Regional Hero offers meal allowance as a benefit solution
In the past, we received many inquiries from customers and those who wanted to become one as to whether a meal subsidy could also be paid out to employees via Regional Hero. Today we can proudly announce: Yes, of course it works!
With Regional Hero, it is now possible to pay out the meal allowance to its employees — completely digitally. With our solution Companies can not only do without the unpleasant paper food stamps, but also support their region at the same time.
This means that from now on we have food subsidies without paperwork! We also avoid annoying monthly imports of CSV files that change your statements.
What are the benefits of digital food stamps?
No printing, no storage, no time-consuming distribution of hundreds of vouchers to employees. This not only saves bookkeeping time, but also nerves. In addition, digital vouchers cannot be torn or lost.
However, the biggest advantage of our digital food subsidy solution benefits employees in particular: no contract with individual restaurants or supermarkets — employees can now use the meal allowance where and how it is best for them.
Whether in the home office, in the office or even in the canteen. The salad from the supermarket or would you prefer a piece of cake from the small café on the street corner? A sandwich from the bakery or a long lunch break at the Italian restaurant? A bratwurst at the stand or would you prefer the sushi to-go? Your employees decide when, where and how they want to use their meal allowance.
In this way, you can be sure that you cover the needs of all employees and offer a benefit that has a great effect without much effort.
This is how the regional meal subsidy works with Regional Hero
Even when developing our solution for the digital meal allowance, we made sure that implementation in the company was quick and easy. In addition, we have ensured that it is easy and intuitive for employees to use.
Because honestly, the introduction of benefits should motivate everyone!
Easy set up in four steps:
- You set up the meal allowance once in your payslip.
- From now on, every employee will receive a fixed number of meal vouchers every month — completely digitally.
- Your employees scan their receipts via our free app and then receive their credit directly.
- You can use the credit with your Regional Hero Mastercard wherever card payments are accepted.
Are you interested in offering our regional meal allowance at your company as well? Talk to us and we'll explain to you in detail how easy it can be.
Do you need a bit more background information on the subject of food subsidies? Then read the most important points on the topic here:
This is how employee dinners work tax-optimized
The meal allowance is a form of payment in kind that allows a certain amount to be paid out to employees every month in a tax-optimised manner. Thanks to this type of benefit in kind, companies are able to provide their employees with up to 7,23€ to be reimbursed.
In detail, this meal subsidy consists of the so-called benefit in kind and a tax-free share. The amount of benefits in kind is reviewed annually by the Federal Government, more specifically by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), and adjusted accordingly if necessary.
In 2024, the Reference value in kind for the Meal allowance chez 4.13€ per day. It should be noted that the benefit in kind must be taxed by the employer as a cash benefit at a flat rate of 25%. The tax-free share amounts to 3,10€ per day. If you add both values together, the result for 2024 is €7.23 per working day and employee, which can be granted as a meal allowance.
What else needs to be considered in the case of an employee benefit meal allowance?
When granting a meal allowance, it must be ensured that the employee meal co-payment is only made on actual working days. Sick days, vacations, stays abroad or weekends must be extensively corrected afterwards.
That's why we at Regional Hero have opted for a simpler solution, the so-called rule of 15. When applying this rule, the meal allowance may be granted for a maximum of 15 days a month. The big advantage is that this variant eliminates the obligation to identify absences and can therefore avoid additional expenses in accounting. Employees are also more flexible when it comes to redeeming their digital meal allowance. With the 15-person rule, it is possible that employees who work shifts over the weekend, for example, can benefit from the meal allowance without additional effort in accounting.
In addition, it must be ensured that the meal allowance may only be used for meals and foods that are intended for immediate consumption. Certain goods such as alcohol, tobacco or household items are therefore of course excluded. To ensure that everything is running correctly, employees confirm that their entries in the Regional Hero app are correct, ensuring that the meal allowance is issued in a legally secure manner.
