Expense Report Guidelines For Newbies

When you’re traveling or eating out on your company’s dollar, there are often some nagging questions surrounding every purchase: should I expense this? Can I order a drink with dinner? What would my boss think? And while the prospect of getting paid to travel seems like a pretty stress-free experience, the looming expense report can weigh you down. Worse still, learning how and what to file on an expense report is rarely taught or talked about. In many ways, expense reports are part of a company’s cultural DNA. We can imagine Wall Street fat cats puffing on pricey cigars during a night out at a steakhouse, but most of us will never get a green light for that type of red-carpet treatment from our bosses. So for the rest of us, how do you approach filing an expense report without going overboard?

First, whenever you’re planning a business trip or activity, try to check in with your boss or a coworker first to get a sense of what’s fair game. Obviously if you’re taking a client to lunch or dinner you can expect your company to foot the bill, but never take a carte blanche approach when it comes to eating out. (On the other hand, you probably shouldn’t tell your guest to keep it cheap, because that’s an entirely different kind of unprofessional.) For meals, try to keep things conservative on your end, and avoid ordering more than one alcoholic drink per meal, not only because it will keep the price down, but also because you shouldn’t be getting sloshed during work. Ordering a salad during a business meeting is a common courtesy, and not only does it keep your meal price down, it’s a cultural norm, so you’ll likely fit in with your peers by doing so.

More generally, try to maintain a level of obvious respect when expensing business purchases. Like plenty of people, the first time I traveled for business I wasn’t given any explicit directions about expensing my spending. (My hotel stay and travel expenses like airplane tickets and a car rental were handled in advance.) A week or so after I returned from the trip, my boss wondered about my expenses. “What did you eat?” she asked. I was confused and sheepishly recalled my diet for the weekend. She was wondering why I hadn’t billed her for my meals. I felt like an out-of-the-loop kid and never made the same mistake. The trip was a quick lesson in standard operating procedure with regards to expense reports. (After my next trip she jokingly asked about the bar tab I’d accrued at the hotel.) On the other hand, even if you’re traveling for business, you should expect to pay for some of the little stuff yourself. For example, small purchases like your morning coffee or a pack of gum can look petty as an expense, so you’re better off buying those little things yourself.

Even once you get a hang of what you can get away with, there’s almost never any harm in simply asking your boss about a specific expense, preferably before the point of purchase. If nothing else: don’t go overboard at mealtimes, definitely expense explicit travel costs like gas or a car rental, and check in if you’re confused. And remember, your expense reports should be itemized so that your employer can track every purchase you make. Finally, like any other official paperwork you’d file for work, make sure you get your expense report in on time.

The most important thing to remember when expensing though is to hold onto your receipts. You’ll often be expected to present receipts as part of a report, and even if you’re not, receipts are your best defense against a potential dispute with your employer.