EXPENSE REPORT MISTAKES TO AVOID

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Guy Atkinson

When most employees hear the term “expense report” they cringe.  Employees view expense reporting as a necessary evil.  Expense reports come down to a task requiring a lot of paperwork that needs to be organized and filed.  Most employees also cringe because, in one way or another, they have an expense report horror story.  A story that involves sleepless nights trying to find lost receipts in a pile of paperwork on their desks. In order to avoid this kind of stress in the future here are a few mistakes to avoid when dealing with expense reports.

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USING CASH

Stick to credit cards when you can.  If you pay cash then lose the receipt you are in much worse shape than if you had paid with plastic.  If you lose documentation of your purchases but pay with a credit card the credit card company most likely can dig that lost information up for you.

GETTING LAZY

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that filling out expense reports are a chore.  A recent survey conducted by expense management firm Concur revealed that 18 percent of employees would rather take out the company trash if it means they would never have to file an expense report again.  However, if you put off expense reports, you are only creating a bigger problem.  Gary Belsky, co-author of “Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes-and How To Correct Them”, notes that expense reports have to be something you do all the time and make it a habit to fill out your reports on a weekly basis.

BEING UNCLEAR ON COMPANY POLICY

Before you take out a client for something as simple as lunch or coffee and pay for it with your own credit card or cash you want to be clear about your company’s policy about work expense reimbursement Jim Angleton, president of AEGIS FinServ, notes.  If your company decides to not authorize expenses that you assume your company will reimburse you for, you are going to have to pay for those charges and you don’t want to learn the hard way on a mistake as simple as being unaware of what your company’s policy is.

NOT USING AN APP

There are apps for everything, including ones for tracking expense reports.  Shelley Elmblad, a contributor for thebalance.com, lists some great apps to get your receipts and expense reports organized and lists several options for any type of smartphone.  If you travel and want to record expenses as they accumulate, apps like Expensify may be your answer to expense reporting anxiety.  It is a free app to individuals that can create photo receipts and expense reports.  It also works with almost any accounting software.  With this type of accounting technology being at your fingertips, there is no excuse for not having an app on your phone to keep track of expenses.

Avoid these common mistakes when it comes to tracking your expenses.  You will be a more organized and efficient employee when it comes to expense reports and you will also avoid those sleepless nights hunting down lost receipts.

Tip of the Day

Time management for Finance Professionals

time management

 

I’ve just re-read Richard Denny’s fantastic book ‘Selling to Win’, in which he mentions a time management technique that I learnt many, many years ago from an old boss of mine.

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