An expense report template is a reporting format which is prepared and completed by a staff member to register expenses which he/she incurred on behalf of organization. These expenses can be reimbursed to employees as per the expense report and organizational policy. Any individual who runs a business must know all sorts of duties or tasks which must be accomplished for successful running of business. To accomplish these duties, employees have to travel and pay expenses from their own pockets. An expense report is prepared to account for all expenses which should be returned to employees. An employer or owner must be aware of such expenses and should provide an easy process of reimbursement.
Importance of Expense Report
Expense report template is a part of financial report or annual report which is prepared by the management of finance department. In this report all the expenses of the company and organization are recorded. An expense repot template is prepared for analyzing all the expenses incurred during a specific time period. Moreover, it is prepared for the summarization of all expenses posted by a company is a specific time period. The detailed information of the expenses, like why and where is also included in it. This report is also prepared on a weekly or monthly basis as well as yearly.
How to Expense Report?
Recording expenses under the correct account head is very crucial. A good accounting system always highlights expenses which are made on behalf of the business and should immediately be reimbursed. The problem is identification of such expenses and to make this process easy, following tips are given;
• You should open a separate bank account for business expenses.
• Try to make most of your business expenses on credit card.
• Reserve a separate drawer where you will place all receipts and vouchers to be used in future.
• Have a filing cabinet so that if you have a lot of paper you can organize things in categories.
• Maintain expense reports on regular basis to have an idea about financial position of your business at any time. An expense report template can be used as a guide to have an idea about format of report.
Details of Expense Report
You need to categorize expenses either personal or business, according to their nature for proper tracking of right accounting journal. When you categorize expenses in the appropriate accounting head, you will be able to have an accurate idea of how much money is spent on traveling or how much cash is to be reserved as petty cash. You can make these ideas only if you know what your business expenses are. Here is a list of common business expenses that may be incurred in all small scale or home bases businesses:
• Advertising Expenses: money spent on business cards, website marketing or other advertisings.
• Insurance Expenses: all insurance expenses excluding health insurance premises.
• Legal Expenses: expenses made to hire services of accountants, auditors or lawyers.
• Office Expenses: money spent on anything beyond office supplies.
• Rent or Lease Expenses: expenses made on premises or equipment.
• Supplies: paper, toner, notepads or other things for routine.
• Travel: cost of travelling to conventions or meetings.
• Entertainment: amount spent on meals and entertainment of clients. Posting such expenses in separate category will provide you special tax ramification.
• Utilities: expenses incurred for gas, electricity, telephone and internet.
• Dues: subscriptions to magazines or trade groups your business has joined.
• Others: all expenses that you are not sure of like you don’t know in which category they should be located.
Templates for Expense Report
