Expense Report Templates
Expense report templates to keep a record of business expenses, project expenses, travel and mileage reimbursements.
What is an Expense Report?
An expense report is records expenses incurred by an individual or organization during a specific time period. It typically includes details such as the date, amount, purpose, and category of each expense, as well as any supporting documentation, such as receipts.
Expense reports are commonly used by businesses to track employee expenses for reimbursement and to ensure compliance with company policies and tax regulations. They provide a clear and concise record of all expenses, which can be used for budgeting and financial planning purposes.
Expense reports should be accurate, transparent, and submitted in a timely manner to ensure smooth and efficient financial operations.
How does an expense report work?
An expense report is an important tool for companies to track the expenses incurred by their employees while performing job-related tasks. It is essentially a record-keeping document that allows employees to claim reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel expenses, meals, and other business-related costs.
Typically, employees must provide receipts to back up their claims, and the report must be approved by a supervisor or manager before reimbursement is provided. The process ensures that the company only reimburses legitimate expenses, and it provides a clear overview of the costs associated with a particular project or task.
Overall, an expense report helps companies manage their finances more efficiently and reduces the risk of financial mismanagement or fraud.
What should an expense report include?
When it comes to submitting an expense report, it is important to include all the necessary information for proper reimbursement. This includes details such as employee name, designation/title, department/project name, date, purpose, and amount for each expense.
Receipts should be attached whenever possible to provide further evidence of the expense. Any company policies regarding expenses should also be followed, such as limits on certain categories of expenses or required pre-approval for certain purchases.
In the US, law defines limits for certain types of expenses, such as mileage and per diem. The expense report should follow the legal guidelines for these expenses.
It is important to review the expense report thoroughly before submitting to ensure accuracy and completeness. By including all necessary information, the expense report process can be streamlined and help maintain trust and transparency within the company.
How to create the expense report in excel
Follow this step-by-step instruction to create your expense report using the Excel template or Google Sheets template:
1. Download the Excel expense report template Or make a copy of the Google Sheets template
2. Open the expense report template in Excel or Google Sheets.
3. Enter the start and end dates for the expense reporting time period
4. Fill in employee, manager and department information.
5. In the main expense table
- Enter the date of expense
- Add a description for the expense
- Enter the payment method the employee used to pay for the expense
- In the Vendor name column, enter the name of the company or person to whom the payment was made by the employee
- In the Expense category column, select the applicable category from the drop down list. If you don’t see your category listed, you can add it on the Expense Category sheet in column A. Then make sure you change Data Validation for the column to include the new category.
- In the last column, enter the expense amount
6. Finally, the employee should sign the report and send to the manager for approval
How to use the project expense reporting excel template
The project expense tracking report includes project and client information, in addition to the fields in the basic template.
The advance template can handle cases where the employee has received an advance and needs to settle that against the expenses.
How to use the business mileage expense reporting template
This business mileage expense reporting template is great for tracking reimbursable travel expenses for employee vehicle. How to use this travel expense template:
Fill in the header section with employee details, duration of the travel, its purpose, starting and ending travel locations. You will also need to enter the vehicle details and select the type of vehicle from the dropdown list.
In the main mileage expense table, enter the following:
- Date of travel
- Starting place and destination
- Distance travelled in miles
- Any comments to help the approver understand the need for this travel
This Excel template automatically calculates the applicable mileage amount for the distance travelled using the Mileage rate in cell C12. The current rate is $0.655 per mile. Since the IRS keeps changing it, you should check the applicable rate when filling out this mileage expense template.