reimbursing my wife rather than the payee

Have you asked your clerk(s) why they are changing the payee?

Thanks everyone, my wife's response is she'll never do this again for anyone and they'll need to use the old paper method. It's unfortunate the priesthood leaders have established a history of not responding to her requests that it isn't worth the frustration to her.

I appreciate the information!