Expense Report Template

Track and submit business expenses in a single sheet. Works for employee reimbursement, contractor billing, or your own monthly review.

Why this matters

Every deductible expense needs three things to survive an IRS audit: proof of purchase (receipt), a clear business purpose, and consistent categorization. This template captures all three.

For meals and travel, the IRS requires you to document the who, what, when, where, and why on the day of the expense, not months later at tax time.

Categorizing expenses the same way every month makes your P&L reliable and lets you compare periods against each other and against budget.

How to use it

Fill in employee, manager, period, and department at the top.
For each expense, enter the date, choose a category from the standard list, and record the vendor.
Add a short description that answers 'what business purpose does this serve?'
Record the payment method (personal card, company card, cash), this determines whether it's reimbursable.
Enter the amount. The report totals automatically at the bottom.
Attach receipts to the file (Excel → Insert → Object, or bundle receipts in a folder with the same name).
Sign, get manager approval, and submit to accounting.