Welcome
This document is a basic introduction to our systems and policies. This information applies mainly to Enspiral Services, and other companies within Enspiral will have different processes. For the purposes of this page "Enspiral Services" refers to "Enspiral Services Ltd", the company through which most freelancers and new ventures work here.
Things change fast and we can’t promise that absolutely everything’s covered in this doc, so if you learn something in the process that’s not covered here, please make it better for the next person by adding a comment to this document (select text, right mouse button, “comment”). This will notify us so that we can review your comment and continue to improve our documentation.
We encourage feedback and collaboration on all our systems and policies, so feel free to question and comment!
Enspiral is a non-hierarchical collective of talented people. We have no bosses, but we do have roles and responsibilities. Our goal is work together to make a great working environment, and provide high quality services to our clients, all built on a foundation of making the world a better place. You can find out more about Enspiral as a whole on the FAQ on the website. Please remember, Enspiral Services is one separate company in the larger Enspiral Network.
Once you start doing work through Enspiral Services, you may need an @enspiral.com email address if you are communiating directly with clients. You will also be added to Google+ and Loomio (Enspiral's collaborative decision making platform). As a distributed network, being involved in our online comms platforms is key. For real life communication, you are encouraged to get to know us at the office, through social events, and retreats. Even if you’re not based in Wellington, you can still be engaged.
If you are going to earn money through Enspiral, you will be given a login to the Enspiral backend system (http://my.enspiral.com) and you'll have your personal internal Enspiral bank account, where you are paid for the work you do. You can also create Enspiral accounts for projects (client projects and personal projects), allowing you to easily manage collaboration and do internal crowdfunding, as well as direct your money to different areas of the collective that you think most need resources.
You will need to decide if you would like to be a contractor or an employee of Enspiral, and sign the appropriate employment agreement (you will be sent a digital document to sign via email).
If you decide to be an employee, fill in an IR330 form and scan and email the document to accounts@enspiral.com.
See Employee or Contractor for more details.
By default, 80% of all revenue you generate (from selling your time, building a startup or any other revenue stream) goes into your Enspiral account. You can view your Enspiral account any time by logging in. Funds are available on a cash basis (when we receive the money, not when an invoice is written). When an invoice to a client is paid to Enspiral, 80% is paid into individual's Enspiral accounts, and 20% is held back for the collective.
This percentage is variable. We trust each person to set their own rate of contribution depending on how much value they feel they are getting from the collective, and how much they'd like to support it. For example, if you have an existing client and you want to run work through Enspiral, but you don't want to feel taxed since you had the work anyway, you could run it through at 0% contribution. Or if you get a lot of value from the support of the network, you could opt for a 30% contribution.
The money in your Enspiral account is under your control. It is the company’s money but you can do anything you like with it so long as it is legal. You can pay yourself, pay other people, buy gear, take clients out for lunch - it’s completely up to you. We encourage all members to think like business owners, and manage their Enspiral accounts accordingly to achieve personal and collective goals.
So, what happens to the funds contributed to the collective? Who decides how to spend them? You do! Actually, everyone does together. Collaborative funding is a way for people to influence decision making about how collective funds are distributed. By giving decision making control over the budget to the people who put those resources there, we all share control and responsibility for how those resources are used in a fair, functional way. You will be invited to participate via Loomio any month that you have contributed funds.
Invoicing is carried out by project leads. The project lead you are working with will take care of it and the money will land in your Enspiral account once the client pays. If you are a project lead and need to do invoicing, see this documentation for the details: Workflow: Invoicing Guide & the video on tracking codes: Team & Allocation Codes
Pays are run every Thursday. Email accounts@enspiral.com with how much you would like to be paid. If you are an employee then be sure to say whether it is before or after tax, and if you are a contractor, include an invoice. Before you can get paid you will need to sign an employment contract.
NOTE: The final cut off time to request payment (employee) or send an invoice for payment (contractor) is Thursday at 12 noon. To be sure that you get paid it's best to send the request / invoice on Wednesday.
Expenses are processed through Xero. Once you have been sent an invitation to the Enspiral Xero account, log in and go to accounts > expense claims.
Click “add receipt” to log a claim. Check the box and "submit for approval" to request reimbursement.
If you need help email accounts@enspiral.com with the details. See more info: Expenses.
Physical Phone: +644 9748207 (note: it’s often not answered) Office location: level 2, CMC Building, 89 Courtney Place, Wellington 6011 Website: www.enspiral.com/space Email: space@enspiral.com
Contact Enspiral Space if you're interested in renting a desk or need an access key card.
Enspiral uses Loomio to make collaborative decisions. There's a group for Enspiral in general, Enspiral Services, Enspiral Space, etc. If you're keen to be involved in decision making, request access via contact@loomio.org.
For help: contact@enspiral.com
- Google Apps
- Email address
- Enspiral Loomio Group
For help: services@enspiral.com
- Contract
- IR330 (IRD - Tax Code Declaration)
- Minutedock
- Enspiral Account
- Enspiral Services Loomio
- Xero (project managers only)
For help: space@enspiral.com
- office mailing list
- office calendar
- Desk
- Key card