How to quickly apply for Welbox (Cafeteria points) reimbursement

If you are one of the lucky ones, your employer may have provided you with some Welbox (Cafeteria points) as part of your employment contract. If that's the case, you will be provided with a fixed number of points every fiscal year (April - March). These points can be used to reimburse certain non-business activities like doctor fees, exam fees, flight tickets, etc. Make sure you use them - they'll save you a lot of money!

NOTE: If you don't use the points of a particular fiscal year, they won't be carried over to the next fiscal year.

There are two ways to apply:

1) Via Post (paper-based) 

2) Online (paperless) - recommended

Online way is recommended since the entire process can be done via smartphone or website, so it is really quick and convenient. Also, you can quickly see the status of your application. I'll discuss the online way here. The process shouldn't take more than 15 min for a first timer. Next time, you'll finish it in under 5 min!

APPLY USING SMARTPHONE

1) Download the WELBOX application (Android, iOS) on your smartphone.

2)  Login with your username and password. If you haven't set the credentials, do the following steps:

• In case you have been issued cafeteria points by your employer, check your work email account for an email from your HR department. If you haven't, contact your HR department.
• The email should contain the login id (Usually <companyid>-<employee id>, eg. 1234-02312) and initial password.
•  Login with these credentials and change your password. Your login id cannot be changed.

3) After successful login, click the 'スマホサイト' (Smartphone site) button on the bottom left corner of the screen.

4) You'll be redirected to a browser window. Click on 'マイメニュ' (My menu) option on the top left corner of the webpage.

5) Select 'カフェテリア'ポイント' (Cafeteria points). You'll be asked to be open the application window in another tab. Click 'OK'.

6) You'll land on your account page which shows the details/status of your previous applications. You can see the status of your applications under the '状況' (Status) column (You may have to zoom into the page). For making a new application, first go to the top (main) page by clicking 'カフェトップ'  (Cafe-top) button at the bottom of the page.

7) Click on '随時ポイント申請' (Anytime point application) button.

NOTE: To go back to the details/status page, click on 'ポイント利用状況表示' (Display point usage status).

8) You'll see a section with the green background. It has a list of possible situations/activities for which you can claim reimbursement. 

NOTE: 1 point = 100 JPY or 200 JPY depending on the kind situation/activity you select.  For details, check the cafeteria manual.

English translation:

健康増進 (Health Promotion)

• 医療費・健康支援補助 (Medical expense/ Health support aid)
• メンタルヘルス補助 (Mental Health Assistance)

育児・介護 (Childcare / Nursing)

• 育児施設利用補助 (Support for Childcare facility usage)
• 介護支援補助 (Nursing care support)

キャリアアップ (Career up)

• 自己啓発補助 (Self-development aid)

ライフプラン (Life Plan)

• スポーツ施設利用補助 (Sports facility assistance)
• 実家帰省旅費補助 (Home travel assistance)
• リフレッシュ補助 (Refresh assistance)
• ボランティア補助 (Volunteer assistance)
• コミュニケ―ション補助 (Communication assistance)

Select the option for which you want to claim the reimbursement.
NOTE: A list of expenses that are usually reimbursed is mentioned at the end of the post. 

9) Enter the relevant details and click '次へ' (Next). To go back to the previous page, click '戻る' (Go back). To cancel the application process, click on '申請キャンセール' (Cancel application).

領収書日付	Date as mentioned on the receipt (has to be within the fiscal year at the time of application)
利用者名	Name of the person as mentioned on the receipt
続柄	Your relationship with the person above (Select 本人since you are applying for yourself)
利用内容	Details of usage
利用金額(税込)	Amount on the receipt (including tax)

10) Now, you can see how many points you can use for the given amount.

残ポイント	Remaining points in your account (Point balance)
申請可能ポイント	Maximum points you can use for this application
申請ポイント	Actual points you want to use for this application

Enter the number of points you want to use and click '次へ'.

11) Now, you have upload photo of the receipt. Click on 'Choose file' next to '画像1' and upload photos from your phone's photo library or take a photo with your phone camera. After successful upload, you'll see a thumbnail appear. Click '登録' (Register) to register the image.

 

To deregister the uploaded image, click on '現在の画像を削除する' (Delete the current image).

To add multiple images, use 'Choose file' buttons on other columns (next to 画像2, 画像3, etc.)

12) Click '次へ'. This is the final step of the process. Confirm the entered details and click '申請登録' (Register application). To go back to the previous page, click on '戻る'. To cancel the application, click '申請キャンセール' (Cancel application).

That's it. Congratulations!

You can check your application status on the details/status page. Approval times vary depending on the application. For most applications, it takes a maximum of one month to get approval after which the reimbursement is added to your next month's salary.

Quick info:

Status	Meaning
未登録	Not registered (Takes less than a few minutes)
審査中	Under consideration (awaiting approval)
承認済	Approved

APPLY USING WEBSITE

The procedure is similar, except that instead of downloading the app, you have to login to the website.

1) Go to www.welbox.com and login with your credentials. If you don't know your credentials, refer Step 2) of the Smartphone procedure above.

2) On the left side menu, under the 'カフェテリアプラン' (Cafeteria Plan) section, click 'ポイント申請/利用状況' (Point Application/Usage Status). You'll land on the カフェトップ (top/main) page where you can continue from step 7) of the Smartphone procedure above. 

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Here's the table I mentioned in step 8:

Category	Expenses which are usually approved for reimbursement
医療費・健康支援補助 (Medical expense/ Health support aid)	Doctor visits, Heath Checkup expenses, CT scan costs, PET scans, etc.
自己啓発補助 (Self-development aid)	Fees and cost of preparatory materials (books, etc.) for exams like JLPT, CFA
スポーツ施設利用補助 (Sports facility assistance)	Gym membership fees, Yoga class fees, etc. (Each month or a combined total cost for the duration within the fiscal year)
実家帰省旅費補助 (Home travel assistance)	Flight tickets to and fro from your hometown
リフレッシュ補助 (Refresh assistance)	Flight tickets, hotel expenses, etc. for travel to locations except your hometown (both domestic and international are okay), onsen exepnses, etc.

Here's a breakdown of the points (￥100 or ￥200) depending on the category:

Hope this post was useful. Feel free to post a comment if you liked the post or if you have any suggestions.